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Duncan sat down again and wiped his forehead. “Fuck. I knew he was crazy about you, but—”
“Your brother gives ‘being crazy about’ someone a whole new meaning.” Kate hiccupped after downing the last drop from her mug.
Duncan glanced over at Kayla before bellowing out a laugh. “Fuck, Kate.”
“Check. We did that too.”
Kate checked a box in the air with her index finger. As if he saw Kate into a whole new light, Duncan guffawed at the remark.
“Stop laughing, Dunc. This is serious. What Donovan did is wrong on so many levels, especially for a man in his profession. My God. This could mean the end of his business if this was to ever come out.” Kayla gave an exasperated sigh.
“Did you know he has a studio full of paintings and sketches of me? He even sketched me stroking Gloria,” Kate said.
“What?” Kayla seemed skeptical.
“Wow. I’m sure getting all the Walsh secrets now. Who’s Gloria?” Duncan smirked.
“She was my cat. We got her when I was eight, and I named her after our grandmother,” Kate explained as a matter of fact.
“Huh, I was hoping for a juicier story there.” Duncan winked.
“If you don’t stop acting like Ronan, I’m going over to Kate’s to stay the night there,” Kayla scolded him.
Kate’s head suddenly felt real heavy and she leaned it on the back of the couch and closed her eyes. She heard her sister bicker with her boyfriend, and even though they would do that from time to time, she realized she wanted what they had. They had found true love. Could she have that with Donovan? Could she let him in again and risk getting hurt? Was it possible for her to trust him?
“You’re not going over to Kate’s, my sweet wildflower. You can forget about that. Look at her. She’s smiling and crying at the same time. Your sis is drunk from one hot cocoa with a shot of whiskey. Okay, maybe I went a little overboard on the whiskey, but I thought Errin was supposed to be the lightweight of your family? Let her stay here, and we’ll take care of her.”
“Kate?” Kayla nudged Kate’s shoulder.
“Hmmm?”
“I’m taking you to bed so you can sleep it off.”
“I need to go to work tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I know, we’ll just let you sleep here for a couple of hours. Then you can join us for dinner, and Dunc will take you home after. Right?”
“Yep. Go get some sleep. Talk to you later,” Duncan added.
Kayla took Kate by her arm and led her into the guest room. She let herself fall back on the twin bed and stared at the ceiling. “I’m not drunk.”
“I know, sis. But I do think it’s hitting you harder than you realize. And I don’t just mean the whiskey. I’m guessing it’s all a lot to take in. I’m happy you came to me, honey. I want you to always come to me, no matter what’s going on or who it concerns. You are my number one priority, okay? Not my stupid boss who doesn’t seem to know how to act like a normal person around you.”
“He makes such beautiful art, Kayla.” Kate closed her eyes and decided that just for a moment she was going to lie down.
Kayla hummed. “I know. He has some spectacular paintings hanging in his office.”
“I really miss Gloria.”
Kayla chuckled and stroked Kate’s hair from her face. “Get some sleep, sis. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
