“I don’t know how true that is.”
“Okay, so tell me.I want to hear your side.I’ve been unbelievably patient.And now that I’ve brought you a small fortune’s worth of your stuff, you owe me.”
“Was this your form of bribery?”
“I’m not above it.Now dish before I drink all your wine.”
“He’s your brother.”
“Chicks before dicks,” Erin reminded her.
Erin set the swing in motion, and Lara debated how much to say.
Her mother had stopped by twice, and she’d listened until Lara couldn’t talk anymore.While her mother had been wonderful, she hadn’t fully understood.Lara had kept the D/s part silent, and that information complicated things in a way that wasn’t possible to explain.“I fell in love with your brother.”
“I thought you were going to tell me something I didn’t know.”Erin rolled her eyes.“That was obvious at the family gathering.”
She blinked.So much for the big reveal.
“And Connor has a big ol’ chunk of lead where his heart is supposed to be,” Erin added.“So, did you tell him?”
“Yeah.”She took a small drink.“He said nothing.”
“It’s not you, Lara,” Erin said.“It’s him.He’s always been reserved, but he’s been worse since Dad died.”
“The thing is, he’s capable of showing great affection.”In the short time they’d been together, she’d gotten accustomed to sleeping in his arms, to having him draw her a bath, and once, a foot rub while they’d talked.
“I can tell you this, he can pretend all he wants.But we all saw the way he looked at you, and it took him a long damn time to put your dresses in a box.Your underwear took even longer.There was a garter belt I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to pry out of his hand.”She snickered.
“You made him do that?”
“And carry down all the boxes.”
They chatted for a few minutes about the progress on the BHI Communications sale before Erin stood to leave.
“You know, Lara, if anyone was going to melt his heart, I was sure it was going to be you.”
“Thanks for that.”She walked Erin outside.The two hugged, and Erin gave her a reassuring squeeze.
She’d barely pulled away when Suzy-Q made a break for it, bounding across the yard to plant her paws on Lara’s shoulders and her lay her head on top of one.“BFF,” she whispered to the dog.
Mrs.Fuhrman came over with a leash in hand.“I swear she loves you, Lara.”
“It’s mutual.”She stroked behind the dog’s massive ears.
“What happened with the moving man?”
For weeks, Lara had wondered if Mrs.Fuhrman watched the neighborhood happenings from her window and sent the dog outside as an excuse to come and get her.The question confirmed her suspicions.“Things didn’t work out,” she said noncommittally.
“Well, the neighborhood wouldn’t have been the same without you.But he was a strapping young thing, wasn’t he?Odd that a moving company has their gentlemen wear such nice clothes.”
She smiled, maybe for the first time in days.
After getting Suzy-Q on the leash, Lara went back inside.
The house seemed larger than usual, and emptier.
She was tempted to ignore the boxes, but it was better to have something to do than spend the rest of the evening moping.
