Wes stared at her blankly. “Nothing’s wrong, but you’re drinking?”
“Just because I don’t drink a lot, doesn’t mean I don’t drink at all.” She opened the cabinet door where the wine glasses were stored. “So, yes or no? Do you want one?”
There was just enough left in the bottle to fill each glass which was probably a good thing, she thought. She would love to numb herself to everything that had happened that day.
She handed him his glass, but he blocked her path, his face set along determined lines.
“You’re physically okay, but something is obviously very wrong.”
“Why were you so worried?” she countered. “I’m not that late.”
His eyes were soft when they met hers, and the first pricks of guilt hit her. His concern was genuine. Wes had been worried about her. Cara’s heart turned over with a heavy flop.
“It’s midnight. I texted you. Even called. You didn’t pick up, and you’re never late.” His hands were back on his hips. “I’m your roommate. Who else is going to notice if you don’t come home someday?”
“I’m sorry. After I left work, I just needed to drive around for a while.”
“Why?”
Cara’s eyes searched his face, fighting the urge to hurl herself against his chest. She wanted him to hold her and tell her everything was going to be all right.
But she couldn’t. He wasn’t hers.
“It’s a long story,” she warned.
Wes took her hand and led her so that they were seated side by side on the sofa. She folded both legs on the cushion, and Wes sat facing her.
Was she really going to do this? What if it changed things? But as she watched Wes’s familiar face, patient and kind, her chest eased. She wanted to tell him. Wanted him to understand. Wanted him to know her.
“I told you about my brothers and their moms,” she trailed off. “Three years ago, my dad started dating my stepmother, Courtney.”
Wes nodded. She had told him some of this before. “Everything was great at first. Courtney was nice, fun even. She made my dad laugh. I spent part of that first summer with them. Her oldest son Matt was around some, but her younger son, Trey was away at college. I didn’t get too attached though. I knew it wouldn’t last.”
“Why?”
“It never did.” Cara toyed with the stem of her glass. “There was nothing wrong with Courtney. Well, at least at the time, I didn’t think there was. My dad’s relationships always had expiration dates. After about a year or so, things inevitably cooled between them. He didn’t mention her as much. He gave Matt a job at his company, and when Trey was struggling, my dad helped him get into a college closer to home. We all thought he was putting a red ribbon on her life as a going away present. It happened every few years.” She smiled wistfully. “My dad was extremely successful at business and very generous with the people he cared about. But, even though all the signs of an imminent break-up were there, out of the blue, he announced they were getting married.”
She took a large sip of her wine. “Declan is the one who told us. My dad didn’t even call us himself. Declan only found out because of a corporate memo. Luke and James pretended they didn’t care, but I know it hurt them as much as it did me and Declan.”
Wes’s brows knitted together.
“It hurt,” she explained, “because it was so fast, and it was clear we were unwanted. Courtney and my dad planned the ceremony and sent each of us invitations without ever speaking. My father wasn’t answering the phone… It was like we were distant cousins they were obligated to invite. Not his children.”
Wes reached out and caught her hand, giving it a sympathetic squeeze. She inhaled a shaky breath and studied Wes’s face in the dim light. Wes met her gaze, and she felt something settle inside of her.
She’d never talked about this, how the wedding had affected her—not even to Amara. Cara should wonder why she was so comfortable opening herself up to someone she’d only known for a couple of months, but she didn’t. It was Wes.
Now for the part that could make it weird.
Her father’s money always did.
“What happened today? Why were you so late?”
“Are you sure you want to hear this?” she paused. “You might feel differently about me. About how I grew up.”
“Now youhaveto tell me.” He stroked his thumb over her fingers with a lopsided grin.
She took a deep breath.Just get it over with.“Like I said, my dad and Courtney got married. I was the only one of my siblings to attend. I think Dad knew Declan wouldn’t come—they’d been estranged for a while. But he really believed the twins would come. I’m not sure Luke and James ever had a conversation with him again.” Cara felt the dull pain in her chest twist into a sharp ache. So much pain and regret for all of them.
