“Rhodes told me not to call him if he fucks everything up—or dies.”She says it casually, but her voice fractures just enough to betray the storm beneath.Of course she doesn’t want her older brother to die.
“He won’t die,” I reassure her, but I’m not sure how to follow that.If I say something like, ‘he’s as sturdy as a cockroach,’ it sounds a bit cruel.If I tell her how I feel ...well, I won’t come out looking like a good person.Which leaves me to empty my glass of wine and pour more.
“Alfie still won’t talk to us.Duchess doesn’t like us, and therefore he should stay away from the Wilder family.”
“Duchess.”I snort as I repeat the name of his current girlfriend.“I still can’t believe that’s her actual name.”
Cleo rolls her eyes.“It is, and she believes she’s royalty.If Prince Felipe VI of Spain turned her way, she’d drop my brother faster than you can say abdication.”
I laugh, almost choking on my wine.
She shrugs, unfazed.“Tell me I’m wrong.”
“No, you’re not.”I don’t know Duchess personally, but after all the stories I’ve heard about her ...“You’re one hundred percent right.”
“Let’s forget all about me.Tell me about your day, Kit.I don’t need to talk about my brothers and my father.It’s like they need a babysitter and I ...”She sighs.“I’m done with all of them.No wonder my mother left them.Aren’t you happy that your family isn’t a clusterfuck like mine?”
There are so many things I wish for, but ...thinking about ifs is stupid and wishes are almost like childish dreams.
I mean, in a way, my mother left us.Not the way hers did, which might be even worse.Isn’t it?
ChapterFive
Kit
“Sorry, that was a little insensitive,” she says.“It’s just ...who wants to be around those men?”
I don’t remind her that her mother leaves her father every other season when she finds a young hunk—or her dad is fucking some twenty-year-old girl he finds while touring.They’re particularly messy, and probably one of the reasons why their children can’t have a healthy relationship.And no, I’m no expert.I just read that in a magazine.Children of terrible marriages can’t find a good and healthy loving partner.
There was even a quiz, but I don’t think this is the time to hand it to her, is it?
So, I tell her about my day.We settle into a familiar rhythm: wine, chatting, and a little gossip in between.Then, I grab the takeout menus from the coffee table, waving one in her direction.
“Okay, do we want extra cheese, spice, or twice fried?”
Cleo blinks at me.“All three.”
“Perfect.”I pick up the cordless phone sitting on the end table.“I’m ordering pizza and wings.And no, you don’t get to veto the extra garlic knots.”
Her smirk curls slow and satisfied, like she’s finally beginning to thaw.“You really do know the way to a girl’s heart.”
I glance sideways at her.“Yeah.Through emotional damage and deep-fried food.”
She laughs.But even as I read through the menu and tease her about ordering too much again, I know we’ll have leftovers for days.
This is normal; I feel normal even when my mind is preoccupied with the news.Roderick fucking Wilder is back.And no matter how much I try to drown it in sarcasm and Chardonnay, that means ...he’s back and he’s too close.
It should be okay.He’s nothing to me.It’s been years.Too many to even remember that once he was my entire world.
Let that go, Kit.It’s over, remember?Yes, over.This isn’t about me, it’s about her, right?
But how close is he?Cleo said she’d be looking to rent an apartment in this area.I hoped he’d refuse and head back to California, where he belongs.
Focus on ...everything else, Kit.Not Roderick.Never him.He’s your past.He’s nothing, remember?
I order the food and wonder if I should head to the video store.I could rent a movie.Sixteen Candlesis still our favorite movie—even after all these years.That will take my mind away fromhim.
“By the way, how’s Timmy?”she asks.
