“Good to see you exploring instead of being chained to a screen all day.” Jake waves his beer glass in Patrick’s direction. “Just make sure this one doesn’t work you to death. You’ve got to set boundaries with him.” He glances back at me, eyes glintingwith mischief. “Seriously, don’t let him bend you over backwards trying to please him.”
Heat crawls down my neck like I’m having an allergic reaction to my own lies. If only he knew how literally, how specifically, how enthusiastically that exact scenario played out last night.
“I barely see him,” I blurt out. “I’m mostly just... in my back office.”
Across the table, Patrick shifts. He reaches for his whisky, taking a large sip that suggests he’s also recalling the bending-over-backwards incident.
His eyes meet mine for a fraction of a second. Oh God. He’s remembering. I’m remembering. Jake is obliviously drinking beer while two people mentally replay softcore pornography.
As dinner arrives, Jake launches into stories about his latest expedition. How one night, crossing a frozen river, one person’s foot punched straight through the ice, and the whole party froze, listening to the crack spread under their feet.
I laugh along, but it catches in my throat. Jake tells these stories like near-death experiences are just anecdotes for the table, while I sit here barely able to cope with the risks of them flying in a helicopter together.
“So.” Jake tips his glass at me. “Fishing? What happened to my sister who thought mud and cold water were torture? How did that happen?”
I open my mouth, panic bubbling. All that comes out is a squeak.
“I took her,” Patrick says smoothly, saving me. I have to bite my tongue to keep from adding “in every sense of the word.”
“I was terrible.” I smile. “Didn’t catch anything. Patrick did, though. But it was... fun.”
Jake chuckles, shaking his head. “He’s annoyingly good at most things, isn’t he? Bastard even beats me at climbing, and I’ve made a career out of it.”
Oh, he’s good at things, alright. Things that would make Jake choke on his beer if he knew.
Jake reaches over and taps Riri’s necklace where it sits against my collar. “Still can’t believe you found this. You were properly devastated on the phone. How’d you even get it back from up there?”
“Someone... handed it in. Lucky, I guess.”
The someone being the man currently studying his menu.
“Lucky break.” Jake nods, buying it. “But seriously, don’t go hiking alone up there, Button.”
Patrick’s jaw tightens just slightly. That little flash of something whenever Jake calls me Button, reminding him I’ll always be Jake’s little sister first, whatever else we are.
“Patrick took me,” I say, folding my napkin into increasingly smaller squares. “Just to show me around a bit.”
Jake looks between us, smiling. “You’re quite the tour guide, buddy.”
“Happy to help,” Patrick says in a gruff tone.
I clear my throat before this gets worse. “Actually, it’s been a nice reset to get out of London.” I take a breath, channeling Riri’s adventurous spirit. “I was thinking maybe I’d try one of your expeditions. One of the tamer ones! That Norway trip? I checked the website, and that one looks quite manageable.”
Patrick’s brow lifts. He gives me a soft smile that makes me feel like I’ve just won something.
Jake’s whole face lights up. “That’d be brilliant. Never thought I’d get you out on one of my trips.”
I smile, feeling oddly proud. Hopefully, Riri’s watching from the afterlife, giving me a ghostly thumbs up.
“So, the hotel ceilidh’s tomorrow night, right?” Jake asks. “Georgie, are you going?”
“Yep, can’t wait,” I say, trying to sound enthusiastic.
“I’ve got you a kilt,” Patrick says to Jake, smirking. “Liam, Gemma, and Edward are also flying in for it. Well, more for a quick getaway.”
My eyes widen. “Liam? Your brother Liam?”
“The very same.” Patrick lifts a brow, clearly seeing the horror spreading across my face.
