Rosie gestures toward the lamp she was admiring moments ago. “I really do need a lamp for my office, and I think this one’s perfect. Just works out that I finally got to meet you.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you. Not sure what your brother’s shared about me but it’s probably not true,” I joke.
She smiles knowingly. “No, I think it is.”
I nod and pick up the lamp she chose.
“I’ll help you get checked out.”
I carry it to the front counter and give it to my cousin to ring up. She does and then hands Rosie her receipt.
“You should come to the bar for dinner soon,” Tasha says with a smile. “First drink is on the house. A welcome to Brookhaven celebration.”
“That sounds nice. Will you come too, Rhiannon?”
I smile. “Sure.”
She turns to leave but pauses at the door, her hand on the handle hesitating. “He told me about what happened with Rebel.”
My heart races, realizing that means Cain called him after I texted him.
“I… I see.”
She nods, her expression softening. “He was really upset. I’ve never seen him so angry. I know it’s not my place to say this, especially if you two haven’t talked about it yet, but my brother… well, Cain doesn’t usually show his emotions. That’s somethingour dad taught us was a weakness and we’ve both struggled with being vulnerable as adults. But I could tell he was furious about what Rebel did and I think he’s beating himself up over it.”
My brows raise. “Why would he be blaming himself?”
“Because he cares about you, of course. He feels like he should have pushed harder to tell you not to meet up with alone. And he feels responsible because Rebel was his client.”
“Was?”
“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” Rosie’s lips curl into a small, satisfied smile. “Cain fired Rebel from our firm. Told his manager to find him new legal representation as soon as he heard what happened to you.”
My mouth falls open.
Rosie steps forward, giving me a quick, reassuring squeeze on my arm. “I’m so sorry that happened. Just… know this. My brother doesn’t fire clients. Not for their indiscretions, not for their bad behavior. Ever. Our father strictly forbids it. It’s our responsibility to look the other way when it comes to their sometimes-questionable behavior that permeates their personal lives as long as it doesn’t bleed into the legal world. And if it does, we’re hired to defend them. Cain has made an exception for you which I’m so proud of because it means my brother’s realizing there’s more to life than being a lawyer.” She sighs and runs her fingers through her perfectly styled, dark blonde hair.
“You’re the thing that’s more important to him than his career. I wish I had something that felt more important to me than my career.” Her eyes take on a faraway look. “I guess the question is whether he’s important to you too?”
With that, she waves goodbye to Natasha and me, then heads out the door to her car.
The bell jingles softly behind her, leaving a quiet, tense moment in her wake. My cousin stares at me, her hands braced on the countertop.
“So that would be Rosie Prescott.”
I fight back a smile and shake my head. “You knew she was Cain’s sister all along, and you didn’t tell me.”
She smirks before wiping down the counter like she’s working at the bar.
“Yeah, I did, but I thought your interaction would have been more explosive. Turns out Cain isn’t as much of a dick as I thought he was, huh?”
No. He really isn’t at all.
“So, are you going to talk to him? Tell him you’re crazy about him?” she asks.
She’s right. It’s time to return his calls and messages from earlier today. The sun’s starting to set over the late autumn sky, and I know I need to get home to make dinner for Eden and Gabriel before they get back from school and work.
But before I can respond to her question, my phone vibrates with a message from my therapy portal. I glance down at the screen, heart racing.
