“I see that. So...” He glanced at me. “Tonight? Seven?”
I looked into his handsome, smiling face, his dark, anxious eyes searching for the response he wanted. All our history was naked in his face. “I can’t,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.” So, so sorry.
He drew a sharp breath. “Really, Jo? Can’t you?”
“Trey, I wish I could!”
“Right.” His expression shuttered. “I’m outta here.”
“Trey!”
The car door slammed.
“Well, that was fun,” Amy said into the silence a few moments later.
I wiped my eyes. “So much fun.”
“Vroom,” DJ said. Meg hugged me, and he kicked me in the stomach. Which felt about right.
“Come on.” Amy gave me a quick hug. “Let’s go inside, and I’ll fix your hair.”
How long are you going to be in New York?” I asked when I was seated on a kitchen chair, a towel over my shoulders. Amy danced around me, waving a pair of scissors.
She shrugged. “A week?”
“So long?” Meg asked.
“I’m only in the way here.”
“No, you’re not,” Meg said.
Amy snipped. “Momma doesn’t need me. And I need to get away for a while. I’ll come back when she’s out of rehab.”
“Can they spare you at work that long?”
“Nobody is there over the holidays. And since I basically work for free... Anyway, I told Monsieur I’d visit the Garment District. I want to see the Fashion Institute. And Mood!”
I resisted the urge to point out that she could have seen all those things if she’d come to visit me at any time over the past few years. “Where are you staying?”
Amy busied herself with the scissors. “With the band.”
Meg and I exchanged glances.
“At their hotel?” Meg asked.
“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Amy said. “Vaughn and I are friends.”
If anyone could get her friends to spring for a week in New York at the height of the holidays, it would be Amy. But still...
Meg bit her lip. “Maybe...”
“You could use my place,” I offered. “It’s not much, but it’s empty. And the location is great.”
“Really?” Amy hugged me, nearly jabbing me with the scissors. “Oh, that would be so awesome!” She hugged Meg. “You are the best sister.”
“Hey, it’s my apartment,” I said.
Amy beamed. “You’re the best sister, too.”
