I stared after them, my head reeling, my face stiff and my lips numb. I’d spent years trying to shield Toni from our mother’s life. And now, after everything I’d done to keep her safe, she was blindly throwing herself back into it.
Sam offered me his beer. “Here. You look like you could use this.”
“No, I...” My vision swam. I couldn’t cry. Not in the middle of Toni’s going-away party. I took a deep breath. “Give me... I just need a minute.”
I stumbled away. The kitchen was bright and full of people, the bedrooms full of coats. The music started pounding again in the living room. Opening the front door, I slipped out onto the landing, shivering with cold and reaction. Hoping I wouldn’t be seen. Praying I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone.
My baby sister was going to New York. Alone. To be an artist, like our mother.
I wrapped my arms around my waist, trying to stop trembling. The door opened behind me.
“Is everything all right?” Tim asked.
I sagged against the railing, almost weak with relief. I should have known he would come after me. This was Tim, after all: patient, thoughtful, perceptive.
I swiped my fingers hastily under my eyes. “Fine.”
His jaw tightened. “Did he bother you?”
I blinked. “Who?”
“Clery.”
“Sam? No.”
“He kissed you,” Tim said without expression.
I winced. “Oh, that. That wasn’t anything.”
“Indeed.”
I was still vibrating with worry and... anger? “Tim.” I set myhands on my hips, the churn of feelings finding an outlet—a target—in the man in front of me. “He didn’t do anything. It didn’t mean anything. He washoldingabeerthewhole time.”
His iron jaw relaxed a fraction. “Poor planning on his part.”
“There was no planning on anybody’s part.”
“Just a spontaneous moment, then.”
“Pretty much.” I cast my mind back to the time before Toni dropped her bombshell, ten minutes and a lifetime ago. “Sam told me he applied to Trinity.”
“And you congratulated him.”
“Of course I did.” I was not going to be flustered into apologies because Tim’s former fiancée was a cheating slut. “And I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. I don’t freak out when you jump every time Laura calls.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“I don’t happen to be attracted to Laura,” he said stiffly.
I was suddenly, absurdly comforted. “Well, I’m not attracted to Sam.”Much.
He held my gaze a long moment. “I apologize for overreacting.”
“That’s okay.”
“So... Not Clery. But something happened to upset you.”
