“Did he just do that?” Lucy asked Hope as she tasted a specialty cocktail Carter had made for her and declared it be called the “Barone ball buster.”
Ella and Maria were already on their second.
Hope laughed, sipping at her own virgin ball buster as she regarded the bartender affectionately. “Carter has the unique ability to charm the pants off a snake. Gabe sees difficult clients coming and shoves Carter in front of them. He can make anyone walk away thinking they’re best friends and Bowie’s is the best establishment they’ve ever been to.”
Lucy appreciated Carter’s boyish good looks. He was tall and slim. A sleeve of beautifully designed tattoos ran up hisarm in a way that would have made most men look tougher, but it only made Carter seem like a piece of nouveau art.
“We compensate him well enough so hopefully he never thinks of leaving,” Hope told her. “He’s an asset for sure.”
“Will he be bartending tomorrow night?” Lucy was quite enjoying her ball buster.
“Oh yes. Besides, I don’t think your mother and aunt would have it any other way now. They’re positively smitten.”
It was true. Both middle-aged women were fawning over their new friend, watching raptly as he told them Bowie’s history, and how lucky they were to host a party here.
“I should go see if the kitchen needs any extra help for tomorrow,” Hope told Lucy. “Let me know if you need anything, okay?” She moved off toward the back, giving Carter a thumbs up as she passed behind Maria and Ella.
Seconds later, an arm slung around Lucy’s shoulder, and she looked up to find her sister. “Imagine how different life would have been if he’d been around to distract Mom while we were growing up. The son she never had,” Vanessa mused, watching the scene. “They would have had the boy they always wanted to take over the family business and propagate the family genes, and we wouldn’t have had to endure their constant nagging.”
“But then you and I wouldn’t have bonded as we conspired for hours on ways to break free from under the thumb of their tyranny.”
Vanessa threw back her head and laughed in that musical way of hers. “Yes, except you never broke free. You stayed where you were. I never did figure out how you did it without going crazy.”
Duty. Their parents had made so many sacrifices for her.The least she could do was make them proud. Even though that was proving harder than anticipated.
Then there was Joel. His constant friendship, emails, phone calls, and looks of solidarity during odd business events. They’d had similar goals and drives and having him in her life had always been a reassurance.
And of course, there was the company. Barone & Sons meant so much to her. Her dream that she’d one day see their family legacy into a new generation of success was a big reason she’d stayed around. All of that and, unlike her sister, she’d never felt the urgent need to leave. She loved her crazy family, even when the relentless chaos grated on her every nerve. She’d never disapproved of her sister leaving to pursue modeling when she was only sixteen, but she wondered if Vanessa had found the happiness she was looking for out there.
The sound of their mother’s high-pitched laughter made them look over.
One of Vanessa’s perfectly microblade eyebrows shot up her forehead. “She never laughs like that for us,” she said. “Do you think we can adopt him?”
Lucy looped her arm around her sister’s shoulders and led her to a bar table off to the side. “Look on the bright side. After tomorrow, you get to jet-set back to Vancouver for your next film shoot.”
Vanessa shrugged. “Actually, I’m thinking of taking a break from acting.”
“What?” Lucy tried to school the shock from her voice.
Acting had always been her sister’s dream. After a couple of years modeling, Vanessa had gotten a commercial gig for a high-end clothing brand where she had a few speaking lines, and she pursued that dream ever since. Transitioning from modeling to acting hadn’t been easy. Theworld of the latter never quite taking the former seriously. The grind had been uphill, but then she earned a permanent spot on an up-and-coming paranormal drama series, and Lucy had assumed Vanessa was well on her way up the hill.
But maybe she wasn’t? Was that why she’d gone radio silent for the last several weeks? The way her sister had looked when she’d walked into Natalie’s salon had poked her sixth sense that all was not right. “Is everything okay, Vanessa?”
Another shrug of her sister’s shoulders was her only answer.
“You’d tell me if it wasn’t, right? If something was wrong?”
A shadow of a smile ghosted Vanessa’s lips. “Of course. Don’t worry about me. I just need a break.”
“Will they let you take one?” It didn’t seem like an industry that let you spontaneously take a mental-health break.
“You better believe it. Especially after Joel barged onto the set and—oh shit.” Vanessa clamped her hand over her mouth, but it was too late.
Lucy’s heart rate picked up. “What do you mean, barged onto set? What are you talking about?”
“Nothing. Don’t listen to me. I’m overwhelmed, not thinking. My imagination has a tendency to go wild. It’s very vivid, you know…”
“Vanessa Barone, tell me right now. When was Joel on your film set?” Something uncomfortable tightened in her chest.
