Me:I’ll be there.
“We tried doing what you wanted for the past seven years, and it didn’t work out. It’s my turn now.”
Fuck him. And fuck me too while we’re at it.
I folded faster than the speed of sound, like I knew I would. Grant’s proposition to be my sneaky link was all the confirmation I needed that we had serious issues that could only be resolved by a professional. As asinine as his suggestion was, I could easily envision a life full of deception, false smiles, and fabricated business trips that were fronts for romantic getaways with my stepbrother. We had no option but to make this work.
Grant: See to it that you are, or I’ll come find you.
Feeling a little playful, I bit my bottom lip and returned his text.
Me: You wouldn’t do shit if you found me.
My mouth gaped when I received another text a minute later. It was a picture of a belt wrapped around his hand. I licked mylips and groaned at the sight of the veins mapping his forearm and the thought of how the leather would sting against my ass.
I was about to text him back when I was interrupted by a ringing bell.
He wasn’t lying when he called me Cinderella.
Nori and Daisy had been running meraggedever since Daisy was discharged from the hospital, and I wasn’t confident I’d make it five more weeks when Daisy was on her feet again. However, one of the things I was working on in therapy was making commitments and seeing them through.
The bell chimed again.
“Seriously, they could send a text,” I whined, dragging myself out of bed. “I’m coming, Drizella and Anastasia!”
I flew through my morning routine and met Nori in the kitchen. I was relieved that she’d at least started the coffee maker.
“Good morning, sis.” She grunted and returned to the list she was writing. I peered over her shoulder to read. “I see I’m making lasagna for dinner.”
“Daisy’s in the mood for your lasagna. I need to talk to her doctor about increasing the dosage of her pain meds. She’s not having a good morning.”
I chewed my bottom lip and refrained from telling her that there was nothing wrong with Daisy’s prescriptions and that her wife was stubbornly refusing them because she didn’t want to get “hooked.”
“Maybe that’s a discussion you should have with Daisy first.”
Nori glanced up from her list and narrowed her steely eyes at me.
“And normally I would, but she’s currently writhing in pain, which leads me to believe her judgment may not be the best.”
“Geez, I don’t want you in charge of my life support,” I mumbled under my breath.
“You’ve lived a privileged and adventurous life; pulling the plug will hurt me more than it’ll hurt you,” she responded nonchalantly. I would’ve balked at her coldness if it weren’t for the slight twitching at the corner of her lips.
“Stick to numbers because you’re not very funny. What do you and Daisy want for breakfast?”
“Eggs Benedict and fresh fruits.”
“Eggs Benedict? Girl, this isn’t The Waldorf.”
“We nearly died. You should be more compassionate, Kiyah.”
“Fine,” I drawled, trudging to the refrigerator to pull out the ingredients.
“Can you also pick up the dry cleaning?”
“Yes, ma’am. Anything else?”
“My new hearing aids are ready. I’d hate to assign you so many tasks, but I hate using my spares. They aren’t as comfortable as my everyday aids.”
