“Where are you thinking?” I knew Nix was making small talk, trying to go easy on me. He must have known I was struggling with the thought of Reed being back in town.
On autopilot, I explained that we had discussed both the Bahamas and Mexico.
Around ten minutes later, I pulled the car in through the gates of our estate and steered it up the driveway.
At the end of his final year in college, Nix had moved from campus housing into the pool house. I’d thought it would feel weird with him being so close and seeing him every day, but I liked it. As an only child with two professional parents who were hardly ever there, I was partly raised by the staff. Nix’s presence gave me a sense of being in a real family. We bickered like brother and sister, too, which only reinforced that feeling.
Before Phoenix had agreed to live with us, Daddy had made a big deal of him and had shared the news of his son with the city. The story my father and his PR people sold was, of course, much fancier than the truth. I remember seeing the headline in the Herald,The Return of the Mayor’s Long-Lost Son. The article beneath it had been pretty heart-wrenching, and Daddy’s public had lapped that bullshit up. Anything to do with Phoenix’s troubled past, before Ma Sawyer, was wiped away. And Phoenix was given the opportunity of a fresh start, one that he had welcomed with open arms. His relationship with our father had then gone from strength to strength, and I didn’t mind that at all. Not being the only child had taken some of the heat off me for a while, and I enjoyed that breathing space. Now, due to the looming wedding, I was back in the spotlight, much to my disgust.
Climbing out of the car, Nix walked around the trunk to join me at the pathway up to the main house.
“Are you coming up?” I asked, looking up into his strong, masculine face so like our father’s.
He gave me a crooked grin. “Nah, I need a shower before I head out.”
“OK. Well, have a good time and don’t get too shitfaced. I remember what the Sawyer brothers are like when they get together.”
Phoenix grinned and then lifted his hand to squeeze my shoulder. “You don’t have to worry, you know.”
“Worry how?”
“About Reed,” he replied, lowering his hand.
“Why would I worry?”
“If he gives you any shit, I mean.”
Dashing a hand down my face, I folded my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling defensive. “I can’t imagine he’d do that. What would be the point?”
Nix shrugged, “Well, I know he was pissed at first when you blew him off?” I knew only too well how men reacted when their egos were bruised. ‘Blew him off’ was the consensus from everyone who thought they knew what happened that night of the car accident. I hadn’t told anyone I had been traveling to see Reed.
From my hospital bed, I had decided to call what happened fate. Reed and I were never meant to be. As far as everyone else knew, I had left the house shitfaced and had gotten behind the wheel for a drive to clear my head.
Luckily, I’d not lost my license. The private hospital I had been taken to had contacted my father when they’d received the results of my blood alcohol level. The percentage hadn’t been sky high, but I was still well over the limit. And of course, Daddy had arranged to get those results changed. It was another one of those perks that came with being the mayor’s daughter. Ex-mayor now, of course. Daddy had moved on, but he was still an important figure in Newport.
Luckily, the consequences of that night had only resulted in a huge wake-up call and a scar just beneath my collarbone.
“Maybe he’s back to settle an old score?” Nix added, suddenly breaking my train of thought about that fateful night.
“He’s back to play football, Phoenix. I can’t imagine thoughts of me are even on his radar.”
“Then you’re still as clueless as you were back then.”
I took a deep, calming breath and lifted my chin. “Go, take a shower. You stink.”
Phoenix grinned, lifting one arm and sniffing at his armpit. His eyes widened, confirming I was right. “When push comes to shove. I’ve got your back. You know that, don’t you?” he explained, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
My eyes narrowed. “But he’s your brother?” I missed out the foster part as they all saw each other as blood brothers.
Nix slowly nodded, his eyes never leaving mine as he pointed out. “And you're my sister.” His words made me feel relieved. Phoenix and I were close, and I knew that he’d never let anyone hurt me.
“What about bros before hoes?”
“You're not a hoe, and I’ll have words with anyone who says otherwise.” There was a brief pause before he added, “If you change your mind, we’ll be at the Tavern. Harper and Molly will be there.”
“I thought Harper had a late class tonight?” Phoenix’s girlfriend was a yoga instructor at his local gym. I attended her classes regularly.
“The studio was double-booked, and so she had to cancel.”
