My chest goes tight. If I had to pick any of the guys to be with me when I saw Corinne again, the last one I’d choose would be Doc. Bobby is as well-mannered as anyone who grew up on Park Avenue. Eli could be polite in the middle of a hurricane. Even Adriano, as intimidating as he looks, can be stoically calm. But Doc? Doc is a loose cannon. Our problem child, as Eli sometimes says. Too intelligent to be intelligent. Too reckless to know he’s reckless.
I look around and see all the other girls have melted away, back to the bar or talking among themselves. I feel a pang of embarrassment. Some of them, like Kiara, know I’m estranged from my family, but that doesn’t make this any less awkward. I want to run away, but I know Corinne means what she said. She won’t leave until she’s spoken to me. And since I don’t want Doc to kill her, I have to do what she says.
I climb down from the stage, grab Doc’s arm, and urge him backward. He resists for a second then lets me pull him away from my stepmother.
“How did you know I work here, Corinne?” I ask. “I’ve never told anyone in the family or put it anywhere online.”
She blinks, and I can practically hear her thoughts.How dare you question me, you disrespectful little chit.
But I’m not the same woman she bullied into doing ballet and getting engaged to Mr. Parker. I straighten my shoulders. I’m a lot taller than her, even without my heels. Maybe she notices it too because her face softens into something I’m sure she thinks is kinder. More maternal.
“Your brothers and sister miss you, January. So do I. When are you going to let the past be the past and come home?”
“Don’t you fuckin’—” Doc begins but I hold up my hand.
“I email Margot all the time. I said that I want to meet up with her and Lachlan and Harris. You’re the one keeping them from me.”
Corinne shakes her head sadly. “You’re so paranoid. Can’t you see how these…men have turned you against us?”
“They haven’t,” I say hotly. “I’m happy where I am.”
“So, you’re happy tearing your family apart?”
She says it so easily, as though it’s the purest kind of truth and for a moment shame sweeps over me. Then I remember what brought us to this place—the thirty million dollars Corinne accepted from Mr. Parker to get engaged to her underage stepdaughter. The constant control she exerted over my diet and friendships kept me pure for him until I turned eighteen.
“Maybe our family needed to be torn apart,” I say. “Because it seems like the only reason it was together was because of money.”
Doc laughs and Corinne’s face changes like bad weather.
“Fine,” she snaps. “If that’s the attitude you want to take, I’ll cut right to the point. We need to discuss family business. Business that can’t be put off any longer. Come with me to my car and—”
Doc muscles in front of me. “If you think my girl’s going anywhere with you then you’re fucking stupid. Say what you’ve gotta say and then get the fuck out of here.”
Corinne looks down her nose at him. “What happens if I don’t? Are you going to hurt me?”
“Yes.”
“Really?” Corinne looks at me, eyebrows raised, as if we’re making fun of Doc together.
I put my hands on my hips. “What do you want to tell me?”
“It has to be in private—”
“No way,” Doc snarls. “Anything you’ve gotta say, you’re telling both of us.”
“And what about them?” Corinne gestures to the dancers at the bar. “Do they get to hear as well?”
“Talk quietly.”
“No,” My stepmother says. “And regardless of what you or your…organizationthinks, January is an adult. She’s allowed to meet with me without your approval.”
Doc steps toward Corinne until they’re almost nose-to-nose again. “You just fuckin’ try me.”
I gnaw my lip. If Corinne’s come to tell me something about Margot or my brothers, or my little niece who I haven’t met yet, Idowant to hear what she has to say. I touch Doc’s shoulder. “Can I please talk to her somewhere in private, Nico? Your office maybe?”
Doc swears loudly, turning away and shoving a hand through his hair. “Fuck this, Tits.Fine. You can use my office. But I’m staying in the room.”
“That’s okay,” I say quickly. I look at Corinne. “Is that fine with you?”
