“Shit,” he whispered, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples with his fists. “I lost my temper. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize,” she mumbled, wanting to take his hand…but Izzie was there, so she hesitantly squeezed his shoulder, instead.
“He’s projecting?” Alec exclaimed, confused.
“Oh, she talks fancy, doesn’t she?” Izzie said gruffly, but she still managed to sound cheerful. She helped herself to some more popcorn before placing the bag on the nearest desk. “Come on, Mr. Teager.” She grabbed the petrified-looking man roughly by the arm. “I’ll escort you outside before you get any more stupid ideas.”
They disappeared out the door together. That left just Alec in the office and Rachel could intertwine her fingers with Connor’s.
“Connor, are you okay?” she whispered.
“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t have… I seem to have blown a fuse.”
“You?” Alec asked incredulously.
“Yes.” Connor looked at him, annoyed. “Let’s just say I wasn’t in a particularly good mood to begin with because you went out with Rachel again! It wouldn’t have taken much to set me off.”
“We went out to breakfast, and so far, we’ve literally only talked about cake, Connor,” she murmured.
“I warned you about that! Cake talk gets most women into his bed,” he replied angrily, but his hand tightened around hers.
Irritated, she turned to Alec. “Seriously? I thought you were joking.”
He shrugged innocently. “I can talk sexy about cakes and pies.”
“Oh my God.” She rolled her eyes. “Nothing happened, Connor. Nothing that justifies attacking a client’s husband.”
Connor sighed. “I know,” he finally whispered.
“Did you know the guy?” Alec asked, confused.
“Not…really.”
“Not really? So, what exactly did he do?”
“He...” Connor closed his eyes and shook his head. “Not important.”
“Yes, it is important,” Rachel whispered, looking him straight in the eye. “I know you’ll probably never be able to completely let go of the anger, but it helps to share it!”
“Like you're sharing your anger with your sisters?” he asked quietly.
She swallowed. “You can do better than me. Talk to Alec. I’ll…do it today, okay?” Because it was time. She felt stronger than she had a month ago, and she needed to finally rid herself of her demons.
“What do you want him to talk to me about?” Alec asked, confused.
Connor ignored him, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “You're going to talk to Maddie and Lucy?”
“They’re both coming to the garden party. So…yeah.” She squared her shoulders. “You talk to Alec, and I’ll talk to my siblings. Deal?”
She took a step back and held out her hand.
“What the hell is going on?” Alec asked.
Connor just stared at her hand.
She smiled. “Do I have to phrase it as a bet so you’ll understand?” she whispered and then looked at him challengingly. “Connor Stone: I bet you’re too scared to have a grown-up conversation with your brother. I’ll tell you the stakes…tonight.”
Connor lifted the corner of his mouth. “Smartass,” he muttered, but he took her hand.
