“You need to get laid,” I remark and she nods emphatically.
“Does goalie boy have a friend?”
“Shh!” I command as we get closer to the voices. She lifts her index finger and makes a cross above her heart on her chest.
We turn the corner and find everyone except Dad in the large kitchen.
“Jude, this is more than we could have ever hoped for,” Mom is saying and she reaches out and grabs her only son in a bear hug.
Jude rubs her back and kisses her cheek before pulling back. “It’s nothing.”
“I hate that you’re blowing your money on us when you have Zoey and the baby to think about now,” Mom confesses softly with that same frown Sadie had earlier.
“Mom, Jude has more than enough money to take care of the baby, Zoey, and you and Dad. Two times over,” Winnie reminds her of what we all know. Jude nods in agreement.
“Besides, Zoey has enough money to take care of herself and the baby without his help,” I add and smile. “So do not feel guilty. I don’t when I eat his food or use his Netflix or hack into his Amazon and order myself Jimmy Choos.”
“You do that?!”
I shake my head. “No, but now I know I can, because you clearly don’t check.”
Mom chuckles at our banter. Good, that’s what I was going for. Jude ignores me and takes Mom by the hand. “Let me show you Winnie’s and Sadie’s rooms down at this end. Away from you and Dad, so you have some privacy.”
I watch them head out into the hall and walk down to the other end of the condo. I glance up and watch Winnie’s face fall instantly as she pulls out her phone. “Fucking hell, Tyson! It’s been less than twenty-four hours.”
“That sounds like a good start to a long-distance relationship,” I remark as I watch her angrily type something into her phone. Winnie and Tyson have been dating since high school. You’d think they’d be married with babies by now, but the fact is, they don’t seem to really like each other all that much. I think her deciding to move here with the rest of the family is finally going to be the nail in their long overdue coffin.
“He is pissy because I didn’t tell him when we landed.” Winnie rolls her eyes. “And I haven’t told him what weekend to come visit yet. He wants next weekend, but hell, we just got here, and I don’t even know where my room is. I just need some time to get used to everything before I have to make him get used to everything.”
“Ah, true love,” Sadie quips, and I try not to giggle. In all honesty, this is serious. And it’s a perfect example of why Sadie and I aren’t in any rush to bring anyone else into our lives permanently. Winnie looks up and stares at both of us with a mix of annoyance and something else, like frustration. She bows her head again and goes back to texting, but Sadie isn’t done talking. “Dixie scored the goalie.”
“Shh!” I command harshly and stick my head out into the hall. Mom and Jude are nowhere to be found, thankfully. “Where is Dad?”
“He said he was going to lie down.”
“Does he need help?”
Sadie shakes her head.
“He’s okay with that stuff for now, especially because Jude got him one of those adjustable beds like in the hospital. He can lower it and raise the top or bottom.” Winnie is finally done texting and sticks her phone in her back pocket. “Now what’s this about nailing the goalie?”
“Shh!” I hiss. “I hooked up with that guy from the junior team. It was hot, and now it’s over. And no one—especially Jude—can know.”
Winnie shrugs. “I love keeping shit from big brother, so no worries. But why is it only once if it was so good?”
“I just wanted to do it to get him out of my system. That was our plan.”
Winnie looks like she’d have more faith in the existence of unicorns than in anything I’m saying. She’s always had a way of seeing right through my bullshit. “So you’ve worked him out of your system? He’s no longer attractive and charming now that he’s given you what I can only assume is great sex?”
“Fantastic sex,” Sadie pipes up and instantly lowers her voice before I can shush her. “It was also insanely intimate. Her words.”
Winnie’s smile grows at that. “Okay, you have to figure out a way to keep this going, Dix.”
“It’s impossible,” I reply and sigh. “And I may be up for a promotion at work, so the last thing I need to be doing is anything that will screw that up. I have a five-year plan, and he isn’t in it.”
They both roll their eyes simultaneously. “Ah, right. You are conquering the male-dominated business world one press release at a time,” Winnie chirps, and I flip her my middle finger.
“She’s going to be the next Ryanne Bateman,” Sadie adds, her tone dripping with annoyance. She thinks I’m too OCD about my career. “A rich, successful businesswoman with no one to share the empire with.”
