“And Stone’s a frequent overnight guest, from what I hear?”
“He is.”
“And you didn’t beat him to a pulp for what he did to Stevie?”
Nico sighed, propping his wrist on the steering wheel. Traffic was heavy, so he was going nowhere fast.
“He broke her heart, Nico.”
He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to that. Niyah was right, but it wasn’t his place to dole out punishment.
“Stevie’s a big girl,” Nico reminded her. “She can fight her own battles.”
“Not when her heart’s been reduced to mush.”
He snorted a laugh. “Are we talkin’ about the same Stevie? You know good and well her heart’s not mush.”
“She puts on a good face, Nico. But deep down, she’s not over what he did.”
“Did she tell you that? Or is that yourDr. Philpersonality making assessments?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes. Actually. Did Stevie tell you she put Stone in his place?”
His sister was silent for a moment. “She left that part out.”
“Trust her to know what’s best for her, Niyah. I do.”
Her exasperation was thick in her exhale. “How long’s this been goin’ on?”
So she didn’t know everything. That was good. As much as he loved his sister, there were parts of his life he preferred to keep to himself. It wasn’t easy since Stevie was Niyah’s best friend, and they shared everything.
“Not long.”
“Do you love her?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
“Wow. That was fast.”
“It’s true, though.” And he saw no reason to deny it. It was bad enough he spent a good portion of his day thinking about where he’d been a month ago and trying to reconcile it with where he was today. It was pointless to try to rationalize it. It was also pointless to think he would’ve wanted it any other way.
“And Stone? Do you love him, too?”
“Yes.” Granted, that was a new revelation, so there had been a pause before he admitted it.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.”
“Does he love you?”
“Niyah. Stop with the third degree.”
“I’m askin’ out of love, big brother. After all, I had to hear it from my best friend.”
He snorted. “You act likeyour best friendisn’t who we’re talkin’ about.”
