Stevie knew better than to dig deeper. They’d made a pact not to talk about Stone, and they’d done pretty well over the years. A couple of times, they’d indulged, but those nights generally involved significant amounts of alcohol followed by deep regrets to go along with hellish hangovers the next morning. They tried to keep those to a minimum.
“Well, I’m gonna lock up here in a few minutes,” Stevie told Nico. “You’re headin’ home, right?”
“Unless you need me to come in.”
“Nope. Nothin’ doin’ here. Mike and Carlos are finishin’ up their jobs.”
“Okay. You want me to cook dinner? We can talk.”
They both knew she wouldn’t say yes because Stevie didn’t like to overstep, and she couldn’t even count how many times she’d called Nico up over the years, getting him to go out to grab a beer or dinner simply so she didn’t sit at home and do something ridiculously stupid. Problem was, she usually did whatever stupid thing she was avoiding anyway.
But tonight, she had a different reason. “It’s Friday. I’m havin’ dinner with my dad.”
“All right. See you when you get home.”
“Yep,” she said before disconnecting the call.
Taking a deep breath, Stevie went back inside.
Seven
After hanging up with Stevie, Nico headedhome.
It was still early, and he was hoping to settle in his office for a couple of hours and take care of a few things he’d been putting off. He had several quotes to finalize and a few designs he was eager to start. It was difficult to get those things done in the office due to the constant coming and going and/or questions that arose throughout the day. He could find peace and quiet at home.
As soon as he pulled into his driveway, he knew his plan for a productive evening was about as hopeful as a bonfire in a hurricane. And it had nothing to do with the fact Stone Jameson was back in town or that he knew Stevie wasn’t as okay with it as she pretended. Nope. His productive day was about to get quashed by five feet, eight inches of smiling sister.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was his fault. He’d completely forgotten that Niyah was coming over today.
That was a lie.
He hadn’t forgotten.
The truth was, he’d been putting off thinking about it because he didn’t want to.
He parked the truck and got out, wondering if it would’ve been worth his while to stick around and let Stone pretend he didn’t remember that night all those years ago instead of coming home to find his sister waiting because she wanted to say goodbye. Nico would’ve much rather put up with Stone’s blank stare than have to say goodbye to the only family he had left. He was going to miss her.
“I knew you forgot,” Niyah said with a wide smile.
Nico’s attention shifted to the wiggly puppy in her arms.
“Is that a—”
“Yellow Lab? Yep.” She held him up like he was a sacrifice to the sun gods. “Ain’t he cute?”
“Adorable,” he said, giving the puppy’s head a scratch.
“I was hopin’ you’d say that. He’s yours.”
Always joking that one.
At least he prayed she was joking.
“Whatever,” he shook his head and frowned at the little dog. “You know I don’t have the time or patience for a puppy.”
“Seriously? There’s no way anyone can be that hard-hearted,” she teased, shifting the puppy so he was cradled like a baby in her arms. “He’s not a mean man. Just grumpy.”
“You and Stevie have fun last night?” he asked as he spared the dog another glance.
