“Hayden, you’re dead on about that.”
TWELVE
SOPHIE
“Don’t move. We need to talk.”
My finger lowered from pointing at my brother while he stood in my kitchen, and I joined Abbi in the living room. She was on the couch, watching a show on my tablet. I set a container of roasted seaweed snacks next to her on the end table and kissed her forehead.
“I put your snack next to your water. Do you need anything else, baby?”
She didn’t answer, her concentration unbreakable when it came to her favorite shows. A hurricane could blow through my condo at any moment, and my daughter wouldn’t glance up from the screen. Therefore, she wouldn’t hear the conversation I was about to have with Hayden. So, I returned to the kitchen and grabbed the glass of wine I’d poured before Hayden came over, facing him from the other side of the island.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were working withColson?” I finally took a sip, which ended up being several swallows.
He slowly blinked his beautiful green eyes—a color I was always jealous of—like he was flabbergasted by my question. “Why would I tell you?”
“Because I know him.”
He leaned toward me, his arms on the counter, assessing my expression. “How was I supposed to know that?”
Since we had been kids, Hayden had the ability to know what I was thinking. Even though we hadn’t lived together since I had been eighteen, which was fifteen years ago, that hadn’t changed.
“Didn’t Troy tell you that when he referred Colson?”
“No.”
My brother didn’t lie. Not to me, not to anyone.
“You’re saying Troy didn’t mention anything about my relationship with the Westons, specifically Colson?” I waited. “Not even a whisper about our history?”
“Wouldn’t that break some HIPAA law or something?”
“That’s medical, not law. But, yes, there are confidentiality agreements in place, of course.”
“Which proves my point.” He rubbed his hand down the side of his beard, the same sound I heard from Colson whenever he did a similar movement. “Troy couldn’t tell me. But Colson did.”
My heart was pounding so hard that I drained more of the wine and replied, “What did Colson say?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “No.”
“He saidno?” My face tilted.
“I’msaying no. I’m not getting in the middle of this.” He leaned up off the counter. “You want to know what Colson said, you ask him. There’s obviously some beef between youtwo. That couldn’t have been more obvious at my office, and I refuse to get involved.”
My hand hit the countertop. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“He’s my client, Soph. The dude is going to be spending millions with me. I’m not jeopardizing that by telling you anything.”
“How would he know you told me?”
He rubbed his thumb over his bottom lip, smiling as he gazed at me. “Because you have an extremely difficult time holding things in.”
“I didn’t explode in your office. I barely said anything.”
“Oh, you said a million fucking words. They all just came from your eyes instead of your mouth. You were glaring at the man like you were trying to set him on fire.”
My brain quickly brought me back to this morning, reminding me of the range of emotions I had felt when I walked to the doorway of Hayden’s office and saw my enemy standing next to my brother. Out of all places, Colson was here, inmytown, withmyfamily.
