Page 81 of Hard to Hold

No one’s ever given me a sunset before.

I’m not sure why that one comment hits me so hard, because Lennox Kincade deserves more than just sunsets. She deserves sunsets and sunrises and everything in between.

And as if on cue, her phone rings a distinct tone that has her scowling. “Except for that. Go away, Dekker,” she grumbles.

“I don’t mind if you get it.”

“Well, I do,” she says with a huff before walking over to where her handbag is, carrying it back to where we sit, and then unceremoniously dumping the contents of it onto the chaise beside us. The contents she fumbles through makes me laugh: a purse, a makeup bag, a baseball with signatures all over it—which I’m sure has some value but instead is just thrown in there like most women would a scrunchie. Oh, and there are a few of those too, along with business cards and pens, but it’s when I see her toss a mobile phone to the side before picking up a second one that I laugh.

“Two mobile phones? Are you that important you need two?” I laugh.

“It’s a long story,” she mutters and waves a hand my way as one of the mobiles rings again. “There!” She pushed the button on its side with a dramatic flair and then the ringing stops immediately. “Problem solved. Interruption handled.”

She looks up at me with the biggest, cheesiest grin before she resumes her position cuddled to my side.

“Is there a particular reason you’re not talking to your sister?” I ask.

She snorts. “Lots of reasons.”

“Like?”

She shakes her head, and even though I can’t see her eyes, I swear she’s rolling them. “Because they always seem to be perfect and I always seem to be . . . me.”

“And what exactly is that? Gorgeous. Intelligent. Feisty. No nonsense. Sexy. Fun.”

“But why did you lead off with gorgeous?” she asks with a bite to her tone.

Warning bells sound in my head. “I wasn’t aware it was a crime to tell you that you’re gorgeous. Especially when you’re sitting like that,” I say motioning to her leg draped over mine, my shirt hitched all the way to her hip, those inquisitive eyes irritated, and her lips pouting at me. “I assure you it wasn’t meant as an insult. Quite the opposite, actually.” Her sigh in response is heavy. “You want to explain what me calling you gorgeous has to do with why you won’t pick up the call from your sister?”

“It’s complicated.”

I throw my head back and laugh. “You’re talking to me, remember? King of complicated as of late.”

“Working with your family is complicated.”

“I can imagine. I bet there are some fun fights there.”

“Between four sisters?” She snorts.

“Do you like what you do? Does it make you happy?”

“Yeah.” She says the words, but there’s something that glances through her eyes that tells me otherwise. Perhaps it’s the same something I’ve caught in snippets when I’ve walked in and she’s having a conversation with one of her sisters. There’s snark to her tone. Almost a combination of hurt and irritation that she plays off the minute she notices I see it.

Just like she did right now.

“That doesn’t sound too convincing.”

Her smile softens. “When you’re one of five in a family business, sometimes it gets a bit crowded. Opinions. Dibs on clients. Everything.” She chuckles but that spark is still missing. “But yes, I’m happy.”

I twist my lips and nod. “I can imagine that at times it feels like you’ve lost your identity in a sense. You’re one of “the Kincades” rather than Lennox Kincade.”

“I’m sure psychologists would say it’s classic middle-child syndrome,” she murmurs and then rests her head back against my chest, this time lacing her fingers with mine.

“I’d say it’s more that you feel you’ve become part of the scenery at KSM. Camouflage if you will.”

“Camouflage?” She laughs the word out.

“Yeah. In a sense. You all fit into this puzzle that works and fits in all the right places, but every once in a while, you want to be an edge piece versus the middle piece. Every once in a while, you want to wear the crown and step into the limelight instead of being part of the court standing in the background.” I squeeze her hands. “You’ve lost your crown.”