“Taking a piss,” Cole said. “He’s talking to Callie. Not a care in the world that everyone can hear his drunk ass telling her all the dirty things he wants to do to her.”
“Good for them,” I said.
“What about you?” Cole asked. “Good for you? Are you and Miranda going to have a little phone sex?”
“Not a chance,” I said.
“That’s cold,” Lincoln said. “You should enjoy the distance a little.”
“Trust me, when all this stuff settles, it’ll be fine,” I said.
Cole grabbed my shoulder. “You don’t believe that, do you?”
Jackson came out of the bar. I was relieved to see him as the conversation ended right there.
It was almost two and I was done for the night.
We all split up. When I got home to the apartment, it was dark and quiet.
I walked to the bedroom and saw where Miranda would have been sleeping if she was home.
I looked at my phone.
The text to Emily was just sitting there.
No reply.
I was drunk.
Confused.
Alone.
I sat down on the couch.
I looked at Emily’s name.
I started to laugh.
Just thinking about all the crazy stuff we used to do together.
I put my head back and shut my eyes.
Hey, at least I knew I was going to have some fun, right?
Chapter Fourteen
Emily
It was family dinner night at Elise’s house. Which just meant I was like a third wheel to her little family. In exchange for a hot meal, I would take the pressure off her and Dan when it came to getting Henley into a bath and bed.
To Elise, that was worth more than ten pounds of gold.
Our entire family dynamic was a joke, but I was glad Elise and I managed to hold ourselves together and keep our relationship intact throughout everything.
I rang the doorbell to her house and when Dan answered, I opened a box full of treats from the bakery.
“Why are you knocking, Emily?” Dan asked.
He reached into the box and took a glazed donut.
“You’re going to spoil your dinner,” I said.
“Don’t tell Elise,” he said. “She’ll kill me.”
“Dan? Who was that?”
Elise’s voice echoed through the house.
Dan stuffed the donut into his mouth and moved out of my way.
I closed the box and carried it to the kitchen.
“It’s just your pain in the aaaaa…” I looked at Henley as she stood on a stool next to Elise. “Hey, Henley.”
“Pain in the aaaaa?” Henley asked.
“Don’t listen to Aunt Emily,” Elise said. “Why don’t you go find Daddy to get washed up, okay?”
Henley jumped off her stool and ran to me for a hug.
I crouched down and opened the box of treats again.
I snuck her half a chocolate chip cookie and winked.
She ran off, happy.
“If she doesn’t eat, I’m going to be mad at you,” Elise said.
“That’s my job as the cool aunt.”
“You think you’re cool?”
“I’m wicked cool,” I said. “I brought dessert.”
“You brought leftovers from your bakery,” Elise said.
“So… who pissed in your wine glass?” I asked.
“Sorry. Long day.”
“Everything good?”
Elise sighed. “Dan and I are fine. You need to relax sometimes, Emily. I know things have been bad with our family, but I’m not going anywhere. Neither is Dan. Neither is Henley. Nobody else is leaving.”
I swallowed hard. “Sorry. It’s just my habit. Things got…”
“I know,” Elise said.
“That’s why I took the bakery,” I said. “I felt guilty. I felt like it was my chance to keep things together.”
Elise shook her head. “You know that was a bad idea. I told you that too. You didn’t listen.”
I waved my hands. “Why are we talking about this? Blah. I want to be here and be happy. Let’s get crazy.”
“My version of crazy these days is staying up past ten. Or having sex in the morning before Henley wakes up.”
“Thanks for that,” Dan said as he walked into the kitchen.
I looked at Dan. “Party animal, huh?”
“I’m not talking about this with you,” he said to me.
“Why not?” I asked. “You’re banging my sister. Sometimes in the morning. Sometimes past ten at night.”
“Christ,” Dan said. “Thanks for this, Elise.”
I laughed. “Hey. You’re getting laid more than I am right now.”
“That’s your own fault,” Elise said. “You get attached and then it blows up and you don’t know what to do.”
“What did you do to her today?” I asked Dan.
“Me?” Dan asked. “Nothing.”
“Did she find out about that donut you ate?”
“Damn, Emily,” Dan said.
“You ate a donut before dinner?” Elise asked. She pointed a knife at Dan. “I’ve been cooking this chicken parm for how long?”
“Sorry, dude,” I said to Dan. I slapped his back. “I needed her daggers off me for a minute here.”
“Thanks for throwing me under the bus,” Dan said.
“Anytime.”
I pushed from the counter and Dan smiled. “You know… Jeff was talking about you again.”
I froze. “I don’t care.”
“What did he say?” Elise asked.
“It doesn’t matter what he said,” I said.
“He’s got it bad for you, Emily,” Dan said. “I heard you’re looking to get out of the business?”
“No,” I said. “No. It’s not like that…”
“He said he would find a way to get you out of that horrible lease you signed with your so-called best friend… and then he could buy the building and do something with it. All that just for you.”
“Lies,” I said.
“Emily,” Elise said. “That’s a big gesture.”
I frowned. “Really? That’s a gesture? He can’t get me flowers or flirt with me?”
“I’ll tell him to do that,” Dan said.
“No!” I yelled. “Fuck no!”
“Aunt Emily…”
I turned my head and saw Henley standing in the archway to the kitchen.
“Shit,” I said. “I mean, shoot. Crap. Darn. Dang. Fudge.”
“That’s a bad word,” Henley said. She shook her head. “Such a bad word.”
She was like a mini Elise on my ass.
I looked at Dan.
He winked.
“Thanks for throwing me under the bus,” I whispered to him.
“Payback, sister-in-law…”
When we finished dinner, Elise looked at Henley.
“Ten minutes to play,” she said.
“Yes!” Henley yelled. “I love when Aunt Emily is here. She curses and I get to stay up late!”