Page 125 of Crossed Wires: The Complete Series

“Cancer.”

Amy reached over and grasped his hand, squeezing it. “That’s what got my dad too. Just a couple years ago.”

Her kindness touched him, made him want to open up to her. Typically his past was one of those books that remained firmly closed. He hadn’t spoken about his parents in years. “My dad waited all of four months after burying my mother before he married his secretary. Dad and the secretary had Harper, which is why I’m ten years older than her. She’s the product of a second marriage.”

“The secretary? She doesn’t have a name?”

Andrew hadn’t called the woman by her given name in years, and he was using the term secretary to keep things clean for Amy. Truth was nowadays he usually thought of his stepmother asthat whoreorthe bitch. It was one of the reasons he never talked about family matters, especially with Harper. He never wanted his sister to know how much he despised her mother, even though he suspected the feeling was somewhat mutual.

“Her name’s Sarah.” He swallowed heavily, the word leaving a dirty taste in his mouth.

“You hate her.”

He didn’t bother to deny it. “Yeah. I do.”

“Why?”

He wasn’t going down that road. Ever again, if he could help it. “She wasn’t a very nice person. She cheated on my dad, then left him and married an asshole.”

“Harper stayed with you and your dad?”

He shook his head. She should have. His father should have moved heaven and earth to get custody of Harper. If hehad…

Andrew shut the thought down before it could form.

“She lived with her mom for almost a year, but it didn’t work out.”That’s the understatement of the century.“That’s when she came to stay with me and our dad. Then Dad had a heart attack when Harper was fourteen. I was in my early twenties, out of school and working, so she just stayed with me.”

“Wow. Sounds like you were her brother, mother and father rolled into one.”

Andrew picked up Amy’s beer and drained it in one long swig. Her concerned gaze made him uncomfortable and he was worried she’d keep asking questions, continue picking at things better left alone.

Thankfully, she let it go. “I’m afraid my family story will seem boring in comparison. My parents were married until my dad passed away, at which point, my mum moved to Sydney to be closer to my older sisters and their families. I was the baby, which means at heart, I’m terribly spoiled and used to getting my own way.”

Andrew pretended to be shocked. “You? Spoiled?”

She lightly punched his arm and they fell into a companionable silence. Andrew relaxed, content to merely sit and talk to her. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a conversation with a woman other than his sister. Mike was right. He’d been stuck in a rut of work and sex club affairs. He hadn’t realized what he was missing until Amy climbed into his bed.

“So where’s that sightseeing list of yours? I want to know how much other shit I’m going to have to endure this week.” While Amy had consulted it regularly, he hadn’t seen it himself.

She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled it out. “You loved every minute and you know it. But don’t worry. We made progress today.”

He took it from her and unfolded the sheet of paper. She’d drawn lines through Skydeck and the aquarium, as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art. He couldn’t believe how much they’d managed to squeeze into one day. She still wanted to go to the Navy Pier. The other places on her list were typical tourist attractions. There were a couple he’d try to talk her out of because they just weren’t worth the time. Finally his gaze landed on the last item on the list.

She wanted to go to Velvet Chains.

“No,” he muttered. He should have known he’d find it on the list. After all, she’d already confessed her interest in going to a sex club and that Harper had told her about his membership.

“What?” she asked.

“I’ll take you to every single one of these places if you’ll mark Velvet Chains off your list.”

“Why?”

He knew why, but he wasn’t willing to tell her. “I’m sure Harper’s built it up as this really cool place, but I don’t think you’d like it there.”

“Why not?”

“Just mark it off your list.”