Page 38

“What?” Gus burst out. “Why? I’m the next oldest. It should be me.”
Any hint of happiness she might’ve felt was dashed by her brother’s reaction. She understood where he was coming from, but it also hurt to hear him say that.
“Augustus.” Dad gave him a scolding look. “With the issues you’ve had over the past few years and your upcoming court date, I have to think about what will be best for the company at this time.”
“This is crap.” Gus stood and stared their father down. “Nothing I ever do is enough.”
“Gus.” Skylar’s heart shattered for her brother.
“What do I have to do? Tell me, Dad. Because I’ll do it.”
“You’ll still have your position as vice president for the time being.”
“For the time being? What does that mean?”
“It’s dependent on this lawsuit.” Dad stepped closer to Gus and lay his hand on his shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes. “I know you want to be taken seriously in this company, and I want that for you. I do. But as I’ve told you before, until we see that you’ve changed … until you’re ready to settle down and be serious, this is how things are going to be.”
Gus was clearly devastated, as if the weight of the world had settled heavily on his shoulders. He looked around the room at his family, from face to face, and stopped on Sebastian. “Congratulations on your engagement.” He turned and began walking out of the living room, and Skylar felt a sense of desperation, trying to think of anything she could say that would get him to stay.
“Augustus,” their father called after him.
Gus turned and locked eyes with Dad. “I’ll be going now. It’s obvious where I rank in this family.”
“Gus,” Skylar begged. “Please, don’t.”
The sadness in his eyes broke her heart. “Kick some butt as president, sis.”
And then, with no further arguments or angry scenes, he turned and walked out of the house.
Tears burst from Skylar’s eyes. Not only for Gus and how upset he had been at the announcement, but for herself. Mom wrapped her arms around Skylar and let her cry for a while. What should’ve been a happy moment for her was now tinged by Gus’s outburst. And there was also a part of her that feared this new responsibility. President was a lot. Was she ready for it?
When Skylar’s tears finally subsided and the sadness of Gus walking out of the house had dulled a little, Mom stood, brushed her hands over her slacks to smooth them out, and looked at her children.
“What do you say we teach Genevieve how to make Granny’s truffles?”
Genevieve sat up suddenly from her place in Sebastian’s arms. “Oh, I’d love that.”
Skylar headed to the kitchen with Mom and helped her get out the supplies. She glanced toward the family room, noticing that Sebastian and Genevieve hadn’t followed, and returned to find them kissing. They were so sweet, it made her heart ache, and she thought of Franky.
Nothing between them had changed since the Bridge Walk. They snuggled up on the couch together while watching movies, he held her hand sometimes when they were walking, and at times, the way he looked at her made her knees as wobbly as Jell-O. She loved being with him, but she felt increasingly discouraged. If something was going to happen between them, wouldn’t it have happened by now? It wasn’t like there hadn’t been plenty of opportunities.
She entered the family room, hating to break up the sweet moment. “Come on, lovebirds.”
They got up and moved past her toward the kitchen, and Skylar took hold of her brother’s wrist to stop him.
“Congratulations.” She couldn’t stop the tears from falling again—a mix of happiness for Sebastian’s engagement, worry over her new position, and sadness at Gus’s outburst.
“Thank you.” Sebastian wrapped her up in a tight hug and said, “He’s gonna be okay. I know it.”
“I hope so.”
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Skylar stood at Franky’s apartment door after spending the evening with her family, teaching Genevieve how to make truffles, and trying to have a nice time together, even though what had happened with Gus hung heavy over the day.
When Franky didn’t answer right away, she knocked again.
Footsteps neared, and the door opened to reveal Franky in only a pair of blue plaid boxer shorts.