Page 21 of A Sublime Casualt
“Auntie Di and Mom are in the back room watching the parade again. Said they missed it yesterday because of all the cooking.”
“Nice.” I move past her and pull out a serving tray and set a plate on it. I’m going for carbs. If I’m lucky, Charlie will be up for round two before we hit the shower and bug out ourselves.
“So, she’s your friend, huh?”
My arm freezes midair as I go for a scone. “Yup.” I pop a couple on the plate along with a few muffins before filling up a couple glasses of orange juice.
“You always fuck your friends?”
I spin around and crane my neck in the vicinity, hoping to God not to find a living soul. “Would you keep it down? Do you always belt out expletives in your mother’s house?”
“Only when my brother keeps me up all night with the rattling of his headboard. Nice move, by the way. Real smooth. Bring her to your mother’s and bash her skull into the wall for a half hour straight.”
“It wasn’t a half hour.” I pluck a couple of napkins off the counter and curl them under the plate. A small pumpkin no bigger than my fist sits on the island, and I add it to the side of the tray like garnish.
“That’s right,” Nikki starts with her voice dripping with sarcasm. “It was more like thirty seconds. You have zero stamina. You should probably see a doctor about that.” She tosses an apple at me, and I catch it mid-flight.
“Okay, look, I’m sorry.” I wince. “I wasn’t trying to put on a show. It’s just one thing led to the next.” I rub my face raw with my hand. “It was Mom’s fault for putting us in the same room last tonight.”
She belts out a laugh, and I join her, slow and pathetic. “All right. I wanted it. I can’t help it. Have you seen her? That’s only half the package. She’s amazing, Nick. I want you to like her. I plan on keeping her around for a good long while—forever if she’ll have me.”
“Forever?” Her brows bounce with amusement. “Is my little brother finally getting serious again?”
“I was never serious before,” I add quickly. Ashley sent another text last night while Charlie was in the bathroom. Wished me a happy Thanksgiving and wanted to know if she could stop by this weekend. I didn’t answer.
Nikki clatters her crimson nails over the granite. “I ran into Ashley.”
“What? When?” Like a demon, she’s leaped right out of my mind and into reality.
“I went over to the Wakefield branch because they were working with a skeletal crew. Damn Noro is going around. Don’t you dare catch it. It’s lethal this year.”
“What did she say?”
Nikki’s lids hang low, her lips pulled into a line that usually spells out mischief on my sister’s part. “She asked about you. Asked if you were seeing anyone. I said no. Of course, I didn’t know about your special friend up until yesterday. Would it kill you at all to have a conversation with me once in a while?”
“Don’t be offended.” I give her a light tap with my elbow as I steady the tray in my hands. “I live with Jackson, and not even he knows how much Charlie means to me.”
She averts her eyes to the ceiling. “A discovery you made at midnight no doubt.”
“Yes, but no.” Both of my sisters have always had a gift of extracting the truth out of me before I’m aware of it myself. “I knew there was something special about her from the moment we met. Sometimes you just know.”
“Aw!” Her face contorts somewhere between grief and joy, and for a minute I could fool myself into believing it’s Lizzy. “I’m so glad you found that with someone. If I see Ashley again, you want me to tell her you’re taken?” She waggles her brows. I’m sure it would bring her pleasure. It’s a well-known fact that Nikki enjoys stirring the pot. “You know I still see her as a sister—an annoying bossy little sister, but still. After six years, the girl is practically family.”
“I know, I know.” I pinch my eyes shut. “I’ll do it. I’m in town anyway. It makes sense. I’ll bump into her sooner than later.”
“She’s at the library now. You know they gave her the boot at the firm after she and Lizzy had it out.”
“She and Lizzy never had it out.” I inch back at the thought. Ashley and Lizzy were close—closer than Nikki and Lizzy ever were. Maybe that’s what this is, some old jealousy coming back into play.
“Sure they did—over Thomas.” She takes a sip of her coffee as if she just told me what the weather would be like today. “After Lizzy’s divorce was finalized, Ashley made a move. It was right after the two of you—” her fingers cover her lips. “Actually, I have no clue when all of that went down. I’m sure it was after you broke up. You know, a bad rebound. My God, as if her best friend’s brother wasn’t enough, she went for the jugular.”
“Thomas? Hell no.” I shake my head at the thought, adrenaline coursing through me for no good reason. “Are you sure about this?”
She shoves the rest of her muffin into her mouth as if voluntarily muzzling herself and gives a quick nod.
Ashley and Thomas. I try the visual out, and I can’t even take it. “Ashley would never do that to Lizzy.” Or me. Thomas was like my brother. Hell, he is. That would be sick. It would be spiteful. I’ve never once sensed any attraction between the two of them.
“It happened.” She shrugs. “You know, you’re a hard act to follow. Ashley was hurt. She was on a bender. Lizzy found out, and all hell broke loose.”