Page 93 of Her Billionaire Boss

“You know what would make the reality set in?”I asked.

She didn’t bite.

I said it anyway.“Throwing out all of this ugly shit and hiring someone with some taste.”

“Maybe I’ll ask your decorator to work on my new apartment.I do so love the hotel ballroom feel yours has.”The slight tilt of humor that set Catherine’s mouth faded.“Please, I need you to understand, not as my brother but as Scott’s friend… I know how lucky I am.It’s hard to walk away from all of this, but I’m doing it because I’d rather live without the home and the clothes and the high-society reputation than live without him.”

“Or live with Jackson?”

“No.No, Scott isn’t an escape,” she said firmly.“He isn’t my exit strategy.I love him.”

“And that’s why I got the ring for you.”I nudged it across the table toward her.

She shook her head.“I appreciate you risking mother’s wrath.I do.But that’s from a life I’m not a part of anymore.”

“It’s from a family you’re still a part of,” I protested.

“And a family I’m splitting in half.”She pushed the ring back.“I wore this as a symbol of a marriage that failed.I can’t transfer it into my new start.”

“Oh, but that ugly cat statue, which can go.”

She didn’t rise to the bait.“Why not give it to Charlotte?She seems permanent.”

“She is.”Unless I gave her that ring.“But she’s not ready for this yet.We haven’t been together for that long.At least, not on the same coast.And there are other factors.”

“The trauma from the transplant fiasco.”Catherine nodded in understanding.

A strange, protective urge rose up in me.It screamed,how dare you know about Charlotte’s private pain!But it wasn’t Charlotte’s pain.It was Scott’s, too, and he had every right to share it with Catherine.

Still, I wasn’t going to take Catherine’s birthright from her.The ring was sacred.“Keep it.It’s for the daughters of the family.If it went to daughters-in-law—”

“Mother would have it,” Catherine finished for me, and we both laughed.

“Keep it for Briony, then,” I said, and gave the box another little push, pretending that I didn’t think my spooky niece was more likely to eat a man than marry him.

“I will.”Catherine took another look around the room.“I hate this place.”

“I knew it!”I jabbed the air with my finger.

“It’s all Jackon’s tastes.It’s so ugly.And he destroyed such a lovely house for this.”She pinched the bridge of her nose.“I hate that I agree with you.On anything.”

“Well, brace yourself.Scott’s taste isn’t much better,” I warned her.“Last time I was at his place, he had movie posters on the wall.”

“You had movie posters on the wall in your bedroom at home,” Catherine said, witheringly.

“In frames,” I argued.“His are raw.Thumbtacks.Right on the wall.”

She shivered dramatically and shook her hands out as if she’d touched wet food in the sink.

Not that I thought my sister had ever been within ten feet of a kitchen sink in her life.

“I’m not trying to dissuade you from your relationship,” I clarified.

“On the contrary, you’ve strengthened my resolve in one area.”Her jaw set in determination.

“Oh?What’s that?”

“I’m in charge of the decorating.”