Page 95 of Second Time Around

“You need to be more specific.” Schuyler put down her glass and crossed her arms.

Will forced himself to take a slow sip of scotch. “She wants me to feel something for her that I don’t. I care about her, but not in that way.”

“She’s in love with you and you believe you’re not in love with her.” Schuyler picked up her own drink but swirled the liquid around in the glass. “It’s none of my business, but are you sure?”

“About which part?”

“You’re stalling,” Schuyler said. “Seems to me that you’re going out of your way to help her, which is an indicator of strong feelings on your part.”

Will pushed up out of his chair and stalked over to the window. “Let’s just say that I don’t feel about her the way I did about Petra.”

Schuyler barked out a short laugh. “Considering that your relationship with Petra didn’t survive one trip alone with her, that strikes me as a positive not a negative.”

Will huffed out an irritated sigh. “I’m not an idiot. When things were good between Petra and me, I felt differently.”

“Ah, bro, but half the reason you loved Petra so much was that Mum and Dad approved of her. This was something you could do that made them happy. That created the whole rosy glow.”

“I know how I felt about her,” Will snapped. But his sister’s words seeped into the crevices of his mind, watering the little seeds of doubt Kyra had sown. He’d seen Petra as a sort of orchid, exotic yet familiar, fragile but comfortable.

Whereas Kyra challenged his assumptions about himself, about his world. She made him think. She made him want more.

Schuyler held up her hand in surrender. “If you say so.”

“Goddamnit, Sky, what does that mean?”

“It means I’ve said my piece and now you need to chew on it awhile before you admit that I’m right.” His sister grinned.

“You can be a real jerk, you know.” But Will put no heat in his words.

Schuyler’s grin faded. “Did you know that Petra and Farr are dating?”

A jolt of shock ran through him. “When did that happen?”

“A few days ago. Farr actually called me to ask if I thought it would bother you. I said I thought you’d dance a happy dance. Was I wrong?”

Will rubbed his hand over the back of his head as he considered. “Why the hell didn’t Farr callme?”

“To ask permission to date your ex-fiancée?” Schuyler shook her head. “Put yourself in his shoes.”

“Exbeing the operative prefix. I have no claim on Petra anymore.” Relief was his overwhelming reaction. He might not be engaged to Petra, but he’d still felt responsible for her happiness in some odd way. Now Farr had taken on that responsibility. He had a bad moment when he realized that he wouldn’t feel relieved if he found out Farr was dating Kyra. “I didn’t know Farr was interested in her romantically.”

“He was, but she wasn’t. He didn’t want to push it, but something changed recently.”

“I’m just ... surprised.” He grimaced. “And a little guilty. Right after our split, I said some unkind things about Petra to Farr.” Now that he thought about it, Farr had never agreed with him, just listened in the way a good friend would.

“Farr would expect you to be upset given the situation,” Schuyler said.

“I knew Farr squired Petra around sometimes but I thought it was just a convenience for both of them.” Will shook his head. “Farr and Petra. I’ll be damned.”

“People can surprise you, in ways both good and bad.” Schuyler joined him by the window, cradling her glass in her hands as she scanned the Manhattan skyline. “Are you happy, Will?”

“I’m going to assume that means you’re not,” he said, watching her profile.

“When I get a case like the Carver Center, I realize how little I like corporate law.” Schuyler sighed. “Davina and Emily are both good people who are trying to do the right thing. My challenge is to find a way to help both of them. That’s what I like to do. Not look up obscure,convoluted statutes in order to bury the other side under an avalanche of paperwork.”

“You’d rather be a mediator than a lawyer.”

“I’d rather be a lawyer who makes a real difference in people’s lives.”