Page 79 of Single Malt

Dammit. I needed to stop seeing her every–

I froze as the blonde came around the bend, and I saw that she wasn’t just someone who’d made me think about Freedom.

ShewasFreedom.

“Brody.” She stopped as her gaze met mine. “What are you doing here?”

It was a legitimate question, and she didn’t sound annoyed, but she also didn’t exactly sound glad to see me either. Her expression was more…blank than anything else. I was tempted to tell her that it was none of her business why I was there. She hadn’t even bothered to respond to my last text when I’d explained why I’d had to leave. I didn’t owe her anything.

All of this ran through my mind in a matter of seconds, and then none of it mattered at all because I saw something else in her eyes. Something was wrong.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I closed the distance between us. I didn’t touch her, but the need to comfort her was stronger than any of the negative feelings or thoughts I had toward her.

“Yeah,” she started. Then she stopped and shook her head. “Not really. My sister and I just came back today. We’ve been in L.A. since Tuesday.”

The way she said it made me think that it hadn’t been a vacation-type trip. I didn’t push, deciding to let her make the choice to tell me more. Something felt different, and I wanted to see how it played out.

“Our dad had a heart attack.”

“Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” Had I misread her silence? If her father had been having health issues for a while, I would’ve had to be a complete asshole to be annoyed that I hadn’t heard from her. Now, I was really glad I hadn’t shot off an angry text after not hearing from her in a couple days.

“Thanks.” She gave me a small smile. “He’s okay. Well, as okay as he can be after having a triple bypass. He made it through the surgery, and the doctors think he’ll make a full recovery, but it won’t be easy.”

“I’m glad to hear he’s recovering.” I couldn’t stop myself this time and reached out to put my hand on her arm. “How are you?”

“Okay, I guess.” The corners of her eyes tightened, and she pulled her arm away from me. “How’s your girlfriend?”

I let my hand fall back to my side and didn’t try to touch her again, but that was all secondary as her question registered. “My what?”

“Your girlfriend.” All the vulnerability on her face disappeared. “Paris? She came to the art exhibit?”

“Paris? She’s not my girlfriend. She’s my sister.” A suspicion started to take shape as I carefully watched her every expression.

“Her last name’s Carideo.” Freedom folded her arms. “Someone at the exhibit told me, and the two of you look nothing alike. Try again.”

And now I was almost positive I knew what’d happened between us.

“Stepsister. I have a huge, blended family,” I explained. “My stepmother is Theresa Carideo. She and my father married when I was a kid. Theresa’s kids all kept their biological father’s last name.”

“And Paris is one of them?” She looked skeptical, but I could see a shadow of hope in her eyes, and that gave me hope.

“Austin, Rome, Paris, and Aspen.” I listed my stepsiblings. “My family’s confusing, and we don’t always clarify things when we talk about them because we really don’t think about it.” I met Freedom’s gaze so she could see the truth in my eyes. “I swear to you, Paris is my little sister. I don’t have a girlfriend, fiancée, or wife. No significant other, partner, or lover.” I took a breath and decided to add another confession and put myself on the line. “And I haven’t been with anyone but you since New Year’s Eve.”

Fifty

Freedom

Paris Carideo was his stepsister.Not his girlfriend.

I’d been wrong. Both times.

Which meant the rest of what he’d said was probably true too. He really had taken that call because he’d needed to pick up his sister at the hospital.

He hadn’t been the asshole.Ihad.

Dammit.

If nothing else, I owed him an apology for ghosting him. “I’m sorry I didn’t text you back. I heard you say her name and remembered seeing you with her at the art exhibit. I made an assumption rather than letting you explain, and I was wrong.”