Page 59 of Unbearable
She tossed the phone on the bed. Nothing good ever came from meeting Brooke. If it wasn’t for Ethan, she would have cut off contact with her years ago. So much for her perfect morning.
Walking into the bathroom, she turned her shower on as hot as she could stand. The soreness from last night came back to life as the water ran over her body.
She smiled at the memory of what caused it. At least her sister couldn’t take that away from her. Then she went cold with a terrifying thought.Did Brooke somehow know that Fox had spent the night? Was she about to walk into an ambush?
She didn’t think he would use it as ammunition to break up with her sister. He just wasn’t that type of man. Sure, the guilt might gnaw at him, but he would never share something so intimate with someone else. She would even bet he had never participated in “locker room talk” in high school. No, he would keep their secret. But if Brooke wasn’t wanting to meet over that, then what was it?
Finishing her shower, she dried off and moved into the closet to look at her clothes options. It didn’t really matter what she wore. Brooke would look down her nose at whatever she chose. Still, she wanted to look like someone on a lunch outing rather than someone who worked alone at home.
She chose a simple wrap dress and a pair of strappy sandals. It was still miserably hot outside, so something cool was a must.
With her hair up in a ponytail and some light makeup, she deemed herself worthy of handling whatever Brooke was planning on springing on her. She just hoped Ethan wouldn’t be caught in the middle of something nasty.
Her phone was still on the bed when it pinged. Brooke had sent a message with information about the pricey place neardowntown where she wanted to meet. At least Bailey knew what she was going to pay for a salad her sister would push around the plate. It didn’t leave her much time to get any work done this morning, though.
She was pulling out of her garage an hour before she was supposed to arrive. Between traffic and finding parking, she didn’t want to leave anything to chance.
The drive in wasn’t too bad. Finding a parking garage that didn’t charge her an arm and a leg was a different matter, however. She finally settled on one that only required a two-block walk.
By the time she arrived at the restaurant, she was certain she looked like a sweaty mess. Slipping into the restroom, she worked feverishly to repair her makeup before Brooke saw her. Her sister would never let her get away with smeared mascara or faded lipstick.
She checked her hair in the mirror. Pulling the hairband out, she brushed until not a single hair dared to be out of place. She gave the ponytail one last tightening before returning to the lobby.
“Why do I always have to wait for you?” Brooke asked. Bailey froze for a moment in panic. She quickly adjusted her dress and plastered a smile on her face. Walking over, she went through the motions of hugging her sister. It was all for show. Neither one really wanted to touch the other one. “I swear you’ll be late for your own funeral.”
“Well, it’s not like it can get started without me,” she answered.
Brooke rolled her eyes in typical fashion. She gave her name to the hostess, and they followed the woman to their table. They both pretended to study the menu. Bailey knew Brooke would get what she always got. Heaven forbid she eat anything of substance.
“Caesar salad, dressing on the side, and I’ll stay with water.” She instructed the waitress.
“I’ll have the grilled halibut, asparagus, and a diet soda, please.” Bailey smiled at the harried-looking woman and handed her the menu. “It’s good to see you. How’s work?”
“How do you think?” Brooke snapped.
“I don’t know, or I wouldn’t be asking. I’m just trying to make conversation.” The drinks arrived before they could descend into an argument. Bailey took a moment while she added her straw to the glass to regroup.
“Done anything exciting lately?” she asked trying again. A slow smile crept over Brooke’s mouth. Bailey hadn’t seen that smile since her sister admitted to sleeping with the basketball coach at the high school. It made her nervous.
“Oh, I’ve been doing a lot lately. Not so much exciting as time consuming,” she answered. She took a sip of her water and set the glass down hard enough to slosh some on the tablecloth. “I spent a day sitting in a courthouse waiting to see if Jimmy would get bail. Know anything about that?”
Bailey almost sighed in relief. If this was all Brooke was here to bitch about, then she had nothing to worry about. She had plausible deniability on this. Knox had explained what happened, but that wasn’t her fault. Besides, it had always been just a matter of time before her sister’s sorry excuse of an ex-husband spent some serious time in prison.
“I knew he was arrested, but I had nothing to do with it,” she said. “The law of averages says it was only a matter of time. I think he’s been pretty lucky to skirt the law as long as he has.”
“Someone ratted him out, Bailey.”
“Are you sure? The drug task force could have just gotten lucky.”
Their lunch arrived which put the conversation on hold. Bailey had no doubt that Brooke would bring it back up themoment she had a chance. Hopefully, after they had a chance to eat. Bailey put a small piece of fish in her mouth. It really was quite good, even if it would cost her a fortune.
“I think it was that big asshole,” Brooke said suddenly.
“That big asshole?”
“Yeah, turns out Fox has this whole other family.” Bailey looked at her in feigned astonishment. There was no way she was going to let on that she already knew all about them. Had even met a couple of them. “There’s an older brother who’s just hanging around. He’s staying with Fox’s bitch of a sister.”
“Brooke.”