Chapter 6
VAL
Friday dinners were a religion in the Connor family. I liked to call it regrouping time. No matter how shitty or exhausting a week, these few hours I spent surrounded by my siblings filled me with energy. I liked knowing what everyone was up to.
While I was cooking, Ethan called. I’d deleted him from my contacts list, and when I saw a random number calling, I answered thinking it could be related to the charity event.
“Hey, Val.”
I straightened as if someone had electrocuted me. “Ethan. Why are you calling?”
“Listen, I know we’ve had our differences—”
“You were cheating,” I said through gritted teeth, leaning against the counter.
“We never said we were exclusive.”
I blinked repeatedly as my insides twisted. It was true, he’d never specifically said we would be exclusive, but I’d always thought it was implied anyway. How could I have been so gullible? God, I was a moron… always dreaming, always hoping. Being cheated on stung like hell.
“What do you want?”
“Let’s start again with a clean slate.”
“Not interested.”
“Don’t be like that. We could talk about it. Tell you what. We can go out for dinner before the charity event.”
“You’re not coming to that.”
True, he’d been my plus one, but he thought he was still invited?
“Val, come on. You promised you’d introduce me to that producer.”
That was why he’d called? Because he was still hoping for that introduction? I felt so small. So small. I wasn’t going to allow anyone to make me feel that way.
“Ethan, in case it’s not clear, this is me revoking that invitation. Don’t call me again.”
I punched the End Call button, breathing in through my nose. I felt lost, but I had to pull myself together. My siblings would arrive for dinner in no time. They’d sniff me out instantly if I kept the long face, and I didn’t want our dinner to turn into moping hour.
Landon and I spoke briefly about my beef with Beauty SkinEssence when he arrived. I had no update, since I hadn’t heard from them since the mediation meeting three days ago. My twin had set up the company with me before moving on to do his own thing and becoming a wildly successful businessman.
When Hailey arrived, I worked on my poker face. To no avail.
It took her exactly seven minutes to point a finger at me and say, “Wait a second. Why do you look like you need an entire bottle of Pinot Noir for yourself? You aren’t laughing with your eyes.”
“What?” I asked.
“When you laugh, or smile, your eyes seem a little sad.”
Shit, well, the cat was out of the bag. There was no point denying it. I gave in and told her about the phone call with Ethan.
“God damn that idiot,” Hailey hissed. “You know what, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”
“No, you will not. He’s not worth your time.”
“Yes, but how else will he learn his lesson?”
“Let’s change the subject, or the boys will sniff us out.”
Hailey and I were bringing in the food while my brothers were setting the table, together with their better halves.
Well, except for Jace. My soccer star brother was the odd one out, still single.
My twin, Landon, was happily married to Maddie, the genius who had designed the garden outside my house as well as the one at the office.
They also had a daughter, Willow. Will was engaged to Paige.
Lori and her husband and son were the only ones missing tonight. Pity, because I’d been looking forward to hugging my nephew, Milo.
Lori had been a single mother for seven years before she fell in love with Graham, and I was used to her and Milo being at my house a whole lot more. I missed spending time with that little boy.
Hailey grinned. “That wouldn’t be so bad. There would be no holding them back.”
I popped open a bottle of Pinot too, for good measure. The sour alcohol matched my soured mood and heart perfectly. Belatedly, I also realized it sent a clear signal. Our wine system wasn’t a secret: Pinot for moping, Chardonnay for celebrating.
Jace materialized right next to us.
“What’s with the Pinot?” When Hailey didn’t answer, he trained his eyes on me.
“Nothing serious.”
“If it’s serious enough for Pinot, then it’s something I should know about.”
My mind was working at top speed, looking between Jace and Hailey.
I knew that if I insisted on keeping things to myself, Jace would lure it all out of Hailey, who’d never learned to keep family secrets.
Hmm… the best course of action was definitely to break the news myself.
That way I could leave out a few details so my brothers wouldn’t flex their alpha muscles.
“I ended things with the guy I was seeing. Ethan.”
“What did he do?” Jace asked at once.
“Turned out he was seeing other people too,” Hailey informed him. “And now he called to ask if he could still go with her to the charity event so he could schmooze with some producer.”
I groaned. So much for keeping the details to myself.
“What?” Hailey asked defensively.
Jace narrowed his eyes. “Where does the guy live?”
I’d thought there was any way to keep them from being overprotective? I was dead wrong.
“On the moon, Jace. Just forget about him. I intend to.”
But Jace kept his eyes narrowed. “I can find out even if you don’t tell me.” He glanced briefly at Hailey, but I wasn’t worried. Hailey didn’t know where Ethan lived.
But then Jace motioned to Will, who joined us in an instant.
“That Ethan guy screwed our sister over. She won't tell us where he lives.” Jace certainly didn’t mince words. Will’s gaze turned murderous. Shoot. Now I was worried.
“I can find out where he lives,” Will assured him.
He used to be a detective. I was sure he still had enough connections to the police to find out anything.
I was losing the battle. Truthfully, I didn’t even know how to fight in these situations.
Plus, a tiny part of me did hope my brothers would accidentally run into Ethan.
They didn’t even know what he looked like, because I’d never introduced him to the family, but a girl could dream.
Was I a terrible person or what?
Jace turned to me, asking in a soft voice, “Sis, are you okay?”
I nodded with conviction. “We hadn’t dated for that long.”
“Yes, but I know you. You put so much of yourself into everything.”
“I think I’m slowly learning my lesson.” My brother’s concern warmed me. Even though I gave them shit, I was beyond happy and grateful that my family rallied around me no matter if I dealt with a lawsuit or a bad date.
And I really couldn’t point fingers.
I was always poking my nose in their business and offering my help whether it was required or not. I was slowly trying to rein in my instincts, but who was I kidding? They were part of who I was.
Those instincts partly formed after my parents passed away and Landon and I had been forced to take charge. But this nosiness had always been ingrained in my personality. My nature had cost me some relationships too, with boyfriends telling me I was too meddling.
“You need a date for the charity event? I can come,” Will offered.
Jace grinned. “I’m offering myself as potential companion too, sister. You can have your pick.”
“I don’t need an escort. I can go by myself.”
It was a pity Hailey couldn’t come—she worked at a PR agency in Hollywood, and she was the one who’d put me in contact with the celebrities I’d invited.
I suddenly remembered Carter would be there, and my mood improved drastically. I’d taken an instant liking to him when he’d spoken about his niece. He was obviously close to his family too. I usually tended to see the best in everyone, but I didn’t think I was so far off base with Carter.
Of course, those piercing hazel eyes and overall delicious package might cloud my judgment.
I smiled as we all sat at the table, ready to dig in. My ranch-style home always felt too big, except during Friday dinners.
When I’d bought the land and built the house on it, I might have been overly optimistic about my love life. It was that optimism that had gotten my heart into trouble so many times.
I wasn’t giving up on love, but I did plan on taking things easier. Much easier.