Chapter 15
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
Rob
Next morning, I woke up to a light headache. Red wines contained a lot of tannin, which could result in headaches. Skye was sleeping peacefully next to me on the king-sized bed.
I realized why I’d woken up when my phone rang. Grabbing it from the nightstand, I darted out of the room before it woke her up.
Anne was calling.
“Morning, brother.”
“Hey!”
“Oh, you sound as if you just woke up.”
“I did.”
“Sleeping in? That’s a first for you.” She was right. I was usually up early even on weekends.
“I’m up now. Or will be, after some coffee.”
“Lindsay and I want to stop by with breakfast. If that works for you.”
“Sure. Just give me twenty minutes to be decent.”
“Okay.”
When I returned to the bedroom, Skye was up too, yawning.
“My sister and niece are coming over,” I said.
“Oh, wow. Okay.” Bolting to a sitting position, she looked at herself, then around. “I slept in your T-shirt.”
“You did. Looks good on you.”
She stumbled out of bed. I took her hand, steadying her. “Mmm… not a fan of that wine anymore. My head weighs a ton.”
“We should’ve drunk some water last night as well, but I was too distracted.”
“Oh, really? Why was that?”
“I had a gorgeous woman on top of me.”
She held up a finger, grinning. “Half of me. The other half was super comfy on that armchair.”
Glancing around the room, she nodded at the heap of clothes next to the bed. “There are my things. I’ll be out right away.”
When she picked up her clothes, she lost her balance a little. I gripped her waist from behind. She spun around, smiling, pressing her dress to her chest. She was sexy as hell, but that wasn’t the only reason I couldn’t stop touching her. Now that I had her here, I wanted to keep her in place.
“You have to let me go if you want me to put some clothes on.”
“Maybe I don’t want that.”
“That’ll give your sister and niece something to see, that’s for sure.”
Reluctantly, I dropped my hands. “Come back.”
“Hmm?”
“Have breakfast with me, Anne, and Lindsay.”
“Wow, I’d love to. I do need twenty minutes to freshen up though.”
“Don’t let those twenty minutes turn into forty again.”
“Why, will you come bang down my door, then bang me?” Skye batted her eyelashes.
“Fuck yes, I will.”
“Okay, okay. I’m hurrying.”
Fifty minutes later, Skye still hadn’t joined us. Okay, so being punctual wasn’t her forte. I filed that in my memory and would plan accordingly in the future.
“Uncle Rob, you have the best house,” Lindsay exclaimed.
After asking me to show her how to make sunny side-ups, which she then immediately downed, she went swimming in the blow-up kids pool I’d put in the backyard when I’d arrived.
My sister’s negotiation skills had always been sharp, but I appreciated her even more now.
Getting Lindsay out of the water hadn’t been an easy task.
“You had to put up a pool, huh?” Anne teased as we went out to the table in the backyard.
“You can come here any time you want,” I reminded her. Just then, I noticed Skye through a window.
Anne pointed a finger at me. “Wait a second. That look.” She glanced from me to Skye’s house, then back to me. “Oh, Rob. You’re involved with her, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Why did I ever think you’d behave?”
“I always feel five years old when you scold me.”
She patted my cheek before tugging at it. “This isn’t scolding. Just me expressing surprise, that’s all.”
When Anne wasn’t looking, I texted Skye.
Rob: Want to hurry? Save me from my sister?
Skye: Why do you need saving?
Rob: Just come over.
Skye: Sure. But I’ll find out what’s going on before deciding if I’m on your side or hers.
I laughed, putting my phone back in the pocket of my jeans.
“What?” my sister asked.
“Skye is coming over.”
Anne blinked in surprise. Wait, what was that glint in her eyes? It didn’t look like scolding anymore.
Before I could ask anything though, I heard Skye’s back door open.
She sauntered toward us with a big smile. Her hair was pulled to one side, held in place with some sort of clip. She was wearing a casual white dress with a tie under her breasts.
“Hi, Anne. Hi, Lindsay.”
“Glad you could join us,” Anne said. “We were just about to make some coffee. How about you?”
“I never say no to coffee.”
Anne winked at Skye.
“I’ll take care of that. Anything else, my ladies?”
Skye batted her eyelashes at me. “If there are any of those delicious canapes left over, I’ll have those too.”
Anne’s eyes bulged. I realized on the spot what threw her off: the familiarity between me and Skye. It wasn’t something she was used to when it came to me. Hell, I wasn’t used to it either, but damn if I didn’t like it. I could practically see questions popping into Anne’s mind.
Lindsay insisted on pressing the button on the coffee machine. I kept looking her way, ready to jump in if she was in danger of burning herself, but she wasn’t clumsy at all.
“You’re great at this.”
“I do it for Mommy every morning,” she announced proudly. “And I make a hot chocolate for me.”
“This one doesn’t have that function.”
She jutted out her lower lip. I could imagine her downgrading this from being “the best house.”
I brought the coffee outside, Lindsay the canapes.
“Leftovers, as requested.”
Skye rubbed her stomach, doing a ridiculous little dance in her seat. “I love how your leftovers are more delicious than 99 percent of the food I eat.”
She batted her eyelashes at me, and I just couldn’t resist. I bent, kissing the side of her neck, squeezing her waist. Skye stood ramrod straight for a few seconds before relaxing into my touch.
We hadn’t discussed how public our relationship should be, but as I stood up, I was pleased with the deep blush on her cheeks, and her smile.
Anne was looking at us with an amused glance. Let her figure it out… and then explain it to me too, because this was new to me.
We all sat at the table, devouring the canapes.
Just as we finished, Anne’s phone rang. I knew who it was without her saying anything, because my sister went from smiling to frowning in the span of a few seconds.
Her shoulders slumped, and her hand hovered in the air for a bit before she turned to Lindsay.
“Honey, Dad is calling.”
Lindsay squealed, immediately leaping to her feet and grabbing the phone.
She pressed it to her ear tightly. “Hi, Daddy.”
That was all we heard, because she went inside the house with the phone. My eyes were trained on Anne, who was shrinking into herself with every passing second. Damn, I wanted to throttle that moron for messing with my sister.
“Anne, Rob tells me you’re the CEO of Dumont Gourmet,” Skye said. “I’ve been reading about the company. You’re doing a fabulous job. And thanks for the generous donations you make for the galas each year.”
“My pleasure.”
“You should join us sometime. Not to sing my own praises, but they’re fabulous.”
“I might just come this year. My… ex wasn’t a fan of charity events.” Her eyes clouded again. She shook her head. “Anyway, I read that you own a lingerie business.”
“That’s right. Any tips, from one CEO to another?”
Anne immediately straightened up, her expression sharp and focused.
“Oh, where to begin. Any area in particular you’re looking at?”
“Work-life balance?”
Anne waved her hand. “Yeah, big tip. Don’t read any articles on this.
They fill your head with nonsense and make you feel guilty for giving your business the best you’ve got.
Of course some times are more demanding than others.
I think the trick is… create a life you want, so you don’t look forward to escaping from it, you know?
Take a time-out when you need it, don’t just schedule breaks. ”
For the next few minutes, Anne explained how she took impromptu breaks even with her crazy schedule. Skye amazed me. Somehow, she’d known exactly how to take Anne’s mind off things, at least until Lindsay returned with her phone.
“Daddy wants to talk to you,” she said quietly.
Anne grabbed the phone and went into the house. Lindsay climbed onto the chair she’d just vacated.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Daddy said he doesn’t have time to visit next weekend. Or the one after that.”
A vein thumped in my temple. If I opened my mouth, I was liable to go on a name-calling spree.
I gripped the armrests of my chair tightly.
Skye put one hand on my leg, squeezing a bit, then just held her hand there.
It was comforting. To my surprise, the anger faded, at least enough for me to be civil in front of Lindsay.
“Work sometimes gets in the way, Lindsay,” I said.
“But I was going to show Dad my new dolls and everything.”
“You have new dolls? Can you show them to me?” Skye jumped in, trying to help lighten the mood.
“I only have one here. I’ll get it.” She slid down her chair, retrieving her doll from the play corner she’d declared as hers. Upon returning, she handed the doll to Skye.
“This is really beautiful,” Skye exclaimed.
“The others are just as pretty.”
“I live next door, so just tell your uncle to call me when you’re here. I’d love to meet all of your dolls.”
Lindsay smiled from ear to ear. “Okay.”
Skye winked at me while she continued to chat with Lindsay.
I just watched her, fascinated. She truly was saving the day, erasing the pain Lindsay’s asshole of a father caused.
“Oh, by the way, your uncle bought something for you yesterday,” Skye said.
I’d completely forgotten about the necklace. I went into the house, not too close to Anne so she wouldn’t think I was eavesdropping. I didn’t need to, anyway. Her body language gave it all away. She was hunched at the island, whispering. I knew she was hurting; Walter had done a number on her.
Gritting my teeth, I checked the pocket of my suit jacket, which was still in the living room, then returned outside with the box.
Lindsay opened it up carefully, pulling at the bow, then taking off the lid.
“Wow,” she whispered, eyes wide, mouth open. “Is it magic?”