Chapter 10
Claire
I sat and stared at her until it hit me.
“You’re scared.” I narrowed my eyes at her.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t want them to find out that you knew they had another sibling out there for twenty-nine years. You’re not trying to protect them, Barb. You’re trying to protect yourself. I suspect you kept Shaun a secret from them as well. When did he decide to find his long-lost family?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“I bet the shit hit the fan when he showed up, and their mommy knew about him the entire time and never told a soul.”
“I’ve made my amends to my sons. Trust me, Claire. You don’t want to do this—or else?—”
“Or else what, Barb?” I popped my lips.
“I will ruin you. You seem like a smart girl. Just go home and forget about my family. I can pay you. Tell me how much you want.”
I laughed. “I don’t need your money, lady. I have plenty of my own. You kept my father and my siblings away from me. I always wanted a brother or sister, but my mother suffered some complications after I was born and was told she couldn’t have any more children. I would lie awake at night and pray to God to give her a baby, just one. That’s how badly I wanted a sibling. I guess God did answer my prayers after all because he gave me six.”
“And you just think you can waltz in here, and they’ll accept you? If you really care about my sons, you will leave them alone. Their father has already done enough damage. Let them live their lives in peace.”
“And what about my life? I don’t have the right to know who my family is?” I grabbed my purse, threw some cash on the table, and stood up. “A storm is coming, Barb, whether you like it or not. And by the way, I was going to keep your little secret and not let on that you knew, but since you found it in your heart to threaten me, I’ve changed my mind.” I walked away and out of the restaurant.
I walked down the street where my car was parked, climbed in, and gripped the steering wheel.
“How dare that woman.” I shook my head.
Walking down the hall to my apartment, I stopped and stared at Nick’s door. Bringing my hand up to knock, I stopped, sighed, and inserted my key into the lock of my door. I set down my purse, kicked off my shoes, poured a glass of wine, and took it over to the couch. Walking to my bedroom, I grabbed my guitar from the closet, took it to the living room, sat down, and began strumming. It was the one thing I always turned to when I needed to escape the madness of the world, even for just a while. I knew my life would be forever changed after my mother’s death. She was all I had. But I never expected a complete 180 in a new place with six strangers who were my siblings.
My phone pinged with a text from Nick.
“How was dinner? I just got home and saw your car in the lot. By the way, are you playing the guitar?”
“Dinner was fine. Yes, I’m playing the guitar. Want to come over?”
“Yeah, I do. I’ll be over in five.”
“Just walk in. The door’s unlocked.”
I needed some normalcy right now, and Nick was just that. Tonight’s dinner with Barb wasn’t. I’d never run across a woman like her before, and I didn’t like it. Now, I sat and wondered if my brothers were anything like her. They had Barb’s and Henry’s genes, which wasn’t a good combination. The door opened, and Nick stepped inside. He stopped in the middle of the living room and stared at me.
“What?” I laughed.
“I’m just admiring how sexy you look with that guitar.” A bright smile crossed his lips.
“You play?” I asked.
“Yeah. I do.” He sat beside me.
I handed my guitar to him. “Play me something.” I smiled.
I listened as he strummed the chords to the song Perfect by Ed Sheeran.
“You’re good.” A smile graced my lips as he finished and set my guitar down.
“From what I heard, not as good as you. Where did you learn to play?”
“Joseph, the man who raised me, taught me.”
“You mean your dad?” A smirk crossed his lips.
“Yeah. My dad. Anyway, I love to sing.”
“Oh yeah?” Nick grinned.
“My mom said I came out of the womb singing. There was something about singing that always soothed me. One Saturday afternoon when I was eight years old, I was helping my mom clean the house and singing at the top of my lungs. Joseph pulled his guitar out of the closet and told me that if I was singing like that, I needed to learn the music to go with it. So, he taught me a few chords. I was done for the moment I held that guitar in my hands. I fell in love with it and mastered it. I practiced every day. It was my escape.”
“And what are you escaping from tonight?” he asked.
I climbed on his lap, straddled him, and placed my hands on each side of his face. “Nothing.” My lips brushed against his.
“Idon’t want to leave tonight,” Nick said as he rolled off me and onto his back.
“I never let a guy stay unless I’m passed out drunk and forget to kick him out.” I rolled on my side and tucked my hands under the pillow.
“Why?” He stared at me as his finger ran down my cheek.
I had my reasons and wasn’t willing to share them with him.
“It’s just what I do.” I climbed out of bed, grabbed his clothes from the floor, and tossed them at him. “I need you to respect that, Nick.”
“Okay, Claire.” He pulled on his pants.
“Besides, it’s not like you have a far drive home.” A smirk crossed my lips.
After dressing, he walked over, ran his thumb over my lips, and softly kissed me. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He walked out the door.
I inhaled a breath, remade the bed, pulled back the sheets, climbed in, and drifted off to sleep.
Nick
My pager went off at six a.m. Reaching over and grabbing it from the nightstand, I sighed and picked up my phone.
“Emergency room, this is Linda.”
“Linda, it’s Dr. Russo. Someone paged me.”
“Morning, Dr. Russo. Dr. Cavallari called in, and we’re down a doctor. Can you pull a double?”
“I’m on my way.”
“Thanks, Dr. Russo.”
I quickly showered, threw on my clothes, grabbed my bag, and headed out the door. When I reached the hospital, all was quiet in the ER, so I went to the rooftop for coffee.
“Hey, Nick.” Christian smiled.
“How’s my favorite doctor.” Charleigh grinned, hooking her arm around me.
“I thought I was your favorite doctor.” Christian’s brows furrowed.
“You’re my favorite doctor husband.” She smirked. “I love you, babe. I have to go see a patient.” She kissed Christian’s lips.
I chuckled as I said bye to her.
“She’s a great woman, Christian.” I smiled.
“Yeah. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Do you have a few minutes?”
“Yeah. Miraculously, the ER is quiet. I’ll grab a coffee and join you at the table.”
“Okay. I have about thirty minutes before I have to be in surgery,” he said.
I grabbed a coffee and sat across from him.
“I thought you weren’t working until tonight,” Christian spoke, tipping the cup to his lips.
“The ER paged me this morning. One of the doctors called in, so I’m pulling a double.”
“That’s what happens when you don’t have a life.” He smirked.
“Shut the fuck up.” I chuckled. “I do have a life. I saw Claire again last night.”
“Ah, the hot next-door neighbor. And?”
“She plays the guitar. Apparently, she loves to sing too.”
“Does she have a good voice?”
“I have no clue. She wouldn’t sing for me last night. But we did have sex.” I smiled.
“What’s going on between you two?”
“I’m not sure. I like her. But something is off with her.”
“Like what?”
“She refuses to let me spend the night. After we had sex at my place the other day, I asked her to stay, and she said no. She told me last night that she refuses to let a guy stay the night unless she’s passed out drunk and forgets to kick him out.”
“Wow.” He chuckled. “I want to meet her. Why don’t you ask her to attend the gala with you Friday night?”
“I already have.” The corners of my mouth curved upward. “She’s coming with me.”
“Good. You know, Nick. It’s probably best to keep things casual for now and see where it goes. I know you’re still unsure about relationships after Katrina, and Claire sounds a little complicated.”
“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking. Casual sex never hurt anyone, right?” I held up my cup.
“Not at all.” Christian smiled as he brought his cup to mine.