Chapter 2 #2
I turned the corner and walked up to The Teal Door.
Ironically, another Cage owned it. Theo Cage wasn’t working that day, since I had been texting him earlier, but I knew Luke Hodges, his best friend and co-owner would be in the kitchen.
I would go and see him later, but first, I was meeting the person I loved the most in the world.
Cora stood up, her dark hair pulled back from her face, her smile wide. Her eyes were puffy though, and her lips wobbled after a moment, and I knew today was going to be a hard fucking day.
I pulled my sister into my arms and kissed the top of her head.
She wrapped herself around me and sighed deeply.
She didn’t shudder, she didn’t cry, no, the Woods family did not cry in public.
But we stood there for a moment, ignoring the host and waiter hovering nearby.
This was a fancy restaurant, with white tablecloths and mood lighting, and you needed a reservation to come for even lunch, however, they knew me here, and I was going to hold my sister until she needed me to let go.
She finally did and patted my cheek.
“You need to shave,” she said with a smile, before I pulled her seat back and gestured for her to sit. She did so, and I took the other seat, taking the menu from the grateful host.
“I already ordered some sparkling water. Did you want iced tea or anything?” Cora asked.
“Water will be fine.” Though I had a feeling I could use a drink a little bit harder after this conversation.
The waiter came by, again, with all the specials, and we ordered our lunch. Of course, anything at The Teal Door would be fantastic. The Cages knew what they were doing. Hence why I worked with them and was becoming friends with them.
“Thank you for meeting me for lunch, I know you have so many things to do during the day.”
I reached forward and gripped her hand. “You’re my number one priority. Always.”
There was a ten-year age gap between us, and she had always been my baby sister.
I had taken her from the nanny more than once to hold her, to show her around the house and backyard.
Then our parents would pluck her from my arms, and I would deal with the consequences for not listening to the nanny.
But Cora was my light. The reason that I didn’t fall into the abyss. One of the few reasons why our father still breathed.
“Why did you want to meet? And why have you been crying?”
“Mom and Dad sent back their RSVP for the wedding.” A heavy pause that would never lead to anything good. “They’re not coming.”
A lead weight settled in my stomach, though the news wasn’t a surprise. Hell, it wasn’t a surprise to Cora either. She should have known our parents wouldn’t be coming to the wedding.
After all, Cora and I had never once done anything that made our parents proud. So why would they display praise by showing up to some of the most important parts of our lives?
“Fuck them,” I said and held back a wince when the waiter came by. I might be uncouth sometimes, but I did know my manners.
“I apologize,” I said.
“I happened to hear part of the conversation ahead of time, so don’t bother apologizing. I agree.” The waiter winked at Cora, before dropping off our food, explaining a few things, and giving us privacy.
My sister gave me a watery smile, and I just shook my head.
“See? Even strangers are on our side.”
“There shouldn’t be sides. They should come to my wedding. It’s because I’m not marrying the person that they want me to marry.”
“They decided exactly who we would marry when we were toddlers. And neither one of us is doing that.”
I had said no because I wanted nothing to do with that family or lifestyle, and Cora would have never married the man that they had chosen for her. Not in a million years.
“What does Juliet have to say about it?” I asked, speaking of Cora’s fiancée.
“That I shouldn’t have even bothered to ask. Because they’ve never once actually cared about what I do. She wanted to go over there and strangle them, but I told her sadly that our parents had better lawyers.”
“I’m sure if I opened the door for her, and she happened to trip inside and accidentally strangle them, then, it wouldn’t be that bad,” I surmised.
“That sounds very premeditated to me,” Cora said with a soft smile, before she dug into her Caprese salad.
“Good. You need to eat more,” I ordered, grumpy as ever when it came to my baby sister not taking care of herself.
“I’m eating. I promise. Juliet won’t let me starve. I’m just so pissed off.”
“Good. Be angry. Don’t be sad.” I set down my fork, ignoring the delicious food, and shook my head. “I hate when you’re sad.”
“You are just a big marshmallow sometimes, aren’t you, big brother?”
I snorted. “Not even a little bit, little sister.”
“Well, you are. Our parents suck, Carson.”
I nodded, took another bite of lunch. “Yes. They do. They don’t deserve you. They never have.”
“They don’t deserve you.”
Little did she know… I might not be the monsters they were, but I wasn’t a good person.
Not when I took what I wanted because if I didn’t, no one would believe I’d earned it.
I protected people when no one else would and that meant sometimes, I walked away with darkness on my soul, etched within my bones. “I’m not on their radar anymore.”
“You are, you know it.” She snorted. “You’re in the media all the time for your company, any move you make, and anyone that happens to be on your arm. So yes, because you can do something for them, even if you don’t want to, they’re going to pay attention to you.”
“Look at you, getting snarky and perceptive when it comes to the cruelty of our parents.”
“You’ve taught me well.” She cleared her throat, and I tilted my head, studying her.
“What else? Is something wrong?”
“Other than dealing with wedding plans and the fact that our parents suck? No. But I do have a big ask of you, and I’m not sure what you’ll say about it.”
“Anything. You can tell me anything, Cora. You know that.”
“Will you give me away?” she asked, her eyes filling with tears again, but she blinked them away. “I want you to walk me down the aisle and give me away to the love of my life. Our parents won’t be there, but you will be. And you are my family.”
I swallowed hard, hating the way my throat tightened. “I don’t need to give you away, Cora. You’re your own person.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, and you’re not giving away a virgin either.”
I growled. “Really?”
“What? I’m just saying. I’m not meaning the whole give your child away because she doesn’t have any possessions of her own and she’s just a sad little woman thing.
No, I would like you to walk me down the aisle so I can see my future wife and know that my family has now grown.
I want to dance with my brother to a ridiculous song and just be.
So what do you say, big brother? Will you give me away? ”
I pulled back from the table and moved around so I could stand next to her. She wrapped her arms around me, and I kissed the top of her head once again.
“Of course. You are my baby sister, my family. My everything. Of course I’ll give you away. I mean, if Juliet’s going to be the one to actually deal with you, it only makes sense.”
She slapped my chest, and I threw my head back and laughed, ignoring some of the other patrons. Maybe I was far more uncouth than I gave myself credit for.
And as I sat back at the table and finished my lunch, I listened as my sister spoke of happiness and her future, and I was grateful for her. So fucking happy to see that she was healing, and a whole person. Fuck whatever my parents thought.
And if Cora wanted to believe in love, maybe she had found it with Juliet. But she was one of the few people I knew who would ever have that. That much I knew.