by Lexy Timms
The passenger door of her car opened, and Christine slipped into the seat, setting her purse down beside her. “Hey, Jamie,” she said as she closed the door, offering a smile. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” Jamie said, shifting the car back into drive and heading out. “How are you?”
“Looking forward to today,” Christine answered, the smile still in her voice. “I’m really glad that you decided to go with me.” The words got a little softer, almost shy. “It’ll be really nice to have a little sister time.”
When Christine had first asked to spend a day together, Jamie hadn’t been entirely sure what to think. They’d been doing well. She’d stopped coming over to watch the twins as often since she’d started working at Mark’s club, but when she did Jamie enjoyed the time with her. She enjoyed Sunday dinners. But a few hours at a time with kids or the rest of the family between them was different than a whole day to just the two of them. Jamie couldn’t quite shake the memory of the way Christine had treated her before her breakdown.
But Christine was trying. She’d been nothing but kind, and her attempts to rebuild their relationship had gone a long way toward Jamie feeling better about it. So here they were, heading out for a shopping day, and Jamie found to her surprise that she was excited, too.
“It will be,” she said firmly. “We’re going to have a great time.” She turned her head briefly to grin at her sister. “Not quite as great for Alex’s credit card, maybe, but he can afford it.”
Christine laughed, and Jamie smiled at the road. It was good to hear her laughing. To see her really, genuinely happy. It had been a long climb up from the bottom, but Jamie was confident that Christine was going to make it.
Four hours later, she wasn’t quite so confident that she was going to make it much longer if she didn’t get some food. They’d hit up three different stores, trying on more clothes than any one person should ever have access to, and she was starting to hear the siren call of lunch.
“What do you say we drop the bags off at the car and go find somewhere to eat?” she suggested.
“That sounds great, actually,” Christine said. “I’m honestly starving.”
It wasn’t something that her sister would’ve admitted six months ago, and Jamie felt the thrill of triumph again. Her sister wasn’t nearly so bony these days. Still thin, but not so much that it looked painful. And it was nice to be able to sit down to a meal with her where she finished her plate, and didn’t comment on the content of anyone else’s.
“What do you feel like?” Jamie asked as they started into the parking lot. “There are a lot of places to eat around here. Basically anything that you can think of. Italian? Mexican? Chinese?”
“Chinese sounds great, actually. I’ve been craving—”
Christine stopped dead, and Jamie leaned around her to see what had caught her attention.
Their mother stood leaning against the side of Jamie’s car.
Jamie took a step back, but it was too late. The woman had already seen them, and a smile stretched across her face.
“Christine!” she said, hurrying toward them while Christine stood frozen in front of Jamie. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Hi, Mom,” Christine finally said, her voice very quiet. Jamie caught the tremor in it.
“What? No ‘It’s nice to see you, too’? Haven’t you missed me?” She laid her hand on Christine’s shoulder, looking into her eyes. “I know that Jamie doesn’t care whether I live or die, but you were always my good girl, Christine.”
“Don’t touch her,” Jamie said, finding her own voice suddenly. “You abandoned her and you expect her to be glad to see you?”
Their mother’s hand dropped from Christine’s shoulder as she turned to face Jamie. “I didn’t abandon my daughter. I just couldn’t bear to see her in that place, where she wouldn’t have been if you hadn’t been such a slut. Letting Stephen film you together. Seducing him while he was with Christine. Everything that happened is your fault. You’re the reason her husband is in jail.”
“Seduced—”
Christine’s voice cut Jamie off. “Don’t talk to her like that.”
Jamie was stunned. Their mother was more stunned. She turned to look at Christine, her mouth half open in shock. “What did you say?” she demanded.
“I said, don’t talk to Jamie like that,” Christine said, her voice growing stronger. “None of what happened with Stephen was her fault. It was his.” She clutched the handles of the bags she was holding a little tighter, and lifted her chin, meeting their mother’s eyes. “He’s a bastard, and I’ve already started the divorce proceedings.”
“Stephen loved you!” their mother protested. “Jamie…”
“Jamie what, Mom? Jamie didn’t do anything. She’s always just been trying to live her life, and you’ve treated her like trash. I’m not going to let you do it anymore.”
“You’ve let her brainwash you!” their mother shrieked. “Spending so much time with her. She’s turned you into something that you aren’t, Christine. You have to get away from her. Then you’ll see. You’re only acting like Jamie because she took you when you were vulnerable and used that opportunity to mold you into the same kind of ungrateful little bitch she’s always been.”
Even after all the time with Alex, all the ways she thought she had moved past her mother’s influence, the words still stung. It still hurt that her mother had never loved her. That she never would.
“That’s enough,” Christine said, and the ice in her voice was something that Jamie hadn’t heard in months. The old Christine, cold and sharp as a blade. But this time, it was deployed in defense. “Not one more word, Mother.”
Christine took a step forward, and their mother’s chin lifted, her eyes narrowing.
“You’ve been nothing but cruel to Jamie. You never cared about her. And you never cared about me. You just pretended to because it suited your own ends. If anyone is a bitch here, it’s you. I thought I had to follow your example to keep your love, but there was never any love to keep.” She shoved past their mother and toward the car. “I’m done. Go fuck your boy toy and stay the hell out of my life. And Jamie’s.”
Jamie hit the button to unlock the car, and Christine leaned in, opening the trunk to drop her bags in, and then took a seat while their mother was still gaping after her, shutting the door firmly. After one more minute of stunned silence, Jamie followed her example. She turned the key in the ignition, and backed the car out, honestly a little surprised when their mother didn’t try to throw herself over the back to stop them leaving. Maybe she was still too much in shock to move.
“I can’t believe you said that to her,” Jamie said.
“I can’t either,” Christine said, her voice shaking. “I didn’t even think about it. It just all came out at once. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You were thinking that you’re tired of the way that she’s treated both of us all our lives,” Jamie said, gently. “And that’s okay, Christine. It’s okay to get mad and it’s okay to tell a woman who never loved us to get lost if you want her to.”
“I did want her to.” Christine was staring down at her hands, curled in her lap. “I was just so tired of how she talks to you. I know that I did it, too, before. But now that I’ve stopped I’ve realized how terrible it was. I don’t know how you ever forgave me for all of the things that I said to you.”
“I forgave you because you realized it was wrong, and you changed. And because you’re my sister.”
She dropped one hand from the wheel and reached over to squeeze Christine’s. “I want us to have a relationship. Mark and Alex fought for years, and now they’re brothers, and they’re happy. I want the same thing for us.”
“Do you think…” Christine paused, voice faltering. “Do you think that Mom will ever change?”
Jamie took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure what to say to her sister. The idea that their mother would ever be a different woman was almost imposs
ible. Maybe when she first met their father she had been kind, but whatever virtues she had were long gone. Jamie wondered if the miscarriages had something to do with how bitter she’d become. How unhappy and cruel. That much pain must change someone. But she couldn’t find enough sympathy to want to work things out with the woman. Not after so many years of emotional abuse. She shook her head. “No. I don’t think she will.”
Christine nodded, and Jamie could tell she was unhappy. She had hoped Jamie would say yes. Jamie couldn’t change their mother, though, and neither could Christine. They had to let it go.
“Where to for lunch?” she asked, changing the subject entirely. “You said Chinese, right?”
“Yes,” Christine said. “Chinese sounds nice.”
There was a little less happiness in her voice than there had been before, but Jamie was confident they could get it back. Whatever else happened, they had each other, and they were going to make the most of that.
***
“She actually told Mom to go fuck herself. Or to go fuck her boy toy. But it’s the same thing,” Jamie said, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice as she recounted the story to Alex.
“She actually said that?” he asked, disbelief heavy in his voice.
“That and a lot more,” Jamie said. “I couldn’t believe it. But she did. For me.”
His arms wrapped around her, drawing her close. “Good for her,” he said, dropping a kiss against her hair. “And good for you, baby. You brought her back.”
“It wasn’t me,” Jamie said. “She had treatment, and she’s still got a therapist. I’m just her sister.”
“Shh.” He pressed a finger over her lips. “You did plenty. And now you’re seeing the results of that. I’m really happy for you, Jamie. Having that relationship will be good. For both of you.”
Jamie laughed as his hand fell away. “When did you get so wise?”
“When I stopped being an ass to my brother,” Alex said, grinning down at her. “My wife taught me that, too.” His phone buzzed in his pocket. He looked like he wasn’t sure whether to reach for it or not, his eyes moving to her face.
“Get it,” Jamie said. “It’s probably something important. I’ll get dinner set out.”
She turned away, taking glasses from the cabinet to put at the table. The sound of Alex swearing, low and furious, made her look back.
He was staring at his phone, eyes narrowed and mouth pressed into a hard line. Jamie set the glasses down and hurried to his side.
“What is it?” she asked. “Alex. What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s been quietly buying our stock out from under us,” Alex growled. “Convincing the stock- holders to sell all at once so that we wouldn’t see it happening until it was too late.”
“What?” The word burst from Jamie.
“It’s not as bad as it could be. Thirty-five percent. I’ve still got the majority holding, but I’m going to have to convince someone to sell to me so that I can hold more than half myself, or we’re fucked when they get someone else to give it up.”
“Who is it? I mean, who’s buying?”
Alex flicked his finger over the screen, scrolling down. He slammed a fist against the counter, and Jamie jumped.
“What? Alex? Who?”
“Sunrise Investments,” he said, low and choked with anger. “It’s fucking Nicholas.”
Chapter 16
Someone was out on the bloody driving range.
Mark hadn’t been sure at first because it was dark, and from the window of his apartment over the restaurant, it was a long way down. But now he was certain. He’d see the flash of light off the metal end of a club. He’d opened the window and heard the distinctive wha—ump—ting when the driver or club hit a ball. Who would be out there so late, in the freakin’ dark? The course and range were closed, which meant it was either an employee or an intruder, though what kind of person would sneak into a country club to hit balls on the driving range he had no idea.
He hopped into a golf cart and headed down to the range, where a single beam of light shone on the course. When he got there, he was surprised to find Erica swinging her club, wrapped in a trench coat that covered her from neck to calves.
“Erica?”
She ignored him, finishing the swing she was in the middle of like he hadn’t even spoken. The ball soared out over the range, a light spot against the dark. Finally, she turned.
“Mark,” she said in echo.
“What’re you doing out here so late?” Was she drunk?
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she shot back.
Mark’s eyebrows lifted, his hands lifting with them, palm-out in a gesture of peace. “I can go, if you just want some alone time. Just wanted to come out and check who was out here… and make sure that you were okay.”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“You don’t sound fine.” He stepped a little closer, since she hadn’t told him to go away. “Why are you wearing a trench coat?”
“Why shouldn’t I be?” she asked.
He didn’t have an answer for that, and wasn’t sure he should. He glanced around at the night sky, not sure where to go from there.
The sudden click of the sprinklers turning on was all the warning they got.
An instant later, water rained down on both of them, soaking through Mark’s thin button-down in seconds and leaving Erica’s hair damp and clinging. Laughing, they ran for golf cart and Mark scooted through the sprinklers to the house. Mark was glad to hear her laugh join his own as they scurried for shelter. She couldn’t be too unhappy if she was laughing.
At the door, Mark let her go through first, then followed, stepping into the darkened interior of the club house.
“Want a drink?” he asked, still chuckling.
“Yeah. I’ll take a drink.”
The sharp, sarcastic edge had gone from her voice, and he was relieved.
“What do you want?” he asked, stepping behind the bar.
“Cranberry and vodka, thanks,” she answered.
Mark mixed her drink and poured himself a whiskey, then set them both on the bar. “I need to go up and change. You, ironically, dressed appropriately,” he said chuckling. “I’ll just be a minute.”
He turned and went through the door marked ‘Staff Only’ that led up to his apartment, surprised to hear footsteps on the stairs behind him. When he glanced back, it was Erica, both drinks in her hands. He hadn’t exactly invited her up to watch him get dressed, but she could always sit out in the living area while he changed in the bedroom.
“Why don’t you take your coat off,” he suggested as they stepped into the apartment. “It can get a little warm in here with the heat coming up from the kitchen.”
There was a sound of fabric falling, and Mark turned.
He went perfectly still.
Under the trench coat, the only thing Erica was wearing was red lace lingerie.
His cock reacted before the rest of him did, hardening against the wet fabric of his slacks and underwear. Mark was sure Erica would notice if she looked down. “Um,” he said not quite sure what else to say.
“Um?” She smiled at him, moving closer with her hips swaying. “Cat got your tongue?”
“Just, uh… Wasn’t really expecting that.” He pointed at her outfit, his finger sliding up and down the length of her body from the distance he stood. He was dying to touch her.
“No,” she agreed. “You weren’t supposed to. Do you like it?”
Her hand reached out and the tip of one finger brushed against his lips. Mark caught her wrist in one hand and held it there. He pressed his lips to her skin, flicking his tongue out over it. She shuddered in his hold, eyelids dropping lower.
“Is that really even a question you need to ask?”
“Tell me you’ll fuck me,” she said, and that was it.
How was he supposed to answer that with anything except yes? “Hell. Yes, Erica.”
He wrapped both arms around he
r, walking them both back toward the couch. The drinks still sat on the coffee table where she’d left them. He didn’t care. Pulling her with him, he dropped down to sit, and she straddled his lap.
Slowly, he leaned down and pressed his mouth to her neck, pulling a gasp from her as he kissed along the arch of her throat and down to her collarbone, tracing the same line back up with gentle little bites. His hands slid up her sides to cup her breasts through the red lace of her bra. “I’ve wanted you for so long,” he breathed against her skin. “Damn, Erica. You don’t even know.”
“Really?” Her hands were in his hair, a silent request for more of the kisses.
“Since the minute you walked in for the interview,” he admitted. He lifted his head to look up at her. “You were so fucking hot in that skirt, all long legs and perfect body, and I just... wanted you.” He smiled at her, and slid his hands up the bare skin of her back, slow and just light enough to make her squirm against him. “You were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. And you can laugh all you want. I know it’s overdone. But it’s true. And then I got to know you, and I wanted you even more.”
“Hmmm,” she groaned when his lips met her neck again. “Bed, Mark.”
“Bed?” He tipped his head down to kiss her, nipping at her lower lip with his teeth as he pulled back. “I guess we can do that, if you really, really want to.”
“Fuck, yes. I really want to.”
He wasn’t going to say no to her twice. Mark stood, but he didn’t let Erica down; instead he lifted her with him so that her legs wrapped tight around his waist and her arms clung to his neck. She was light enough to make it easy, though her mouth moving up the side of his throat was a little distracting, warm and wet and perfect. “You’re going to be the death of me, I’m already sure.”
“I would hate that,” Erica said. “You’d be no fun then.”
Mark laughed, and tossed her lightly onto the mattress, where she lay with her arms stretched above her head, her legs spread wide enough to invite him between them. It was a sight he wasn’t going to forget any time soon. Fuck, he wanted her.
