I needed change. Now.
I also needed to stop making comparisons to Chris. He was out of my life. Gone. The end.
Vaughan tipped his chin toward the house, still laughing. “Go grab your coffee and cake. Then you can tell me more revenge fantasies. I want blood and gore, Lydia. Covered in honey and eaten alive by bull ants, that sort of thing. Go wild.”
I smiled and headed for the house, my mood about ten tons lighter for having seen Vaughan’s smile.
“Not cake, palmiers,” corrected Nell.
“Whatever they are, they taste like magic,” he said.
His sister snorted.
“It is good to see you, sis.”
Sure enough, a second coffee and large brown paper bag sat on the kitchen counter. “The Bird Building” was stamped in black ink on the front. It was a place in midtown, not an area I’d had a lot to do with. In the real estate business, Ray and I had mostly focused on residential dwellings, with him covering the big-money mansions. Chris had dealt with the commercial properties.
My coffee was delicious, I didn’t bother heating it up. Years in offices had taught me to ignore temperature. The palmiers turned out to be elephant ear cookies covered in cinnamon sugar. Pastry so perfect and light it basically melted on contact with my tongue. Absolute bliss.
I took my breakfast outside and sat on the steps.
“What’d you need to talk to me about?” he asked his sister.
Nell gave me a brief glance. Awkward.
“I’ll eat inside, get out of the sun for a while,” I said around a mouthful of deliciousness, hardly spitting out any pastry flakes at all. Screw common courtesy. These palmiers were amazing.
“It’s okay. Anything you need to say to me, Lydia can hear.” He gave me a wry smile. “We’ve got no secrets, have we?”
“I guess not after yesterday, but—”
“It’s fine.” Nell brushed off her hands on the sides of her black jeans. “Really.”
I tentatively sat back down. Maybe I’d just excuse myself to go use the bathroom ASAP.
“So?” asked Vaughan. “Shoot.”
“I need you to either lend me fifty-six thousand dollars or buy Pat out for the same amount.”
Eyes wide, he huffed out a breath. “Shit. That all, huh?”
“I’m serious.”
“I get that.”
“Will you do it?” Carefully, she tucked her hair behind her ears. Her hands, however, didn’t stop there, fussing with the front of her white shirt. The woman was nervous. Terribly so. “Please, Vaughan. He wants out and I can’t have him involved anymore. The divorce goes through in a few more days and things are so damn tense I can’t stand it.”
He let his head fall back, staring up at the sky. “Nell…”
“Pat hates me. He’s completely impossible. Refuses to work in the bar anymore.”
“What the hell happened? You two have been tight since you were fourteen. You can’t even get on a little now?”
“You’ve been gone a long time,” she said, face drawn. “He’s changed, especially since we broke up. He and Eric can’t even be in the same room without fighting.”
“Shit.”
Nell wrung her hands. “Pat’s been making all sorts of threats about what he’ll do if we can’t buy his share of the business.”
“Joe can’t buy in?”
Nell shook her head. “He doesn’t have the cash. Eric’s still paying him back for bankrolling his thirty percent when we opened.”
“Christ.” He wiped a hand over his face. “This is why you shouldn’t go into business with friends or family. It just gets fucking complicated.”
“You’re right. I should have trusted total strangers with my life-long dream.”
Vaughan’s shoulders sagged. “Didn’t know things were so bad with you.”
“You were busy, touring and recording. I didn’t want to worry you. I thought I could ride it out.”
“Yeah.” A long-winded sigh. “I’m sorry, Nell. I don’t have the money. I’d do it for you in a heartbeat if I could, but I can’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m tapped out. Things … they weren’t as good as I made them out to be.” Hands on hips, he faced her. “In fact, they’re pretty much fucked. I was hoping you could buy this place off me. I’m sorry.”
Hell, poor Vaughan. If I could have been anywhere else, I’d have been there. Instead, I sat silent and still, hopefully forgotten.
“You want to sell the house? How bad is it?” she asked.
“I’ll figure something out. It’ll be okay.” He licked his lips, studying the ground.