Stepbrother Thief(95)

I grin.

“I'm already looking forward to it. Oh, and call me tomorrow, too, if you don't hear from me sooner.”

“Will do! Stay safe. Night, Regi.”

I end the call before my tongue starts wagging, and I beg her to stay, just so she can hear me moan about Gilleon. But I won't—especially not with Aveline raising her eyebrows at me.

“What?” I ask, setting the phone down in my lap and turning to look at her. Aveline just shrugs and gets back to whatever it is she was working on. “Would Gill really call my friend and give her this number?” I think I'm being paranoid here, but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask.

“I think he thinks you need council or something,” Aveline says with yet another shrug. “Although the man must be overconfident as shit if he thinks your girlfriend's going to convince you to stay with him. Never known a person not to want the impossible best for her friends.”

“Impossible best?” I ask, pushing aside the blanket and standing up. I need to take this outside if I'm going to call Anika; I'll want the privacy in case we get into an argument. Since our conversations often end up that way, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

“So good it doesn't exist,” Aveline responds, attention completely focused on the glowing screen in front of her. “But then, maybe they just want for us what we're afraid to want?” A chill travels down my spine even though I know I'm taking Aveline's words the wrong way. Afraid to want. I'm afraid to want Gilleon. Hell, maybe I am taking it the right way. Leilani wants me to be happy, to never have my heart broken again, to move on and let the pain go. But what she can't possibly know, what only I know, is that the pain is only there when he's not. His presence is like a soothing balm, wiping away the past. And I hate that. I do. I wish I could stay mad at him, give him what he deserves by telling him to fuck off, but I can't do that because I'd only be hurting myself.

“Ugh.” I run my fingers over my hair and down my ponytail. “I'll be out back,” I say and Aveline nods.

The weather outside is dreadful, rainy and gray and blustery as hell, but at least it gives me a chance to wear the Burberry Brit cashmere cape that's been sitting in my closet since the day I went shopping with Aveline. I slip into it and slide out the back door, fully aware that there are people in and around the edges of the yard. I have no idea how many, but I just about had a heart attack the other day when I spotted a woman in the hedges.

Gill's buffed up security, and I have no idea what to think about that.

I decide a distracting conversation with Anika is better than worrying about this Karl Rousseau guy and his missing diamonds.

I stare down at the phone, knowing that Gill wouldn't have had Leilani call me if he didn't think it was safe. I realize then that at least some of my hesitation in calling Anika was selfish, was more than just my fearing she'd get dragged into all of this. My sister's … well, she's judgmental. And harsh. And she asks way too many questions. Kind of like the opposite of Leilani.

I dial her up and wait.

She picks up on the third ring.

“Anika Corbair.”

“It's Regi,” I say before I let the solemn seriousness in her voice put me off. Anika's always been … stern. And stubborn, too stubborn for her own good. It was that stubbornness that drove her away from me and mom, from Cliff and Gill before she'd even met them. Honestly, if I hadn't forced a connection between us back then, there's little doubt in my mind that we'd be complete strangers now.

I can practically hear her purse her lips at me.

“Where have you been, Regina? Leilani was considering getting on a plane to Paris.” Leilani was. Leilani, and not you. My older sister's seeming lack of care doesn't bother me though; it used to, but not anymore. Anika cares in her own way, but family doesn't mean the same thing to her as it does to me.

“If I could explain, I would,” I tell her and imagine an eye roll in response. Unlike Leilani, Anika isn't privy to many of my secrets. I mean, she knew about Gill and me, but she never knew I was pregnant, doesn't even know she has a niece. Back then, telling my other girlfriends before Gill didn't seem like a big deal, like I was letting them in on a surprise party planned for him. But Anika? All she knows is that Gill and I broke up, not that he left, not that he's a thief. Nothing. “I'm sorry for disappearing, but things are complicated over here.” I take a deep breath and try to make myself smile. Maybe she'll be able to hear it through the phone? “The good news is … I'm in the States now. Seattle, actually.”

My sister doesn't seem to give two shits that I'm in our old hometown.

“Gram's not doing well, Regina. I'm busy moving her into my place.” Anika pauses, and I can actually hear her tapping her manicured nails on something. “Plan a visit here soon; this could be her last Christmas.”