Page 59 of My Favorite Sin

“Okay. I understand.”

His face softens, his voice warm again as he glances from the road to me. “Speaking of family, your mother mentioned you were asking about a photo of your father.”

“Yes.” I sit a little taller, hoping good news is about to follow. “It’s a photo of us from when I was born. I haven’t seen it in years, ever since we moved in with you. Mom said she was going to search for it.”

“I’ve been thinking maybe you could ask Daxton aboutthe photo. He stored a couple of your mom’s boxes at his place during the move. I thought we received them all but perhaps a few got left behind.”

I sink back with disappointment. At least I have a potential lead on that photo. Daxton owns the hotel he lives in, and after all the terrible things that went down with Mom’s ex, Daxton housed us in the same building, a few floors below and free of charge. The photo could definitely be in Daxton’s penthouse.

“You make a good point. Thanks. I’ll ask him.”

“So, do I get any more details about this mystery guy you ran off with at the benefit?” Violet asks while applying mascara in the mirror.

We’re both getting dressed for tonight’s ballet in the guest bedroom Daxton and Jordan always give me when I stay at their place. The room is fancy, like the rest of the penthouse, with a glass wall that looks out to the private rooftop pool and has a stunning view of Central Park.

I sit on the edge of my bed, buckling my heels and acting oblivious. “What are you talking about? I didn’t run off with anyone.”

“Oh, come on. You were glaring at some guy for talking to another woman. Then you excuse yourself for a family photo and that’s the last I see of you for the rest of the night. You were totally sneaking away with whoever that guy was.”

“I was busy socializing and talking to reporters.”

Despite the awkwardness of her questions, there’s a little ball of happiness burning in my chest because I’ve never had a girlfriend like this before. Someone to discussboys with. There’s Jordan, but she’s a lot older than me and I never know if what I tell her will get back to Daxton and my mom.

Something inside me wants to open up to Violet and tell her everything about Dan but leave his name out. I could never live with myself if anyone finds out I’ve been fooling around with my stepbrother. But the slight risk of Violet placing two and two together holds me back from saying anything.

“Nothing happened with that guy.”

She sinks onto the bed with me, blowing out a huff of air. “Well, that’s disappointing. I was hoping to live vicariously through your sex life.”

We both laugh. “What about you and Killian?” I ask. “I can see potential with you two. If you repeat this to him, I’ll deny it, but sometimes I catch him looking at you.”

She smiles, ducking her head. “Your brother is very… handsome. I could see myself with him. But we’re friends and colleagues and I know neither one of us wants to cross the line of professionalism. You’ve seen what Sacred Heart is like.”

Yeah, I do know what Sacred Heart is like, which only confirms my decision to remain quiet about Dan.

“So, is Liam amazing with his dick or something?”

I snort, caught off guard by the question. “What do you mean?”

“I’m trying to figure out why you’re with him.”

“I’m notwithhim. I’m going to end things with him—” A knock on the bedroom door interrupts me. “Come in.”

Daxton steps inside, handsome in a black suit and about to head out for the night with Jordan. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all,” Violet says. “We were only talking about boys.”

“Only?” Daxton teases. “That’s thebesttopic of conversation. I’ll let you girls get back to it. I just wanted to let you know there’s a car service waiting downstairs to take you two to the ballet.”

“Okay, thanks.” I rise from the bed and grab my purse. Daxton turns to leave, but I call out to him before he closes the door, remembering my conversation in the car with Josh. “Hey, Uncle Dax?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“I’ve been looking for a photo of my father that I haven’t seen in years. Josh mentioned that when Mom and I moved out of here, you stored a couple of her boxes and might still have them. The photo could be inside one of them. Do you know if you have those boxes?”

Daxton sucks his bottom lip, thinking about the question. “It rings a bell. I might have those boxes buried at the back of my closet. I’ll see if I can dig them up later tonight.”

The ballet is beautiful. I enjoy Violet’s commentary on the performance and all the ballet knowledge she shares with me. Tyler’s girlfriend, Harper, is a principal ballerina in the show, and it turns out Violet knows her from her own time in the New York City Ballet.

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