Page 64 of My Favorite Sin

“I don’t know what any of these drinks are. Will you order me something that tastes nice?”

He nods at the bartender. “And a Bee’s Knees.”

“Cute name. What’s it taste like?”

Dan leans against the bar, grinning at me while the bartender mixes our drinks. “It’s sweet, with honey, like you. You’ll like it.”

“Baby sis.” I hear Felix’s name for me cutting through the buzz of voices and a saxophonist improvising on stage. The name is endearing when Felix says it and holds none of the filth present in Dan’s voice when referring to us as siblings. “Never thought I’d see you here.”

Felix steps up to me, fitting right into the atmosphere with a pinstriped suit. He’d be intimidating, if I didn’t know him better, looking like a 1920s gangster. Tattoos poke above his collar and his blond hair is smoothed back. His eyes shift to my left, noticing Dan for the first time, and his forehead creases with surprise.

“How on earth did you get Dan out of his apartment today? It’s good to see you, bro.” He pats Dan on the forearm and nods his head to the side, gesturing to a row of booths along the back wall. “You’re just in time for a little brotherly bonding. Killian and Tyler are here too. You two should join us.”

Surprise gets the better of me, and I blurt out a question I probably shouldn’t. “You’re here with Tyler?” Felix raises an eyebrow at the question, and I realize it was perhaps a little rude of me. “Sorry, I just thought you two didn’t?—”

“On a day like today, Tyler and I can put aside our differences.”

I still don’t understand what the issue is between Felix and Tyler. Before I can ask anything, Dan speaks, not sounding thrilled. “I guess we can sit for a bit.”

Our drinks are placed on the bar and Dan passes my cocktail to me. My drink is a tone of soft yellow, served in a stemmed coupe glass, broad and shallow, and is absolute decadence. The cocktail touches my lips, a delicious balance between sweet and citrus.

Dan watches me, pleased by my reaction, and places a hand on my upper back, guiding us through the crowd and to a booth where the three brothers sit with playing cards and poker chips scattered across the table.

Killian and Tyler look as shocked as Felix was to see Dan, but they brush off their surprise and greet us casually.

“We’re about to start a game. You two want in?” Tyler asks us, lighting the end of a cigar.

“No. We’re not staying long.” Dan nods for me to take a seat. I slide into the booth and he follows, the two of us alone on one side.

With the seating a little cramped, my thigh presses against Dan’s, and I hold back a gasp when feeling his hot palm on the inside of my thigh, hidden from view beneath the table. The tiniest smirk curls his lips, and he raises his glass to disguise it.

The poker game begins with each brother placing a tower of poker chips in the center of the table. “What haveyou two been up to today?” Killian asks, and I almost choke on my drink.

“Dinner. Movies. Not much,” Dan answers.

“You receive the same copy and paste text from Dad as we all did this morning?”

“He knows not to message me today.”

“What did it say?” I ask, not wanting to overstep my boundaries, but also feeling bad for Josh.

Killian rolls his eyes, drawling an answer. “The same old crap.I’m proud of your many accomplishments. Your mother is looking down on you and would be proud.”

Dan groans.

“Maybe we should change the subject,” I say, wanting to keep the conversation positive.

“It’s fine, Ally.”

“Joshisproud of you.Allof you,” I offer. I know none of them want to hear it, but I want them to know Josh is genuine. “He loves you all. He told me so when I mentioned spending Dan’s birthday with him.”

Tyler leans back, sucking on his cigar and puffing smoke hoops into the air. “It’s generic bullshit, Ally. Even if he was being sincere, it’s too late. It doesn’t make up for the years of abandonment while we grew up.”

The situation is complicated, and I understand their side too. I only wish I knew how to mend things between them all. “I told Josh I wouldn’t get involved, and I won’t. But he knows he messed up. I don’t think he knows how to fix it. I won’t say anything else.”

“As I said, the damage is done,” Tyler replies. “We only hang around because of you and Amabella.”

It’s a nice sentiment, that my mother and I have found such a good family. But it makes me sad for Josh.

---