Page 29 of Rebels and Roses

“My parents?—”

Tom broke off what he was saying, his gaze frozen out of the front window of the bookstore. He’d paled for a moment, but now his cheeks were bright red.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. Is there a back entrance to this place?”

“Yes,” Lucy replied, pointing to the backroom that served as an office and storage. “Is everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Sadly, she’s all too real. It’s my sister. She’s found me.” Tom stood and appeared ready to make a run for it, but the door was already swinging open. “Too late. If I were you, I’d run. But that’s just my opinion.”

His sister? As in Fiona Kemp Winslow? Cooper’s ex-wife? She was walking into the bookstore at this very moment.

A woman around Jane’s age strode confidently into the bookstore, not sparing even the slightest glance at Lucy or Jane. She headed directly for Tom who looked like he wanted to jump behind one of the bookshelves or dig a hole into the earth’s core to escape.

“Fiona, what a surprise.”

“Shut up,” Fiona commanded, her hands on her hips. “Give it to me now, you little thief. What in the hell were you thinking? Did you think I wouldn’t find you? All I had to do was find my phone. Are you really that dumb?”

Jane wasn’t sure what she was expecting, to be honest. She’d had a feeling that Fiona Kemp would be beautiful. That was a given when it came to Cooper. She simply hadn’t been prepared for thebreathtakinggorgeousness of Fiona. The woman would draw every eye in any room she entered.

Long, lustrous strawberry blonde hair. Velvet-soft brown eyes. Golden skin without a blemish to be seen. Tall, with long legs, she had that effortless model-like look that she wasn’t trying all that hard.

Her makeup wasn’t perfect, but not overdone, just tasteful. Her hair was wavy and loose on her shoulders as if the wind had perfectly blown it into place. Her casual white-linen trouserswere paired with a sapphire blue silk blouse. Even her handbag and shoes weren’t fussy but screamed wealth.

Jane couldn’t have pulled off that look in a million years. She bought her clothes mostly at the local discount retailer. Her purse was at least five years old, and her hair was always pulled up and away from her face to keep it out of her eyes when she worked or studied.

“I’m not stupid,” Tom argued back, moving in closer to his sister so they were almost nose to nose. “I needed your phone, and I knew you wouldn’t give it to me.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t have. You don’t need to be bothering Cooper about your delusions. Jesus, did you really come all the way here to beg him for help? You’re not being followed or watched, Tom. Get real. Frankly, you’re not that interesting. You’d bore a stalker to death.”

That seemed like a mean shot. Okay, maybe Tom wasn’t the most fascinating person Jane had ever met, but she wasn’t going to point that out to him. Sibling relationships, however, worked with different rules. She’d seen brothers and sisters absolutely roast one another. Just for funsies.

Tom’s voice rose as he defended himself, and Fiona’s went up as well until the two of them were having a full-blown, loud-ass argument in the middle of the bookstore. Everyone - staff and customers - had frozen in their tracks to watch the show. Clearly, Fiona and Tom didn’t realize what the gossip could do in a small town like Winslow Heights. They’d be infamous before dinner time.

“I sent Cooper a text,” Lucy whispered. “He said he’ll be right over.”

Jane should have thought to do it herself, but she’d been shocked to see Fiona show up. This was the very definition ofunexpected.

Fiona had flown all this way to retrieve her cellphone. From the look on Tom’s face, he hadn’t foreseen this either.

The brother and sister were still going at it, but Tom appeared to realize that they were making a ruckus. His gaze swept the room, and then he made a face at his sister who also quickly glanced around her.

“Look what you’ve done,” Fiona scolded. “You’re making a spectacle of yourself.”

You are, too.

Tom introduced first Lucy and then Jane, explaining that they ran the bookstore. Fiona immediately gave them a big smile that Jane wasn’t sure was genuine.

“I do apologize for my brother. When we’re together, we often get a bit heated. This certainly isn’t the time or the place, is it?” Fiona turned back to Tom. “Where are you staying? Are you leaving for home soon? Your girlfriend didn’t know where you were until I told her.”

Which one? Chicago or Denver?

“You called Erica?”

Tom sounded upset; his fists furled tightly at his sides. Was he going to haul off and smack Fiona? Were the Kemps a violent family? Cooper hadn’t mentioned that.

“Of course, I called her,” Fiona said, her voice lower than before. “You had my phone, and you weren’t answering my calls. I had to talk to someone. She said she thought you were on a business trip in Chicago. I told her that the phone was showing you in Winslow Heights. She was quite surprised.”

“Fuck,” Tom spat out, his face a shade of reddish-purple. “Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused? Dammit, Fiona. You’re just dying to stir the shit, aren’t you?”

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