Page 111 of Where There's Smoke

The bartender set a full glass of what I suspected was scotch in front of Chris before fading into the shadowy scenery to help another patron.

I took a breath, ready to speak, but Chris put up a hand and shook his head. “Don’t. Just…don’t.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

He glared at me. “I can guess.”

I sighed, watching him pick up his drink and take a sip. As he grimaced and swallowed, I said, “If you can guess, then I’m right.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Prove me wrong.”

He muttered something under his breath and set the drink down, but neither spoke again nor looked at me.

I exhaled hard. “It’s just you and me. I swear, I’m not in this to judge you. You’re my brother. I just want to help you.”

“Then stay the fuck out of it and quit using my life as a goddamned campaign slogan.”

I drew back. “What?”

We stared at each other, neither speaking, neither moving.

I swallowed. “So, what I’m campaigning…that does apply to you?”

Chris held my gaze for a moment. Finally he sighed and looked away. He brought his drink up to his lips, and I thought he was about to speak, but instead he pounded the drink and then used the empty glass to flag down the bartender.

I said nothing as the bartender came over. Chris ordered another—a double this time—and added it to our rising tab.

Once we were alone again and Chris had taken a few swallows of his drink, I said, “How long has it been going on?”

Silence. Long, unnerving silence.

“I’m not going to judge you,” I said softly. “None of this conversation leaves this bar.”

My brother looked at me, some undefined desperation lifting his eyebrows. “You won’t repeat it. To anyone. For any reason.”

“Not a word. I swear it in blood.”

He searched my eyes. Then he took a deep breath and set his drink on the bar. He held it between both hands and stared into it. “She’s always been controlling and demanding. It’s just, it’s her personality, I guess. She hated it when I spent time with you or Nate. Always got pissy, like I should be spending every waking hour with her. I just thought she was needy, you know?”

My gut coiled into a knot. I’d wanted to have this conversation for a long time, but now that we were here and the floodgates were open, I was sick to my stomach. Just as I knew I would be. God, I hated being right.

Chris continued. “When we were engaged…” He trailed off, eyes still focused on the ice and liquid between his hands. “Things got pretty bad about three months before we got married. So that’s, what, two years ago now? Three?” He shook his head. “Anyway. The wedding planning was stressing her out. We were both filming at the time and she wanted this huge wedding, and so I suggested putting it off.” He looked at me. “You know, just postpone it a couple of months so she wouldn’t have to worry about it while she was in the middle of filming.”

“Seems reasonable enough. I’m guessing she didn’t agree?”

Chris laughed bitterly. “No. No, she definitely didn’t agree.” He walked his fingers along the sides of his glass, slowly turning it between his hands soit made a quiet scraping sound on the bar. “Anyway, I suggested it. Man, she flipped out. She flipped. The fuck.Out.”

I sat up, folding my arms on the bar. “What happened?”

He swallowed. “The wedding planner had left this binder. Two inches thick or so. Huge book. Julie had it in her lap while we were talking, so it was the nearest thing. And believe me, Julie is a tiny thing, but that girl can throw.”

I shivered. “And I’m assuming she has good aim.”

Chris nodded. “I put up my arm so it didn’t hit my face, but the edge cut the fuck out of my arm.” He absently rubbed his wrist and the side of his forearm, and he spoke faster now, if a little quieter, as he once again buried his gaze in his drink. “Of course she was all apologetic and cried and kept apologizing over and over. I figured it was just a fluke. I mean, she lost her temper. The stress got to her. It was just a one-time thing that would never happen again.” He picked up his glass and almost touched it to his lips as he said, “Just like every fucking time after that.”

He threw back the rest of his double in a single swallow.

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