Page 76 of Better Luck Next Time

It was like he was too good to be true.

And even though he’d warned her early on that he wouldn’t be able to stay long before he left for his parents’ house in Charlotte, he’d seemed reluctant to leave. Selfishly, she would have kept him there if not for the texts that had popped up on her phone.

The first two, from Lee, had set her heart racing.

I’ve heard something that I need to talk to you about.

Then:This is IMPORTANT, Addy.

What was he talking about? Had he found out about her arrest?

Still, she might have ignored that and called him later, if not for the message that had arrived moments later from an unknown number:I’ve only just started, Adalia. Deal with me or deal with the consequences.

Had Alan talked to Lee? She had to call her brother.Immediately.

Finn had clearly wanted to know why her phone was blowing up, and why she suddenly had the crazed look of Jezebel going after that blender, but she didn’t want to involve him any deeper in this mess. He’d done enough for her, and she didn’t want him to see her as some wounded bird. So she’d kissed him goodbye and shoved him out the door, telling him she couldn’t wait until their Wednesday mystery date.

Dottie left moments after Finn, saying she’d be back with dinner, but she had to run home to get a special cake plate to celebrate Tyrion’s first night home. Did she intend to make the dog a cake? How did she manage to constantly have so much food, all of different varieties? She was like a human house elf. It was slightly worrying, being alone with Jezebel and Tyrion, but it gave Adalia the perfect window to call her brother. Putting Tyrion on a leash, she took him out back and sat on the bench, her fingers shaking as she pulled up his name.

“Addy,” Lee said when he answered. “Are you okay?”

Her heart skipped a beat.

“I’m sitting in Grandpa Beau’s back yard,” she said, as though it was an adequate answer.

“Why did you really leave New York?”

A lump filled her stomach. “Lee…”

“The truth, Addy. Not the bullshit you keep feeding me.” He sounded pissed, but she heard the undercurrent of worry under it.

“Did he call you?”

“Yourboyfriend? The one I told you was bad news from the beginning?”

“Congrats, Lee. You were right,” she said, her voice breaking. “How does it feel to have all the answers?”

He paused. “I don’t have all the answers, Addy,” he said with a heavy sigh. “I hardly have any of them.” Then, to her surprise, he added, “I’m sorry if I made you feel like I thought I did.”

Funny how she was seeing both sides of Lee in a span of seconds. She’d known the authoritarian Lee most of her life. He’d always been so eager to please their father, and their father, of course, encouraged it. But something had changed between Adalia and Lee before she left New York, like he’d started to consider her a person, not just his baby sister.

She had invited him to a small show that included a few of her pieces. In truth, she’d done it to stick it to him, to make him feel guilty for inevitably saying no, but he’d surprised her by coming. They’d gotten dinner afterward and talked all night, and after that, they’d started getting together once a week or so, always without Victoria, much to Adalia’s relief. She’d discovered a Lee who was a little more like her and Georgie, a little more like their mother. He had a sense of humor and a warm heart, but make no mistake, he still had an authoritarian streak a mile wide. She’d opened up about Alan, and he’d told her under no uncertain terms to break up with the creep. Immediately. That very day. And when she’d tried to explain why it wasn’t that easy, he’d insisted that she was making excuses. He’d refused to discuss Alan again until the jerk was in her rearview mirror.

“Why didn’t you call me?” he asked. “We were talking. Getting closer.”

“It’s hard to feel close to someone when they keep giving you ultimatums.”

“I was only trying to look out for you, Addy. That man was bad news. The call I just had with the asshole only confirms it.”

Her heart sank. “What did he tell you?”

The call disconnected, and she was sure he’d just hung up on her, but a video call from him showed up on her screen. She sucked in a deep breath and answered.

His worried face appeared on the screen. “This seems like a face-to-face discussion. I was two seconds away from booking the next available flight to Asheville, but I didn’t think this conversation could wait that long.”

“What did he say?” she repeated. It had to be bad if Lee was willing to come to Asheville to sort things out. Despite being one-fourth owner of the brewery and the house, he hadn’t been back since the reading of Grandpa Beau’s will.

“That you vandalized an art gallery, and if I don’t pay him two hundred thousand dollars, he’s going public.”

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