Page 3 of Sunshine & Sinful

That’s why he left and hasn’t returned.

I’m now driftwood, lost at sea.

Because I miss them.

Both of them.

There’s a gaping hole missing in my life… and I don’t know how to repair it.

And so, I drift.

TWO

Sunshine: Do you remember when we took the boys to the park? You wore that yellow dress and were barefoot, grounding with the earth. I joined you. Walking across the grass and eating ice cream. I remember the chocolate running down Fog’s face and all over his shirt as Tarek chased a butterfly by the playground. You were just as beautiful then as you are now. I miss walking in the grass with you.

Seated on a couch in the sisters’ underground apartment beneath the shops, my legs crisscross apple sauce, I eat my fifth piece of chocolaty goodness—courtesy of Sugar, my stunning, pale-skinned, white-haired business partner and favorite chocolatier.

Till, the greedy wench, steals a cappuccino truffle from my lap, and I snap my teeth at her like a rabid dog as she gleefully shoves the delicacy into hermouth with a smile.

“I hate you,” I seethe playfully, bumping my shoulder into hers.

Across from us, Sugar laughs.

Tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear, Till snorts and steals another truffle from the box on my lap. This time, I slap her hand away, and the ball falls between her legs onto the couch, where she scrambles to get it before it makes a mess.

“It serves you right for stealing my goodies,” I sniff, trying like hell not to laugh at her predicament, which forces her to stand to find the runaway chocolate.

Our nerdy computer genius, Cell, holding a steaming mug of something or other, exits the kitchen and drops beside Sugar on the couch, joining in on our little after-work powwow. To give me something to do besides wallow at home, I spent eight hours with Till at the bar today while Sugar prepped all the yummy chocolate for tomorrow. We were booming on both sides of Dark Delicacies tonight, which isn’t common for a Thursday evening.

I lift my chin at Cell. “You do the check-ins with the sisters this week?” I ask, referring to all the women out on assignments for intel.

“Yeppers, I got you covered, Boss Lady,” she replies.

“We have any issues?”

Blowing steam from her mug, she speaks over the edge. “Nope. Smooth sailin’.”

“Even the newbies?” I check, referring to Destiny and Beth, who now goes by Elle.

“Yep, even them. They’re working an easy job together, as you suggested. Angel is covering them, just in case. But he shouldn’t need to step in.”

Good. Good.

I nod along, liking the sound of that. When I left for the job with Dark, I handed over most of the duties to Cell. She checks in and gives me updates. When necessary, she asks my advice so we know we’re placing the sisters in jobs that are safest for them. Her taking on the extra responsibility has been a long time coming.

With as many moving parts as we have here, each sister has her place and specific obligations. Cell thrives on assigning the sisters to their jobs and keeping tabs on the underground world where Remy and his crew are struggling, thanks to the yacht mysteriously sinking. Hmm. I wondered what happened there. It's such a shame all those men are dead. Poor, poor Remy. What will he ever do?

Finishing another chocolate, I clear my throat before addressing Cell again. “I have something I need you to look into. But we can talk about that later.” I wave off the importance so Till and Sugar don’t ask questions.

Cell nods and sips from her mug as we fall into easy, much-needed chatter about everything and nothing. It’s relaxing, getting away from the house and my phone for most of the day. I left it on my nightstand because I’m avoiding it. None of the men will quit blowing it up. I’d seriously consider changing my number if it wasn’t such a hassle. And before you come for me with something like I should block their numbers, it does no good. I tried that months ago. They texted from different ones until I gave up entirely and unblocked the originals, so I didn’t have an even fuller text thread than I already do. They’re persistent, I’ll give ‘em that.

Till snaps her fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Kali.”

Frowning, I blink and swat her hand away. “What?”

“You’re daydreaming.”

No. I’m not. I roll my eyes. “I’m thinking. There’s a difference.”

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