Page 94 of Must Have Been Love

The meeting with Hudson’s lawyer takes less time than I had expected. Drawing up a contract to add Jesse as an owner of The Salty Dog is simple, though he suggested he have one of his colleagues in a different firm do it, as there’s some kind of conflict of interest since he’s Hudson’s lawyer.

Apparently, Hudson paid for the bar renovations against his lawyer’s legal advice, and he suggestsmylawyer – the one he’s referring me to – makes Hudson sign a waiver to state he has no claim on the bar at all. I couldn’t help but smile that his lawyer is even more grumpy than Hudson himself.

So now I have almost an hour before Hudson and his driver are due to pick me up. I walk out of the high rise building and into the New York City streets. It’s late morning but they’re full of people rushing to get somewhere. The sun is beating down from the topaz blue sky, and I head toward the nearest coffee shop and order a double shot cappuccino, because after last night’s bed-ful sex marathon, I need all the caffeine I can get.

“Cute outfit,” the barista says when she passes me the Styrofoam cup. “I love your tie.”

“Thanks.” I give her a broad smile, feeling content as I take a seat by the window. I have two messages from Lee. She’s sent a meme of two little girls – sisters – wearing the same dresses. The younger one is smiling at the camera, with a thought bubble coming out of her head saying ‘I’m dressed like my sister.’ The older one is scowling, while thinking exactly the same thing.

Under it Lee has written,

This is me every time you try to get me to wear a floaty dress.

I go to reply, but then a wave of nostalgia washes over me. I miss her face. So I hit the video call button.

She answers almost right away.

“How was your dirty night in Manhattan?” she asks. Because of course I told her about it.

“Perfect.” I sigh. “I hate how perfect it was.”

“Only you would hate perfection,” Lee replies. She’s in the kitchen, doing some dishes by the looks of it. I think her phone must be propped up on the window sill because she looks like she’s at a weird angle. “So he’s also a master at sex in a bed?”

A woman sipping a chai latte next to me whips her head around to look at me.

“Lee,” I hiss and she laughs.

“Just say yes,” she urges.

“Yes, yes he is.”

“So why do you look like you just found a penny and lost a dollar?” she asks.

“He wants us to go public about our dating.”

Lee’s hands freeze mid wash. “Seriously?”

I nod. “Yes, seriously. He’s talking about making a plan with Ayda’s doctor to make sure finding out about us doesn’t upset her.”

Lee’s brows knit together. “Is that what you want?” she asks.

I can’t work out why she looks so mad about that. “I guess…”

“You guess? This is a little girl we’re talking about. You can’t just guess, Skyler. You have to be sure.” Her jaw tightens. “This is so like you.”

“Why are you so mad at me?” I ask her.

“Because you never take anything seriously,” she says. A wail comes from behind her. “Oh damn. She’s only been asleep ten minutes.” She dries her hands off and disappears, reappearing a minute later holding Cora, doing the mom dance that all babies seem to love. “So you’re really staying there?” she asks.

And then it dawns on me. She’s upset with me because I’m settling on Liberty. “I think so,” I say, feeling reluctant to annoy her further.

“With your new brother.”

“You like Jesse,” I point out. They’ve talked a couple of times since it all came out. Lee even mentioned coming to meet him in the flesh when she gets a chance.

“Sure I like him. I don’t like that you’re willing to stay in the same town as him when you’re not willing to live anywhere near me or your niece.”

“Lee,” I whisper, trying to find the right words. I hate that she looks angry with me. I hate that she’s hurt. I hate that I could never stay around long enough to show her the love she shows me. “You’re my number one sister. You know that.”

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