Page 22 of Second to None

But.I could sense it coming, like a thunderstorm about to break.

And then a young, high voice cut into our scene. “Hi! I already brushed my teeth. Can we go now?”

Blonde curls, green eyes, a pinkish dress, and a huge smile missing one tooth. Five or six years old? I froze, everything grinding to a halt as the little girl threw herself into Levi’s lap without any hesitation, small arms going around his neck before she tossed me a curious look. She had his eyes.

His face went through a range of emotions, too quick to catch. Then he hugged her to him, voice warm and gently chiding. “I know you’re excited, Emmy. But it’s rude to just ignore Cass here. Say hello, please?”

Emmy.

Emily?

“Hello, Cass,” she said, something shrewd in the direct way she gazed at me. “Are you coming to Disneyland with us?”

“Emily?” I asked, just to be sure. At Levi’s slight nod, I took a deep breath, a smile taking over my face. “Wow. You were, like,thissmall last time I saw you.” I held my thumb and forefinger a couple of inches apart—an exaggeration, perhaps, but the sentiment held. “Only a year old. And now you’re a proper lady.”

“I’m aperson,” she said as though I’d insulted her. “Withideas.”

Oh my God, she was precious. I wanted tohugher.

“That’s fair,” I said with a grave nod. “Ladies sit around drinking tea, don’t they? While I can already tell that you’ve got things to do, places to be.”

“Like Disneyland,” she agreed, clearly mollified.

“Sorry, she’s got a bit of a one-track mind this morning.” Levi gave her an affectionate nudge. “Hey, can you ask Uncle Mason to help you with breakfast?”

“Sure!” Emily clambered off Levi’s lap, words sunshine-bright. “He promised me Cheerios if I said good morning to you first.”

“Did he now?” Levi muttered darkly, so quiet I almost missed it, clearly not meant for Emily’s ears. She bounced her way back into the house, both Levi and I watching her go. Then I slid him a smile.

“She’s grown so much.”

“She has, yeah.” Something careful sat around his eyes, like he was trying to work through a problem. I leaned back into the cushions, strangely unsettled by… what? I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Was it the curve of his shoulders, the strained line of his mouth?

“Kind of cool that you brought her along.” I kept my voice hushed, blending in with the hum of the morning. “Jess must be happy to have a little break, huh?”

His expression splintered, like glass under heat. He turned his face away, staring at the distant sprawl of the city below, and let out a slow breath. “She’s not getting a break, Cass.”

Something cold pressed against the edges of my thoughts. “Why not?” I asked, but the words felt too small, barely able to travel the gap between us.

Brittle silence stretched. Then he looked at me, the wet sheen to his eyes at odds with how his voice went flat, quiet, like it was nothing at all. “She’s gone. Cancer.” It hung in the air, weightless and unreal. “Emily is… She’s with me now. Has been for two years.”

The world tilted in a sickening lurch. Jessica was... She... And Emily...? Nothing fit anymore. Gravel filled my lungs, and I fought to breathe around it. “Levi, what—” My voice cracked.Icracked. “I didn’t know. I had no idea. I...God.”

He flinched, hands twitching as though he intended to reach for me. He curled them into fists instead, face twisting into a grimace that wouldn’t fully form. “I almost called you. When Jess passed, and Emily just… She shut down. For a bit there.”

My brain felt waterlogged. “Why didn’t you?”

“What would I have said, Cass?” He swallowed and raised his eyes, blinking against the sun. “‘Hey, sorry, I know it’s been years, but my sister just died, and I need you’? I couldn’t. I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Botherme?” God, it felt like a slap. How had we unraveled like this, thread by thread, worn so thin I barely even recognized us anymore?

He puffed out a breath. “I didn’t want you to look at me like this.”

I drew back, reeling as though he’d punched me. Couldn’t look at him—and he didn’t want me to, did he? I got up. Walked two steps toward the pool, reflected sunlight flooding my vision. Stopped.

Breathing—not sure how I still was. It hurt. God, it hurt.

“I’m sorry,” Levi said from behind me. Almost inaudible, yet it sliced through the bleak curtain of my selfishness.Hewas sorry? He’d lost his sister and was raising a child, and he wassorry? No.

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