Page 116 of Scotch on the Rocks

I typed out a new text right below the others, watching as two ticks appeared. Then, I waited for those ticks to turn blue to let me know she’d read it.

I was still staring at the screen when Heather, shucking out of her thick coat and scarf, voiced, “Someone bettertell me what the hell is going on, the tension in this room is making me antsy.”

It was almost five in the morning. Hopefully she’d stopped searching and gone to bed. I doubted it. The thick, slimy feeling spreading through my gut doubted it too.

So distracted by thoughts of Juniper, I didn’t even hear the conversation taking place around me until Alistair clipped, “Callum’s fucking Juniper.”

Mal wheezed, looking unprepared to dive between the two of us again.

April gasped in a god-awful display of shock, given her occupation.

And Heather said nothing at all.

I stared at my brother, resisting the impulse shake him. “I get that you’re pissed, but I’ll only say it one more time, keep her name out of your mouth.Fuckingisn’t half of what’s between us.”

“Oh, so you have feelings for her now?” he hit back with a sneer.

“Yes.” My voice whipped dangerously. If he’d been anyone but my brother, I wouldn’t even have dignified him with a response.

“Don’t make me laugh, Callum, you don’t take anything seriously.”

It wasn’t at all what I’d expected him to say, and it hurt more than I’d ever admit out loud. Absorbing the stinging blow, I volleyed my own. Words I’d regret later. “And how the fuck would you know, huh? Knowing would mean actually visiting your family once in a while, or a phone call where you aren’t distracted half the time. Ava and Emily barely even know who you are—”

At Alistair’s flinch, Heather jumped between us. “Woah, all right, I think maybe we should take it down a notch.”

“As if you’re all right with this.” Alistair flung a hand at her. His good hand, I noted, the other he kept tucked inside his jacket.

“I wasn’t at first but—”

“Wait, wait, wait …” Like a switch had been flipped, all fight drained from him as his gaze flicked between us. “You already knew about this? Since when?”

Heather’s lips rolled together. I could see the gears turning in her mind, deciding whether to lie or tell the truth. She settled on honesty. “I found out a few weeks ago,” she said simply. “And quickly realised it isn’t my place to be pissed off.”

I opened my mouth to intervene on Heather’s behalf, when Mal cleared his throat. “This is probably a good time to mention that I also knew.”

Fucking hell, probably could have kept that to yourself, Mal.

Alistair’s expression shifted from stunned to betrayed in a nanosecond. He was a man who prided himself on always having the right answer, being last to know something so huge would hurt him deeply.

I couldn’t stand thatIwas the one causing that hurt.

Sighing, I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Alistair, I’m sorry—”

“You all knew?” Alistair’s chest heaved, like he was absorbing a great weight. The result trickled around the room until the air felt thick.

“It wasn’t intentional.”

He nodded shakily, a raw laugh slipping free. “Right.”

“It wasn’t,” I implored, stalking closer.

His eyes were glassy when they settled on me, wounded and furious, ready to land another blow. “As you’ve finally decided to be so honest, this is the perfect time to come clean about Dad’s diagnosis.”

My stomach sank. Mouth snapping open, then closed, as my retort died on my tongue.

“What’s he talking about?” Heather’s voice sounded suddenly small, the way she’d sounded when she was seven years old.

“Don’t.” I pointed a finger at Alistair, unable to look at my baby sister. “Don’t you dare use Dad as a way of getting back at me.”

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