Page 89 of Cam Girl

“To the cabin, yeah.”

Something about the way she says the word home makes me realize it’s not her home. And how can it be, with all the shit going on?

“Will my car be safe on the street overnight?”

“Sure, it’ll be fine. No one is going to bother it as long as you have it locked.”

“That’s not what Soren said,” she mutters.

I glance sideways at her to find her staring out the window at the darkening landscape. The buildings in town slowly shift into more suburban views.

Funny how everything centers around Soren. How we walk around on eggshells waiting for his permission, his forgiveness, his blessing.

Even me, despite being the oldest in our merry band of bastards.

Some men are born with natural charisma that shines a spotlight on them no matter what they do. No matter how often I’ve fancied myself as that person, I’m nothing compared to Soren and the way he magnetizes people toward him. Aiden is the same, even if to a lesser degree. I, apparently, was not so blessed.

“Do you think you’ll ever be friendly?” I find myself asking Gilli.

“Hmm?”

“With your stepbrother.”

“I’m not the one with a problem,” she says lightly.

“But you’ve never wanted to have a relationship with him.”

She holds her breath, her nose twitching. “You want to get into my personal life?”

“I think I’m just trying to make conversation while I navigate to the closest fast food place. My treat.”

“I’ll be brief, then, since you’re treating me to dinner,” she replies.

“It’s not a quid pro quo situation, Gillian.”

“Ah, back to that. You are a pain in my ass.” She settles in the seat with her hands folded on her lap, no ire in her tone. “The past is the past, but I still have a bad relationship with my mom and dad. Each of them for different reasons. My mom’s new marriage brought Soren into our lives and he made it clear right off the bat he wanted nothing to do with us. So the feeling, if it didn’t start out that way, is mutual now.”

“I get it. Siblings suck.”

“I love my sisters, but yeah, they suck too.”

I bark out a laugh. “I’ve got one of them. She lives out in California. Wanted to get as far away from this place as possible.”

Who can blame her?

I pull up to the drive-through menu of a fried chicken place. “Any requests?”

Gilli waves her hand, and I’m hoping it indicates she has no preference before I rattle off an order for two family size meals. The more, the better. I know what kind of appetites Soren and Aiden have, and after barely eating enough myself today, I’m starving.

“I wanted to get out too,” I admit as I pull up to the window and draw my credit card out of my wallet. Handing it off to the cashier, I wait for him to run it and return it before facing Gilli. “I stayed for Dana. I don’t regret anything, but sometimes family can be stifling. I’m notone to tell you that you did the right or the wrong thing. You have to do what’s right for you.”

“How magnanimous,” she says dryly.

But her smile is real and I find myself mimicking the expression.

“We all have our reasons for things. Will you judge me if I tell you it might benefit youandSoren to have a talk?”

“No, no judgment from me. I will tell you I have a better chance of pulling out a tooth from a hippo than I do of having a talk without him yelling at me. He has a terrible habit of getting enraged when I’m in the room.”

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