Page 69 of Happily Never After

“Tell me more about the story,” she said to Bri.

As Brianna chatted, Claire glanced around the restaurant. The odds of her spotting Professor Taylor at a restaurant were slim. But since he was the only known link between her and the mystery of ESA, she would hunt that useless mustache to the ends of the earth. Or at least the end of LA.

Her phone buzzed and a text from Alice lit up the screen confirming she was, in fact, still alive. The knot in her stomach relaxed a little. The perpetrator had regained consciousness but had refused to answer any questions. Miami PD was still investigating, but it seemed like the case was going nowhere. Alice’s responses were getting shorter and snippier, almost as if she was annoyed at her daughter for doing the same thing she had done for Claire’s entire adult life.

Charlie hadn’t arrived yet, but they would know the second she did. A glass of red wine and a whiskey sour appeared at Claire’s elbow. She slid the whiskey sour to the third place setting. A little liquid courage for her, and a peace offering for Charlie. It was sure to be a disaster no matter what, buthopefully her careful planning would pay off. The restaurant was two blocks from Charlie’s office and it was inside only, so neither a commute nor her allergies should aggravate the circumstances.

“And then—spoiler alert—it turns out her stepbrother was the bad guy the whole time,” Brianna finished with a flourish.

“Holy shit,” Claire said, taking a sip of her wine. “That’s quite the story.”

“I know. I think it’ll do medium-well during awards season. They could have sprung for a bigger name for the stepbrother, but my co-lead is very handsome.” She punctuated the sentence with a hand flourish.

“What the hell?” Uh oh, Charlie was here.

Charlie had stopped in her tracks five feet from the table. “What isshedoing here?” She was never one to mince words. Claire had spent a lot of her childhood apologizing for her big sister’s mouth.

“Charlie,” Claire said slowly. She pushed her chair back and stepped forward like she was approaching a hungry tiger. “I thought it was time you met our sister, Brianna.”

Charlie’s lips hardened into a thin line, and she crossed her arms so severely one of the seams in her blazer popped. Not a good sign. Claire handed her the whiskey sour. Charlie released one of her arms from the straightjacket-like hold to sip at it.

Brianna stood and removed her sunglasses. She held one hand out. “Hi, Charlie. I’m Bri. I’ve heard so much about your work in town. You’re a legend at the actors guild.”

Charlie took a half step forward and reached out her hand. Brianna winced as they shook. It was going to be a long lunch.

“Sit, sit.” Claire ushered them back to the table. She signaled to the waiter to bring another round. If Brianna’s sunny personality and alcohol couldn’t loosen Charlie’s vise grip on her hatred for all things Jack-related, nothing could.

“How’s work going today?” Claire said pointedly to Charlie.

“It’s a slow day,” Charlie said, pausing what appeared to be a head-to-toe assessment of Brianna. “Just a run-of-the-mill pregnancy coverup and another DUI. But you’d know all about those, wouldn’t you? Boyfriend crash into any Denny’s lately?” she sniped at Bri.

“Charlie,” Claire warned.

“It’s okay.” Bri grabbed a roll from the bread basket. She crossed one leg underneath her and stabbed her knife into the butter. “That was a weird time in my life. Have you ever dated someone who just has this bizarre hold on you? Like you know that he’s an idiot, but for some reason you just can’t cut that cord?”

Claire, who had spent way too many years of her young life with Jason, nodded and shuddered.

Charlie removed her sunglasses and tucked them in her purse. She folded her arms again. “So why haven’t you ever reached out to us? Before Jack got shot?”

Bri leaned back in her chair. Half a roll lay abandoned on her plate. “To be honest, I didn’t know you existed. I knew Dad had been married before, but I didn’t find out that I had half sisters until Dad got involved with your case, Claire. I was really upset at first, to have this whole family out there that I didn’t know about. I couldn’t believe he kept it from me.”

Claire glanced at Charlie. Her eyes didn’t give anything away. “I see. And after you found out?”

It was like watching an innocent child get interrogated by the principal.

“I didn’t even know if you guys would speak to me,” Bri admitted. “He abandoned your family to start a new one. Who would want to start a relationship with a living, breathing reminder of that?”

“Exactly. Why would we?” Charlie said coldly.

“Hey,” Claire scolded. “Don’t be a dick. It’s not Bri’s fault. She didn’t ask for any of this.”

“You don’t remember what it was like, Claire.” Charlie turned and pointed at her. “When Dad left, you were only six. I was sixteen. Mom couldn’t afford the rent and utilities by herself, so I had to get two part-time jobs and go to school. And drive you everywhere, babysit while Mom worked triple shifts at SaveShop.”

Brianna sank lower in her chair. Maybe Claire should have talked to Charlie in private first.

“I remember,” Claire said slowly. “I also remember you leaving the second you could. You left for college and moved across the country. Then it was just me and Mom until Roy showed up.”

“I was tired of being a second parent,” Charlie admitted. “I didn’t want that responsibility, but I had no choice.”

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