Page 53 of One Golden Ring
She trails off, but I know what she means. If this goes sideways, there’s no putting our working relationship back together.
“I don’t think it will,” I hear myself tell her.
“Why?” she asks.
“Because… I think he might have feelings too,” I whisper.
“Really?” she asks. Her voice has dropped to the same soft, fascinated tone she uses whenever the most delicious juicy gossip is about to be shared. “That’s a whole different story then. Spill the tea.”
“It’s nothing specific,” I have to admit. “Just a feeling.”
I expect her to scold me and tell me to look out for my heart, but she stays quiet for a minute.
“Darcy,” she says at last. “I trust your instincts. If you think something might be there, then I think you should go for it.”
“Really?” I ask her, amazed.
“Yeah,” she says, and I hear the smile in her voice. “Why not? Live a little, baby sis.”
Mandy has always been my biggest supporter. I wish I could hug her close for that.
“How are the boys?” I ask her instead, knowing that question is better than any hug as far as Mandy is concerned.
“Amazing,” she sings out. “They love preschool. We have to get there early every day so Johnny can ride a tricycle around the playground and George can get in the sandbox.”
“I miss them so much,” I tell her.
“Well, come visit us whenever you can,” she tells me. “And bring that fake fiancé of yours. We could use a little Hallmark movie magic.”
“I love you, big sis,” I tell her.
“Love you more,” she says softly.
I hold the phone to my heart for a moment after hanging up. If I were as rich as Derek I’d jet off to visit my sister every other weekend. We’ve been through so much together and she’s the person who always gets me more than anyone else.
But could she actually be right about this?
I take a deep breath and head out of the room again.
“Everything okay?” Derek asks.
“Yes,” I tell him. “I explained everything. She gets it now. She’s just always been a little protective.”
“You two are close, right?” he asks me. “I can see why she would be surprised you didn’t tell her.”
“We’re really close,” I tell him.
“You lived with her for a while, didn’t you?” he asks me. “Before you came to the city?”
He’s unpacking the ball ornaments now, so I sit at the dining room table and lay out the hooks so I can thread them through.
“She was expecting twins,” I tell him as I work. “And her husband was away for work when they came early—too early. Mandy almost didn’t survive it.”
“Oh,” he says. “Wow. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I went out there to help,” I tell him. “But I ended up staying almost a year.”
“That was good of you, Darcy,” he says, meeting my eyes. “It must have been hard.”
