Page 56 of The Caress

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

KEIR

I’m on my way to meet Saffron for lunch. It has nothing to do with the fact that Ella has been staying at her house for the past week.

Nope.

Ella has nothing to do with it.

This is just me wanting to spend some quality time with my younger sister. That’s all. I’ll strenuously deny any other implication.

But I do hope Ella is okay.

There.

I can admit it, at least within the privacy of my own thoughts.

Saffron is waiting for me at the table when I get to the restaurant, which is good, because I’m way too grouchy and restless these days to sit by myself for more than a few minutes at a time.

"Look at you." She smiles and stands to give me a hug. "Almost on time. I’m almost impressed."

"That's what I want to be," I say wryly as I take a seat across from her. "Almost impressive."

"So what’s new?" She arches a brow and pins me with a hard look. "I’m actually kind of surprised you accepted my invitation today."

"Because you’re going to take Ella’s side over your own brother?" I shoot back, unwilling to take any shit when she doesn’t know all the details.

"You might be surprised to hear that I’m trying to stay impartial." She pauses long enough for us to order when the waiter stops by, then continues. "I gave Ella some pretty direct friend-talk about where I thought she messed up. She agreed with me. Well, mostly. So no, we’re not over at my house plotting your downfall or anything dramatic like that."

I actually surprised to hear that Ella has accepted any responsibility for the way things ended between us, but that isn’t going to change how I feel. "She’s doing okay, then?" I ask because I’m fucking weak and can’t help myself.

"Depends on your definition of ‘okay,’ I guess, but yeah. I think she’ll be fine eventually. She’s a strong woman who’s had her heart broken, but she’ll bounce back."

I nod, afraid to open my mouth again in case I say something stupid, like how much I'd been missing her or how I wish things had gone down differently that day her dad came to my house.

"Let’s talk about something else," I say instead, unwilling to go too far down the rabbit hole of wishing for things that aren’t ever going to happen. "What else have you been up to lately? How was your trip to America?"

"How’d you know I went to California?" her brows furrow as she sits perfectly upright in her chair. "Have you and Mom been spying on me?"

I know she’s joking, but I can’t stop myself from bristling at the question. "I’m not Mom. I don’t spy."

I also don’t arrange for people to be murdered.

"Okay, okay," she holds her hands up. "I guess I hit a nerve. But my trip was fine, to answer your question. I spent some time with Deacon while I was there."

"Deacon? My friend, Deacon?"

"Do you know of any other guys named Deacon?" She rolls her eyes. "It’s not like you have a monopoly on his time. He told me he hasn’t even spoken to you since we were all in L.A. together. "That was forever ago."

"It’s been a while, yeah," I grumble. "Listen to me, though. I don’t want you to get involved with Deacon. He’s a good guy and a great friend, but I don’t want to have to knock him out for taking advantage of my sister."

She wrinkles her nose. "He didn’ttake advantageof me. Not the way, it's not any of your business. And no, I didn’t go there to hook up with him, but I might take an internship at his company this summer if he has a spot for me."

"Why? You can stay here and work for free at NewsCorp if you want to be an intern."

Another eyeroll. "No offense, but there’s no way in hell I want to work for you. The only internship I’m interested in taking is the one in Los Angeles. I’m not going to let you talk me out of it, so don’t even try."

I clench my teeth, barely able to bite back an overly-harsh reply. "Noted," I grind out. "And no offense taken."

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