Page 6 of Unfinished

Sienna’s mouth worked itself into a crooked smile. “I know you think you do, but going back to Edgar isn’t in my best interest. Please just drop it, and let’s have a nice lunch together.” She reached for that bowl of roasted potatoes and scooped a generous serving onto her plate. “The food all looks delicious as usual,” she added as she passed the bowl towards her brother. “Thanks for inviting me to share it with you.”

Her mother didn’t speak, reaching for her wine glass instead, but Sienna still counted it as a victory. Maybe this list thing was going to work, and even better than she’d hoped. She was already feeling stronger than she had in the longest time.

4

The sun was already beginningto lower towards the lake when Sienna reached her street early that evening. She’d spent longer than she’d anticipated at her parents’, drinking a glass of wine on the terrace and walking around her mother’s gardens with Theo. They hadn’t talked like that in years, and despite the lingering disappointment she felt over her mother’s reaction to the news about her and Edgar, Sienna was almost at peace with the visit since it’d brought Theo and her closer again.

She stepped up to the bio-scanner and waited for the door to her building to open. Hearing the soft click as the lock disengaged seemed to act as a signal to her brain to release the remaining tension stored in her body from the visit home. She felt loose-limbed and pleasantly tired as she approached the lift. Sienna wasn’t in the mood for the stairs today, although she normally made a point to take them unless she was carrying something up to the apartment. She’d gotten into the habit of making every little part of her day into a challenge, but there was no one left to impress—Sienna planned to enjoy the rest of her evening.Alone.

A smile played at the corner of her lips as she waited for the lift to stop at her floor. She’d take a long, wasteful shower first, and then she’d sprawl out across her bed and just stare at the ceiling, or maybe turn to look at the skyline as she imagined what could come next.

The doors opened with a hiss, and she stepped into the hallway with an unaccustomed swing in her step, the refrain from a song she’d heard during the transport ride back echoing in her mind. She was mouthing the words as the bio-scanner at her apartment door made a quick pass across her eyes. She paused to smile, wistfulness and contentment dancing alongside the other, each taking their turn. It’d been such a surprisingly satisfying day.

The first thing she noticed when she stepped inside was that the lights were on in her kitchen. The next was the half full glass of wine on the counter, standing beside a similarly half empty bottle.

Sienna’s body froze, every muscle tightening as she tried to process the information in front of her. She didn’t have anything on her, nothing at all she could use to defend herself. Sienna was planning to reach for the potted fern on her console table when a little voice in her head whispered that most robbers wouldn’t bother to indulge in her pinot grigio mid-crime.

“There you are. It took you long enough.”

She turned toward the voice and blinked as if the scene might change if she were able to clear her eyes, but no, Edgar was still sitting on her couch, knees splayed out, arms extended along both sides of the back cushion, his dark brown hair tousled and his button-down untucked. Her mouth opened like a guppy’s as she struggled to take it all in.

Was Edgar…drunk? It was almost a good look on him, and the idea brought with it a faint stirring of alarm that a part of her still found him just a teeny, tiny bit appealing. It’d been a long time since she’d seen him let loose. She’d forgotten just how tempting those brown eyes could be when he chose to use them right, the way his heavy lidded gaze could sear a path of heat down her body. It was time to shut down that line of thought.

“Edgar. What are you doing here?” she asked.

Sienna walked towards the living room, cursing herself for forgetting to update the biometric lock on her door. She should’ve revoked his access to her building and unit the night he’d ended things, but it’d slipped her mind.

“It’s been over a week, Sienna. What do you think I’m doing here? You’ve had enough time to come to your senses. I’m willing to take you back, but I have some terms.”

She wasn’t wrong about the amount of alcohol he must’ve imbibed. Edgar was slurring. It was so strange that she wasn’t quite sure what to do with her face, whether she should laugh, shout, or frown.Take her back? Terms?Who was he kidding? She shot another furtive look at his profile. He was definitely intoxicated, but she didn’t think he’d lost all reason. Did he really think she’d even consider getting back together?

“No thanks. Should I call you a transport? I hope you don’t expect to drive yourself.” Sienna’s finger drifted towards her comm device as she prepared to request a vehicle. Hopefully they wouldn’t need to wait long for one to arrive.

“No thanks?”

He laughed, but it was a jagged sort of sound, heavy with derision as it rumbled across her skin, drawing goosebumps in its wake. He rose from the couch and tipped his head back as he ran a hand through his thick hair. She was treated to another taste of that sardonic laughter as he slid around the side of her coffee table.

“You can’t be serious. I’ll pour you a glass of wine, and we’ll discuss this like adults.” He lowered his hand and chuckled. “No thanks,” he repeated, almost fondly, as he crossed the living room, stepping into the kitchen to reach for another glass.

“I don’t want any wine. I had a glass at my parents’ earlier, and I have plans for the evening.”

He glanced back and lifted an eyebrow. “Plans? Right.” He turned to the cabinet and pulled down a glass and used his thumb to pop the cork out of the open bottle on the counter.

She watched the pale liquid fill the glass as he poured and resisted the temptation to bite down on the tip of her tongue. She didn’t have to put up with this anymore—Edgar wasn’t her partner, her boyfriend, or even an invited guest. She swiped and tapped the screen of her comm device until the transport icon turned yellow. Five minutes—that’s how long it’d take a ride to pull up at the curb below.

“No thanks,” Sienna said again, more forcefully, as she held up a hand and refused the glass Edgar was pushing towards her. “I meant it when I said it the first time, and I meant it last Friday, too. You were right. We really don’t want the same things, and that isn’t going to change.”

“And you honestly think there’s anyone who’ll be willing to give them to you, these ‘things’ you want? Keep dreaming, Sienna. The kind of men who want a passel of brats aren’t looking for a frigid bitch of a wife who’s already past her expiration date. You and me, we make sense. So you have to compromise a little—that’s life. You know everyone expects us to take the next step soon. My family, yours, our bosses and friends. Do you really want to try to start over now?” He pressed the stem of the wineglass closer, and his knuckles touched her fingertips alongside the cool glass. “Think about it. You throw this chance away and you might never get another.”

Sienna snatched her fingers back as if they’d been burned and took a step backwards.

“Get out. Get out of my apartment. There’s a transport waiting for you at the street.”

He didn’t move at first, and she watched his hand tighten around the glass’ delicate stem and wondered whether it would crack under the pressure. When he turned towards her door, his body practically vibrated with repressed anger, but the only other outward clue he was so affected was the way he slammed the glass he held down on her console table. Wine splashed over the side, and she could hear it dripping to the floor as he flung open the door.

One foot in the hall, one still in her apartment, he looked back and met her eyes. “You’ll regret this. Mark my words. You’ll be the one to come crawling back to me.”

The door shut with a heavy thud just as the transport notification pinged on her comm device. The icon turned green—the vehicle she’d called was ready to take Edgar away. Sienna backed up until her shoulders hit the wall, and then she let herself slump against the hard surface.

---