Page 55 of The Last Goodbye

Wait. We don’t hate her anymore?

Cannon

That’s old news, dickwiener. He likes her.

He can hear you.

Cutler

He’s avoiding the question.

Just pulled into the airport.

Phoenix

Nice timing.

Cannon

We will finish this conversation later.

The truth was, I didn’t know what was going on between Briar and me. I’d seen her several times over the last few days because we’d started demo at the new restaurant. She was overseeing the whole project, which I was grateful for. Cutler had several jobs going on, and I still needed to work, so having her on-site all day, every day, would only benefit me. I’d been meeting her there at least once a day whenever I could get away from work, but she was definitely putting in the time.

Committed to her job.

It was impressive.

We hadn’t discussed anything that had happened the other day. I hadn’t brought up the fact that she’d yet to finish telling me the other things she thought about me, and I made a conscious effort not to be flirty with her, the way I’d been at the bar.

The guys weren’t wrong about what they’d picked up on. I’d learned that booze and Briar were a dangerous combination.

I’d put my guard down, and we’d entered a bit of a gray area.

But we’d both clearly pulled our heads out of our asses, and we’d gone back to acting completely professional with one another.

I made it to the airport with plenty of time. I met up with everyone, and we grabbed breakfast near the gate while waiting for Cannon, who walked up without a care in the world minutes before we boarded.

The flight to New York took several hours, which I used to get caught up on emails. I closed my laptop when we landed.

It was a short drive to the hotel. We’d all agreed to meet downstairs in an hour, because Jovi was joining us for a celebratory dinner. Unfortunately, she’d insisted I add a seat for our mother, because she believed that the woman was actually going to show up to celebrate her graduation.

I knew better.

Hell, maybe I was wrong. Maybe she’d surprise me.

But a lifetime of disappointments left a mark, and I just didn’t see her making this a priority. I would love nothing more than for this to be the one time that she proved me wrong, not because I wanted to see her, but because I knew it was going to crush Jovi when she didn’t show.

It always did.

How many times could you take a punch to the gut before you stopped allowing it to happen?

Jovi never stopped allowing it to happen.

My sister was a pro at hiding the disappointment, but I knew her well. I knew it hurt, and that fucking killed me.

My phone rang, and I was surprised to see a FaceTime call from Briar on my screen. She always texted me. She’d never called. And she’d certainly never FaceTimed.

“Hey,” I said, dropping to sit on the bed as her face came into focus.