Page 6 of The Decadent Gift (The Gift 3)
Was she right?
My brow furrowed as I flipped back through the calendar in my head.
April, March, February.
Holy shit.
It had been a long time.
Too long.
Next to the Chanel, I bowed obsequiously. “Apologies, oh great sister of mine. I am a dick. Work has been insane. We had some new clients with all sorts of rights reversions, and it has been a hell of a crazy time.” Business at the firm was good. Almost too good. In addition to the rights reversions, we’d inked new deals for TV shows and struck partnerships for on-air talent. Things were booming when it came to entertainment law.
And when I’d gotten into law school, I’d vowed to never complain about too much work.
Hell, I’d made that vow when I entered college too.
This was how I lived my life.
Christine and I knew all too well what the other side of the equation was like. We’d seen it happen to our dad growing up. Watched him struggle to make ends meet as an appliance salesman when we were kids. He’d weathered too many storms with zero business. Too many nights coming home without nabbing so much as a single dishwasher sale. I’d never bitch about having too much to handle, especially since all the extra work I’d taken on helped fund my parents’ well-deserved retirement.
Dad’s days with his new running club, training for a 5K.
Mom’s time to garden, read, and relax.
And perfume. Lots of perfume.
Christine shot me a big-sister look as she squeezed my arm. “I know you have a ton going on, and it’s awesome. No one works harder than you. But you need balance. You’re working too much, Jake. I don’t get to see you. Carson wants to see you. He loves his uncle. He asks about you, wants to know when you’ll come by. He has a soccer game on Sunday.”
That tugged at my heart.
I loved that rug rat. I wanted to see him, play pinball with him, shoot hoops with the kid. Christine’s husband had died a few years ago, so I did my best to help out with her son, now eleven, when I could. “I’ll pick him up after school tomorrow and play pinball with him.”
Christine laughed. “I’m not angling for a school pickup.”
“Too bad. You got one. And I will go to his soccer match this Sunday. I promise. Forgive me,” I said, pressing my hands together in prayer as we wandered past an Obsession display.
She smiled, adjusted her bun, then shook her head. “No apologies necessary as long as you try to relax and take a weekend off. You need some downtime. Can you get away from the office? Relax? You seem tense.”
“Should I book myself a spa getaway?” I asked, teasing.
But her gray eyes remained stern, knowing. “I mean it. Don’t work yourself too hard. That’s what Dad did.”
“I’m not going to have a heart attack,” I said softly. “Or nearly die of one either.”
“Let’s make sure of that. And that means doing something other than work. Can you just take a weekend off?”
I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair. “Maybe,” I said, picturing the stack of contracts I needed to weed through tomorrow. But after that? “It’s possible.”
“Do it,” she said, like a drill sergeant. “Have some fun. You’re seeing your friends tonight, right?”
“Yep. We’re hitting Edge in a little bit,” I said.
“And that includes Kate?” Christine lifted a brow in question.
I stared at her inquisitively. Why did she single out the gorgeous brunette? “She’s usually part of the crew. Why do you bring her up?”
She smiled coyly. “No reason.”
I crossed my arms. “Bull. You always have a reason. Are you running a secret underground perfume ring with her?”
Christine laughed. “No, but thanks for the new business idea. And, honestly, I’ve just noticed that you always seem to sparkle when you mention her.”
I furrowed my brow. “I do not sparkle. I’m not a vampire.”
Her eyes glinted. “But you know that vampires sparkle in Twilight. That’s adorable.”
“That’s something everyone knows,” I said, defending myself once again. “Also, I don’t sparkle, period.”
“Maybe a little sparkle?” She narrowed her eyes and held up two fingers, a sliver of space between them. “That’s what I told my girlfriends. That you sparkle just the slightest bit. They all think it’s endearing. A sparkly little brother.”
I groaned. “Please tell me you aren’t telling your friends about me and trying to set me up again.”
She dropped her mouth wide open in a who, me gesture. “Moi? I’d never do that. I prefer to push you directly toward the women I think are best for you.” She winked, then returned to her normal voice. “Anyway, I’m glad you’ll see her. Like I said, you light up when you talk about her,” she said, her word choice deliberate.
“It’s not as if I’m a beacon of darkness when she’s not around.”
