Zoe heaved a sigh, knowing that Willow was right. She’d known her brother all her life. He was more like a father than a brother in a lot of ways, and she knew his strengths and his weaknesses. Willow let go of her hands and stepped back behind the kitchen island.
“Why don’t you go talk to him while I whip us up some lunch. Do you like turkey sandwiches with lettuce and pickles?”
“Heck yes,” Zoe said, smiling at her kind-hearted sister-in-law.
Someone as emotionally expressive as Willow was exactly the kind of women Corey needed to balance him out.
“Good,” Willow said. “Corey is in his cave. I mean office. Don’t get scared if he growls at you when you go in.”
“Hmm. Maybe I should wait for a better time.”
“Believe me. There’s never a better time,” Willow said, giggling as she pulled a bag of fresh sandwich rolls out of a cabinet.
“Point taken. Here goes nothing.”
“Good luck, Zoe. I’m rooting for you.”
“Thank you, Willow,” Zoe said, stepping out of the kitchen. She went back to the entrance hall and climbed the stairs to the second floor. All the way up the stairs, the view of the outside the front windows expanded out before her. Her brother had a kickass house, and it made her wish she had a home of her own. And maybe she did, now that she had Rollo. Anywhere he was, she belonged too.
She came to Corey’s office door, and rapped her knuckles on the door. There was a grumbling response from inside so she just swung open the door and stepped in without stopping.
“I thought I smelled your scent,” Corey said. “What are you doing here, Zoe? I’m working.”
“I just wanted to talk about yesterday,” Zoe said, running her index finger along the top of a discarded computer monitor on a table next to the door.
She moved further into the room and collapsed on an armchair, feeling like a kid annoying her big brother. He gave her a look that said ‘what the hell?’ and raised an eyebrow at her.
“What did you want to say?” he asked, swiveling his office chair toward her.
He was wearing khaki shorts and a polo shirt with a pair of trendy sneakers. He looked very much the image of the downplayed creative class billionaire he was. Zoe had to keep herself from rolling her eyes at him.
“Corey, I can’t stand things being so shitty between us.”
“There’s no reason for them to be,” he said dismissively.
“That is where you are wrong, Corey. Don’t you understand why we’ve had such a bad relationship for so long?”
“You and I are very different people, Zoe. I’ve never understood your motivations.”
“That’s exactly my point, bro,” she said, keeping her irritation contained as much as possible.
“Wait a minute, I’m confused.”
“Look, Corey, I love you. You’re my brother, and I’ll always be grateful for what you’ve done for me and for Mom before she died. But like you said yourself, we are very different people. What works for me isn’t what works for you, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”
“I’ve never suggested that it does.”
“Actually, you have. Constantly. My entire life… Don’t you get it?”
“Zoe, I had a lot of responsibilities very young and you were a wild kid. You never did what you were supposed to. It drove Mom crazy, and I had to bear the burden of making sure you didn’t self-destruct.”
“I understand Corey, but that was a long time ago. I’m not twelve anymore.”
“Sometimes you act like you are.”
“See? That is exactly what I’m talking about. I do not act like a twelve-year-old. I’ve been traveling the world for seven years, Corey. Seven years. Money or not, the world is a big, dangerous place, and I’ve survived it on my own.”
“Tell me why you came here, Zoe. You’ve always hated small towns and small town people. Isn’t that what you said when you left?”
“Yes. I did say that. And I meant it at the time. But things change and so have I. I came to Fate Mountain to go to the Bright Institute for Shifters to learn woodworking.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“And so I could steal jewels from Caitlin Somerset’s Louis the Fifteenth chest and give them to my psycho ex-boyfriend the mob boss.”
“Oh. Well, that sounds more believable.”
“I’m glad you finally believe something I say.”
“How did you get involved with the mob?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
“It’s a long story. But I just want you to know that I didn’t get involved with crime to be a criminal. I had real feelings for Dima when we first got together. I was just part of his entourage for a long time. When he found out I was a shifter, that’s when things changed.
“He wanted me to start using my abilities for his benefit. After I lost a million dollars’ worth of jewels in an airport, he held me like a prisoner, with the threat of death hanging over my head every day.