She reached for the door handle, but I covered her hand with mine, halting her escape.
“Olivia, stop this.”
“You had your hands all over her. Let me guess. It was strictly professional.”
“She was upset. You saw her.”
She pulled away from my touch and avoided my eyes. She was thinking the worst of me, and the only way out of it was the truth. I dragged my hands over my face. Everything was so fucked up right now.
“Listen, Reilly is blackmailing her to get cut in on what he gave up. He’s got video of her fucking her old boss in his office. He’s threatening to leak it if she can’t figure out a way to line his pockets. I don’t know yet if Dermott is trying to get in on it too, but I’m going to find out.”
She blinked a few times and then softened a bit. “That’s horrible.”
I skimmed my hands up and down her arms, breathing out a sigh of relief. “Try not to think the worst of me, if you can help it.”
She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too. It’s a fucked-up situation, but we’re going to figure it out.”
She looked up at me. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to go to Dermott and get that fucking video.”
“But you’re leaving in a few days.”
I cursed inwardly. This fucking trip. I’d have to get a meeting with Dermott before I left. I couldn’t let the situation fester, and I didn’t trust Jia not to do anything stupid while I was gone. Her career was hanging in the balance.
The idea of leaving Olivia alone still burned me too. Thank God Jia wasn’t going with me on the trip. Olivia would lose her mind, no matter what I said. Then a thought struck me.
“I’ll figure this out with Dermott before I go. In the meantime, you’re going to start packing your bags. You’re coming with me to London.”
IAN
I walked through the door of my mother’s house after a twenty-four-hour shift. I felt like I was leaving one kind of chaos and entering another. Sunday meant another family dinner—or a house full of nosy women, loud cousins, and amazing food.
Ever since I’d started crashing at my mom’s after leaving Will’s place, my mother and sisters had been all in my shit, wondering what was going on that had brought me back home so suddenly. I had to find a new place soon.
My youngest sister, Mia, lifted her head, tearing her attention away from some garbage television show. “What’s up, loser?”
I dropped my bag by the couch and sank down beside her. “Not much, brat.”
She smirked. “How was work?”
I shrugged. “Same as usual.”
Two panic attacks, a cardiac arrest, and an overdose. Nothing that stood out from the norm. Nothing that could touch the pain I’d endured after leaving Liv.
“Bring anyone back to life?”
“Couple people, yeah. Where is everyone?”
“In the backyard.”
We shared a knowing look. Mia had just turned sixteen and wasn’t overly fond of family gatherings either. We were a generation apart, but somehow we were both equally committed to sulky antisocial behavior as of late.
My oldest sister, Gabrielle, popped her head through the doorway of the kitchen. “Ian! You’re here. Come out back. Everyone’s here. Shawn too.” She lifted her eyebrows, like in a house full of women, the presence of one male would entice me into a social mood.
“I’ll be out in a sec.”
She left, and I rose, fatigue heavy in my muscles.
“Sucker,” Mia muttered.
I turned away from her with a tired chuckle and made my way to join the others.
As promised, the rest of my sisters and their kids and partners were congregated in the yard that we shared with the tenants above us. The autumn air was cool, but the sun shone into the private little outdoor area, making for a beautiful day.
I grabbed a beer from a nearby cooler and took a seat around the patio table where a few serving dishes had already been set out.
Gabrielle’s husband was manning the grill, turning vegetables and steaks over methodically while Ella tugged at his shirt, begging him to play. Shawn wasn’t my niece’s biological father. Her real father worked on a merchant ship, which meant he only spent a few months a year in the city. He and Gabrielle had had a quick romance that had resulted in Ella, but they’d quickly grown apart. A year later she met Shawn, and they’d been together ever since.
After a few minutes of determined pestering, Ella managed to coax Shawn away from the grill. He lifted her up in a dramatic sweep and turned her upside down until she squealed with laughter. He tickled her until she was breathless, laughing the whole time like he was enjoying teasing her as much as she enjoyed the torture.
Their affection toward each other wasn’t qualified by their blood. He was as much her father, if not more, than the man who saw her a few times a year.
Gabrielle sauntered into the courtyard. “Come on, Ella. Let Daddy cook.”