Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

He knew he was oversimplifying the problem and possibly getting it all wrong, but in his gut, he thought he was onto at least some part of the truth. He also guessed the issue might not be all about sex at all. That somehow love and commitment were woven into it. Why else would an otherwise fairly traditional twenty-eight-year-old woman be willing to enter into a long-term relationship where there was no promise of love and marriage?

He thought about what Sven had implied—that Kelly being quiet in bed had been a euphemism for something else. He wondered how hard the other man had tried to get her over the edge, then shook his head. Something else he didn’t want to think about so early in the day. Or ever.

He reached for his coffee. Now that he’d defined the problem, he had to figure out how to solve it. He knew he was in way over his head, but hey, he knew all the stages of female arousal, so that was something. Maybe he would pinpoint where she derailed. Because he would have sworn she was doing just fine. And she’d been the one to initiate sex, so she wasn’t opposed to the concept. It was the end that stalled her. Was it losing control? Did she slam on the brakes because she was afraid of what would happen?

He got up and walked to the kitchen to pour his third cup of coffee. Okay—he might or might not know the problem. He now had several new techniques to try. He was armed with information and a willing spirit, not to mention a dick that was very happy to take one for the team...over and over again.

As long as she was game, he was going to work to find the solution to the problem, and when they got there, he was going to have a hell of a good time saying “I told you so.”

*

Kelly wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the shower only to find Olivia standing by their long, shared vanity. Kelly came to a stop, not sure what to do. She’d been trying really hard to avoid being alone with Olivia. Okay, she’d actually been trying really hard not to see her sister at all, but run-ins were inevitable what with them living in the same house and sharing said bathroom.

“You can’t avoid me forever,” Olivia said, her arms folded across her chest, her gaze determined.

“I can try.”

“That’s mature.”

“Trust me. Dealing with immature is going to be a whole lot easier for you than dealing with incredibly pissed off.”

“You’re mad at me.”

“No, why would you say that?”

Kelly started to walk around her, but Olivia blocked her only way to her bedroom.

Kelly rolled her eyes. “Really? This is how you want to play it?”

“I’ll play it any way I have to. We need to talk. You can listen easy or you can listen hard, but one way or the other, we’re going to have a conversation.”

“How do you listen hard?”

Olivia groaned. “You know what I mean.”

“I do, but you really have to work on your communication skills.” She realized she wasn’t acting angry enough and glared. “Why on earth would I want to talk to you?”

“I didn’t say talk, I said listen.”

“You said we had to talk.”

Olivia threw her hands in the air. “Dear God, will you stop? I know what I said and you’re not going to distract me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was living in Phoenix with Mom.” She sighed. “Not living with her, but working with her and spending time with her. I was afraid you’d be upset if you found out.”

“Good call.”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t want me around.”

“Again, excellent deductive skills.”

Her sister leaned against the counter. “You can be as sarcastic as you want, but the truth is we’re sisters. Marilee screwed us both. She left us both. I was just as abandoned as you, Kelly. Maybe more. I was younger and I didn’t have Dad the way you did.”

Kelly didn’t want to think about that. She tightened her towel and tried not to feel sympathetic for the kid her sister had been.

She wanted to say that Olivia hadn’t been alone—that she and her dad had been there for her, only she was pretty sure they hadn’t been. She was pretty sure they’d been so confused and upset that she’d been forgotten.

Not her finest hour, she thought. Telling herself she’d only been fifteen didn’t help. She should have looked out for her baby sister.

“I was really alone at boarding school,” Olivia said, one shoulder raised. “I hated it and you and Dad.” She held up a hand. “Don’t apologize. That’s not the point. I was there, I was trying to deal. One day I got the idea to get in touch with Mom. You know the rest.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I finally had her back. I finally had something you didn’t. I wasn’t alone. I liked having a secret.” She sighed. “Pick one, pick all of them. When I went to college, you and I had that big fight.”

Kelly closed her eyes and nodded. She’d been outraged that Olivia wanted to go to the same school as Ryan. It had been ridiculous and a huge waste of money. Their dad had said it was fine. She wondered now how much of his decision had been formed by guilt.

“When that didn’t work out, Mom suggested I move closer to her so I transferred to ASU. From there, it was easy to get a job with her. I was still mad at you and Dad, so I kept the secret. Eventually I didn’t know how to tell the truth anymore. Not without being the bad guy.”

“And that spot was reserved for us.”

Olivia nodded. “I had no idea she was going to show up here. You have to believe that. I’ve been...” Her mouth twisted. “It’s hard to explain. Working with her is complicated. She’s great and then she’s not. Lately there’s been a lot more not. I’ve been thinking about doing something else, but I couldn’t figure out what. Coming here was supposed to give me time to think. You have to believe me. I was trying to get away from her, not lure her back.”

Kelly didn’t want to believe anything, but she couldn’t help thinking maybe Olivia was telling the truth...about all of it.

“I’m sorry, too,” she whispered, then couldn’t figure out why she’d said that. Only she meant the words. “About what happened, about how I wasn’t there for you.”

“It wasn’t us,” her sister told her. “It was our parents. Both of them. They screwed us up big-time.”

Kelly wanted to come to Jeff’s defense, but knew Olivia was right. The adults in the family had been so focused on what they had going on, their daughters had been left to fend for themselves.

“I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you about Mom,” Olivia said.

“I’m sorry I had you sent away.”

Olivia dropped her chin to her chest. “While it pains me to say this, it wasn’t your decision.” She straightened. “Can we be okay?”

Kelly thought about all the swirling emotion inside of her—how she’d felt so betrayed. That emotion could only have existed if her sister was starting to matter to her. She didn’t want to lose what they’d had. Not because of something involving Marilee. “I’d like us to be.”

“Me, too.”

Kelly shifted from foot to foot. “I’d hug you, but I’m wearing a towel and that would be weird.”

Olivia laughed. “I agree. But we’re better?”

“Uh-huh. I’m still mad at Mom, though. You have to be okay with that.”

“We’ll form a team, get uniforms and a sponsor. How’s that?”

Kelly laughed. “It’s perfect.”





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