A look of understanding flashes before his eyes.
“So whether or not this had anything to do with me at all, I’m guilty by association. By blood.” I shake my head, the anger starting to surge again. “You know what? Fuck you.”
Swiping my keys off the counter, I glare at him as I march by.
Camilla
“I liked the one with watercolors, but not so much the primary tones,” I say, balancing the phone on my shoulder as I wipe off the countertop. Tossing the sponge in the sink, I lean against the counter. “The reds and blues are too much for the design. Too heavy. Lighten it up some.”
Sienna laughs through the line. “Since when did you have an eye for design?”
“I don’t,” I giggle. “I just know what I like.”
“You have good taste because I think you’re right.”
“So my taste is good because it matches yours? What if I liked it in reverse? Then would my taste suck?”
“It would be less on-point, yes,” she teases me. “Good call though. I’ll keep playing with these.”
Her keyboard clacks faintly in the distance. I imagine a pencil between her teeth, her hair in a messy ponytail, like she used to do when we were growing up and she was working on an essay for Mrs. Podaski’s class.
“Sienna?”
“What?”
“Are you serious about moving to Illinois?”
“Yeah,” she admits on a sigh. “I think it’s a great opportunity for me, Cam. I have a feeling about it. It’s the opening I’ve been waiting on.”
“Then you should take it. I just don’t know why you can’t stay here and do things.”
“If I stay here, I’ll do what I’ve done for the last however many months I’ve been home. Nothing. I just . . . I can’t be happy volunteering and organizing things and being Mom,” she laughs. “I know you love that and I’m proud of you for doing it. The world needs more selfless people. I’m just selfish, I guess.”
“You are not,” I object.
“Maybe not. I don’t feel like I am. I just want to see the world. Meet people. Try different things. See what’s out there, you know? I know what’s here and it’s wonderful. I’m not knocking it at all. I just want more experiences.”
“You have wanderlust.”
“I have wanderlust,” she agrees.
“I can appreciate that. I think it sounds fun to not be tied down to one place.”
“Want to come with me?”
“No.”
“You answered that pretty quickly.”
“Yeah, well . . .” My voice trails off into a smile. “I’m happy here right now.”
“Because of Dom?”
“Yeah.” Fiddling with the drawstring of the workout pants I put on earlier, I take a deep breath. “He’s having lunch with Ford and I tomorrow afternoon.”
She gasps. “What? You’re serious? Cam. That’s . . . that’s wow.”
“I know.”
“Give me a minute here. Just . . . wow.”
Pacing through the kitchen, I remember Ford’s voice as he accepted my offer. He’s the only one I could ask, besides Sienna. The others would be too overbearing. Too judgmental. Too illogical. Still, I’m not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt this will end up in a good place with Ford either.
I can’t blame them. I’ve always looked at their interest to keep me safe as an asset. There’s a level of comfort knowing you have a family that loves you as much as mine does me. It’s never bothered me at all . . . until lately.
“You know what? It’s not their call who I date,” I insist, more to placate myself than Sienna. “If I want to see Dominic, then I will. This is not up for Ford’s approval. This is an olive branch so they’ll get off my back.”
“This is totally up for Ford’s approval or you wouldn’t be doing it.” She sighs again. “If it matters what I think, and of course it does because I’m your twin sister, I think you’re doing the right thing.”
I stop pacing. “You do?”
“Of course I do. You know I like Dom. Yes, maybe he’s not what our parents expect, but I don’t think it’s going to be that big of a deal.”
“What about the Nolan part?”
“Yeahhhh . . . That might be a little tricky. But it’s not like he had anything to do with Nolan trying to sabotage Barrett. He doesn’t even know his uncle, right? Not really?”
“No, not really. But Nolan really fucked Barrett over. I’ll never forget that night when Lincoln found the evidence on the computer of Nolan trying to undermine Barrett’s campaign.”
Sienna clicks her tongue in agreement. “I still think you’re fine. They rallied around Alison and she was, like, investigated before she moved here. Remember that? Wasn’t it for assault or something?”
I sink against the table, Dom’s painful past weighing heavily on my heart. “What if Dom has done something? But there was a reason for it?”
“Cam . . .”
A thunderous bang hits my front door, making me jump. It’s followed by the doorbell ringing once, twice, three times. “Sienna, let me call you back.”
“I want to finish this conversation.”
“It’s fine.”
“Are you fine?”
“Yes,” I laugh, peeking through the peephole. “Dom’s here. Let me call you back.”
“Fine, fine. Have fun with the man.”
I end the call and pull open the door. “Hey, babe.” My smile falters as I see the look on his face. “Dom, what’s wrong?”
His jaw is set, his eyes cold, as he storms in past me. He’s on the verge of exploding, barely containing the energy that’s threatening to boil over. I can see it. Feel it. Take a step backwards because of it.
“Dom?” I ask again, shutting the door. My stomach flips as I wait for some kind of inkling as to what’s happening. “What’s going on?”
With his eyes trained on a spot across the room, he speaks. “If you have something you want to tell me, now would be the time.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Now, Cam.”
“I have nothing to tell you,” I say, bewildered. “Why . . . what . . . I’m so confused.”
At the pace of a snail, he pivots on his heel. His glare is a mixture of anger and resentment as it settles on me. “Did you loan money to Nate?”
The look in his eye has a new meaning and I feel my hands tremble. “Yes,” I say, clearing my throat. “I did.”
“Goddamn it,” he growls, running a hand through his hair. “Why in the hell did you do that?”
“He’s going to pay me back.”
“Don’t you get it?” he says, laughing through his teeth. “It isn’t about whether he pays you back or not, because he will. I know that. You know that. He knows that.”
There are too many words on the tip of my tongue to get one out. I just look up at him as he towers over me, his shoulders set back so he’s at full height, and try to wrap my brain around this.
“Then what’s the problem?” I ask, choosing my words with care. “He needed it. I have it. So what?”
“So what?” he asks, raising a brow. “It’s never occurred to you how abnormal it looks to just wire someone ten thousand dollars?
“No. I just helped your brother out. I—”
“Listen to me,” he says, taking a step my way, “you didn’t just help my brother out. You fucked yourself over.”