make him roll his eyes and laugh. Speaking of Grip . . . I’m here for a reason, and I hope this goes well.
“No, I’m good.” I cast a disparaging look at the orange mash in the food processor on the counter. “Especially if that is breakfast.”
“That’s Aria’s baby food. Kai makes it herself.” Rhyson laughs and settles onto a bar stool at the counter, a croissant on the plate in front of him. “Today was sweet potato.”
I find myself smiling too as I take the stool beside him. “Where is my adorable niece?”
“You’re not gonna believe this.” Rhyson slants me a wry grin. “Don’t laugh.”
“I won’t.” Though I’m laughing a little inside already because he told me not to. I’m perverse that way.
“Kai took her to church.” He gives me a don’t say a word look.
Rhyson would be an atheist if he cared enough to actually declare himself something, and the irony of him marrying the daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher is not lost on any of us.
“Kai took Aria to church?” A half-laugh, half-breath leaves my lips. “Did she go with Aunt Ruthie?”
Kai’s Aunt Ruthie lives with them and helps out with Aria since Kai’s schedule can get crazy. One of the first things Aunt Ruthie did when she relocated from Glory Falls, Georgia, was find a church here in LA. I can’t pretend to understand why this is urgent for anyone, but apparently it’s a thing for church people.
“No, that’s just it.” Rhyson takes a sip of coffee and shrugs. “She doesn’t like Aunt Ruthie’s church, so she’s looking for the ‘right’ one. She wants Aria to grow up in a progressive church, an oxymoron if I ever heard one.”
“So Aria will grow up believing in arcs and angels?” The smile I give him holds genuine curiosity. “Are you okay with that?”
Rhyson tips his head to the left, actually considering it.
“I trust Kai. She won’t go overboard or get Aria into anything crazy.” He shrugs and goes back to his croissant. “Besides, that’s how Kai was raised, and it didn’t screw her up too badly.”
“That’s definitely true. You married up, brother.”
As I knew he would, Rhyson almost spits out the coffee mid-sip, his expression incredulous.
“Oh, now I married up, but not too long ago you swore Kai was a conniving gold digger.” Rhyson narrows teasing eyes at me. “Excel- lent judge of character, by the way.”
“In my defense, I was looking out for you.” I smile brightly, ignoring just how wrong I was about my now sister-in-law. “It all worked out beautifully.”
“Can’t argue with that.” Rhyson offers a quick smile before
turning eyes the exact shape and color of mine in my direction. “But you didn’t drag your ass over here on a Sunday morning to celebrate my marriage.”
I hadn’t realized how much I was dreading this conversation until I was right in front of it.
“I think I will have some coffee after all.” I walk over to the
counter, to the coffee machine that looks like it came with launch codes. Rhyson waits patiently, but his curiosity crackles in the kitchen while he takes the occasional bite. Once I’m settled beside him again with a cup of coffee I don’t want or need, I turn to face him.
“Do you remember the book Grip couldn’t stop talking about this summer?”
Rhyson snorts and cocks one dark brow.
“It was unavoidable.” He leans back and crosses his arms over his chest. “Viper or Sickness or—”
“Virus, by a guy named Israel Hammond.”
“Right.” Rhyson’s face animates. “When I went to Marlon’s show in Paris, he quoted like half a chapter to me back at the hotel.”
“That sounds right.” I smile, my heart swelling a little with pride in Grip’s passion, his convictions. “He says it was life-changing.”
“That’s our guy.” Rhyson chuckles, affection for Grip coloring his smile. “Somebody’s gotta change the world.”
“Yeah, well . . .” I bite my lip, training my eyes on the swirling pattern in the marble countertop. “Dr. Hammond is guest lecturing at NYU this semester.”
It gets quiet enough for me to hear the hum of the shiny appliances in the kitchen.
“He’s going to New York then?” I feel Rhyson’s eyes on my face but don’t look up to meet them quite yet.
“Yeah,” I answer before biting the bullet and looking up to meet his gaze. “And I’m going with him.”
Rhyson nods slowly, turning his mouth down at the corners. “Never thought I’d see my little sister dropping everything to follow some man across the country.”
I’m too on edge