Poison & Wine - Melissa Toppen Page 0,16
feel right about it.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I totally get it. Were you able to get tomorrow off work?”
“Yeah. Sidney switched days with me so that I wouldn’t have to worry about leaving Ellie overnight.”
“Good. That makes me feel better. I hate leaving you in a bind.”
“Keira.” I give her a look that I know she’ll understand. “Ellie and I are not your responsibility. You do so much for me. I can’t expect you to give up the things you want to do for us.”
“That’s what family is for.”
“But there are limits to that. You already keep Ellie three nights a week. And even though I know it’s an inconvenience sometimes, you still do it and never complain.”
“Complain?” She stops what she’s doing and pins me with a hard gaze. “Ellie is like my daughter too. Of course I would never complain. I love having her here. You know that.”
“I know. But sometimes I worry that I ask too much of you.”
“Oakley.” She plops down onto the bed next to me. “You do not ask too much of me. Hell, you don’t ask anything of me. I’m the one that insists.”
I let out a low chuckle. “Yeah, you are pretty persistent.”
“It takes a village, right?” She pats my leg.
“Even still, I’m glad you decided to go this weekend. You deserve to get away and have some fun. Did you and Sidney end up finding a hotel room?” I ask, knowing she was having trouble lining something up with how little notice she had to plan this trip.
“No.” She shakes her head. “Everything was completely booked. I’ve been calling all the surrounding hotels daily to see if there have been any cancellations but no luck.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I guess we’re going to stay with Lance and Chez.” She throws her blonde hair over her shoulder and crosses her long, slender legs.
Keira is beautiful. And not in the understated way. No, she’s in your face gorgeous. Tall, slender, defined cheek bones, full lips, and just the right amount of curves. I swear she got every pretty gene our family had to offer.
And even though our moms are sisters, they look nothing alike. And frankly, neither do me and Keira.
“Wait, what?” I hitch a brow. I know Lance had said that if I came, we could stay with them. I wasn’t aware the offer stood if I didn’t come.
“I mean, if that’s okay?” She misreads my reaction.
The thought of my boyfriend spending three nights in a hotel room with two women that aren’t me should bother me. Only it doesn’t. Not really, anyway. Not in the way it should. Maybe that’s because I know Keira, and if Lance did anything that would hurt me she’d likely cut his balls off. Even still, I can’t help but feel like I should care more.
“Of course it is.”
“Not gonna lie, it feels a little weird. But at this point my options are pretty limited. As in I don’t have any other options.” She laughs. “Lance said Sid and I could share his bed and that he’d get a rollaway. And if they don’t have any rollaway beds, he’d sleep on the floor.”
“That’s very generous of him.”
“Well, you know Lance. That’s just the kind of guy he is.”
“Yeah,” I murmur.
“Hey.” She knocks her knee against mine. “Is everything okay? You seem kind of off.”
“No, I’m fine. Just have a lot on my mind.”
“Please tell me this doesn’t have anything to do with Jace.” Just the mention of his name causes my entire body to tense.
“What?” I balk. “Of course not.”
“You’re a shit liar. You know that, right?” She grins. “Now spill. What’s up?”
“Nothing.”
“Listen, I know I’m not very supportive where Jace is concerned, but if something is going on, you know you can tell me.”
“I know. But there isn’t anything going on. I went to see him in rehab three weeks ago and that was it. I haven’t spoken to him since.”
“But that doesn’t mean you aren’t thinking about him.”
“It’s complicated. He’s Ellie’s father. What if he actually gets clean this time? What if he turns his life around? How am I supposed to tell him that he has a daughter that I’ve been keeping from him for years?”
“I don’t know Jace the way you do, but if he’s anything like the guy you never shut up about when we were teenagers, I’m sure he’ll understand. You have nothing to be ashamed of, Oak. Sometimes you have to do things