over a man. I don’t gush, no matter how attractive, smart, or kind a guy is.”
Her nostrils flared, and her chin dropped. “Might I remind you that these trips to see this doctor are for Adi’s benefit, not yours?”
I laughed her off, waving my hand in front of me. “Your reminder is received but not necessary. Nothing’s going to happen there.”
“You were gushing about him.” She gave me a stern look. “One does not gush about a man if one isn’t attracted to him.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Thanks, professor.”
“I’m being serious, April. You’re going to be seeing him regularly. What are you going to do if he comes onto you?”
“He won’t,” I assured her, taking another sip of my tea. “Trust me. I’m way too poor for this guy. He’s an honest to God billionaire. There won’t be a Pretty Woman life for me. You have nothing to worry about.”
Her brows climbed up to her hairline. “Are you serious right now? Your best friend married one of the city’s richest and most unattainable bachelors. If anyone should know these things can happen in real life, it ought to be you.”
“Jeez, would you relax?” I asked. “I’m not Luna and Chris isn’t Cyrus. Chris seems like a genuinely good guy, which, as you might remember, Cyrus was not. He was a first-class dick before he fell for Luna. Hell, he still is to anyone outside of the inner circle.”
“And as for you not being Luna?” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You can’t tell me it’s impossible that you’ll fall in love with a billionaire of your very own.”
My eyes rolled again. It was a serious problem I had while I was in my sister’s company. “Luna was looking for someone to fall in love with. I’m not.”
“Good.” She raised the spatula again. “Because you should be done with men after everything Craig has done to you.”
“To be fair to him, Chris isn’t Craig, either.” I knew I should’ve let the subject drop, but I felt like I owed it to him to defend him. “He’ll just never fall for a bitter, bitchy, poor girl like me.”
She didn’t talk me up, knowing it wasn’t self-esteem issues speaking. “Just be careful, okay? That kind of money could make it even more tempting to fall for him.”
My jaw nearly unhinged itself. “Do you honestly think I’d fall for him because he’s rich? Trust me. If I fell for him, it would be for his looks or his laugh.”
“I know you won’t go for him for his money, but you can’t deny it’d be a nice bonus.” She glanced at Adi, who shouldn’t have been hearing any of this. Unfortunately, Katie didn’t believe in treating kids—or young ladies, in her words—like mushrooms.
She subscribed to the idea that keeping them in the dark and feeding them shit meant they would become so used to shit that they’d keep eating it up into their adult lives. While I tried to shield Adi from some things, I also tried to be as honest with her as I could about everything else.
I thrust my chin into the air and refused to even acknowledge her last comment. “Speaking of money, I need to get back to work. Adi’s going to be missing some more school because of her therapy. Do you think you’d be able to help us out every now and then?”
“Of course,” she said, lifting her hand to high-five her niece. “It’ll be fun. It’s always better around here when you are, too.”
For all her faults, my sister loved Adi like she was her own. Between her and Luna, I knew I’d never have to worry about Adi. All I had to do was ask for help if I needed one of them to watch her, and I knew I’d have a taker.
I never took advantage of their willingness, though, which made it easier to ask when it was really necessary. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Watching as Katie started to talk Adi through the meal she was cooking, there was a familiar pang in my heart. As much as Katie didn’t want a man, she did want children. And she’d be a great mother.
My experience had jaded her almost as much as it had me, though. Combined with her naturally wary personality and a few scumbag exes, Katie had given up on love right along with me.
Luna’s fairytale relationship and wedding must still have been fucking with my brain because I suddenly wondered if Katie was making