Page 1 of Not the Puck Bunny

Chapter One

Andi

Contrary to popular belief,vodka does not, in fact, cure everything.

By ‘popular,’ I mean my sister, Pia. She means well, but I had to hold the phone away from me to keep her shrieking from having an adverse effect on my eardrums.

I wondered if calling her was such a great idea after all.

“Are you crazy, Andi?” she asked, her voice still in the same high pitch. She tended to question my sanity on a relatively regular basis, so this was nothing new. “The best way to get over a broken heart is to go out and havefun.”

If anyone knew about broken hearts, it was Pia Welling. She was basically an expert, having left astring of them behind her. I adored her, but she couldn't stick to anything or anyone for longer than a handful of weeks at a time. She changed boyfriends as often as she changed her underwear.

“I wouldn't exactly say it's a broken heart,” I said with a sigh. “Xander and I have been growing apart for a long time.”

We'd gotten comfortable, like an old pair of scuffed shoes. I thought we'd get married, settle down and live in the suburbs. Have two point five children, a dog and a cat.

All the stuff expected of the elder of the Welling sisters.

That was what I always did. What was expected. If I didn't, I could look forward to that expression of disapproval on Mom's face. She didn't need to give a lecture on responsibility, a glance alone would make most people quiver in their socks.

Dealing with my mother was another on a long list of things vodka couldn't cure.

“He moved out,” Pia pointed out. No one would accuse her of sugarcoating anything.

“Two weeks ago,” I said.

It wasn't that I hadn'tnoticedhe'd moved out, not exactly. It's just… We were so busy, we barely saw each other. I figured, sooner or later we'd bump into each other in the kitchen, or in bed.

Okay, in the back of my mind, I knew he'd gone, but hadn't wanted to accept it.

“Only my sister would fail to notice her boyfriend moved out two whole weeks ago.” Pia’s tone was drier than the sandtrap in Dad’s beloved golf course. “You know what the problem is? You work too much. If you didn't work so many hours?—”

“Don't tell me I was too busy to have a proper relationship with him,” I interrupted. “He was as absent as I was.”

“I was going to say, you would have noticed sooner that he was gone,” she said. “What made you realize? The lack of his toiletries in the bathroom? The toilet seat was always down? No one stole the blankets in the middle of the night?”

I cleared my throat softly. “It was Laverne.”

Silence.

Then, “Another woman told you?”

I pictured her frowning into her phone, while she walked through the small town of Highball Creek, an hour inland from Lowball Bay, trying to find things to photograph, to add to her portfolio.

I sighed. “No, Laverne is our orchid. Xander was the one who watered her regularly. She started tolook dry. I wondered why. Then I realized he wasn't there anymore.”

Pia snorted. “I'm sorry, but that is tragic.” She sounded like she was holding back a laugh.

“I know, I know, but the word you're looking for ispathetic. He and I should have been able to talk about this before he just packed up and left. Am I that unapproachable?”

“Um…"

I rubbed my temples with my fingertips. “That would be a yes.” Ouch. “I'm busy, okay? Welling is expanding so quickly, I can't take off and have a break whenever I feel like it.”

Our father was CEO of Welling Developments, one of the biggest real estate developers in the state. He built it from the proverbial ground up. It was his passion and his legacy. He passed that same drive on to me.

I was proud to work with him, in my own, tiny office, with my personal assistant. Someday, I'd take over from him. My father, not my assistant.

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