Page 11 of She's a Big Deal

“In the middle of the night?”

“Yes. With a lovely lady called Magalie.”

“Oh, cut the crap.”

“No crap, I assure you. It was quality entertainment.”

Once upon a time, Grace would have enjoyed rubbing it in. The more her family resented her ‘lesbianism’, as they called it, as if it were a disease, the more she was tempted to throw it in their faces. To shock, yes, but mainly to assert herself. No one would ever keep her in the closet, feeling ashamed. And if they tried to shut her down, she’d simply yell louder. Since then, she had matured a lot, if not exactly mellow. It helped that nobody in the world of dance cared about her sexuality, and many of her partners at the time were also fluid. As a business icon, the fact that Grace was a woman who loved women only added to her mystique and untamable vibe.

“Since I haven’t got all day, why don’t you tell me why you called?” she encouraged her sister. “I don’t assume it was towish me a happy birthday.”

As anticipated, Chloe did not even acknowledge this.

“Charlie is in the hospital,” she just supplied resentfully.

Charlie.Grace had to sit down quickly and set her coffee on a nearby table as her entire body went weak at the news. Christ. Charlie. To be fair, even she had forgotten her own birthday and then been otherwise engaged. If not, it would have occurred to her to check on her aunt. Charlie never missed a birthday.

“Is she okay?” she snapped. “What happened?”

“She’s fine. The doctor said it was a heart attack.”

“Oh, God. Are you sure? Not a stroke?”

“Heart attack, I said,” Chloe spat. “I know the difference.”

Because she wanted details and knew her sister would not be forthcoming, Grace swallowed her anger and switched off her emotions. She was good at compartmentalizing, and this conversation clearly required it.

“What’s the prognosis?”

“Not too bad.”

Chloe’s shrug was almost audible. Or was it a sneer? Was she enjoying making her beg for scraps of information? Grace would not have been surprised to find out it was the case.

“Which hospital is she at?”

“Red Falls General, of course.”

Of course.Chloe never missed a chance to express dismissal and disdain, even when it was unwarranted. Grace gritted her teeth for control.

“You got the name of the doctor?”

“Yeah.”

“Give it to me now.”

“Watkins. So, are you going to fly over?”

Ah… Now then. A slight lifting in her tone caught Grace’s attention. Did she detect a touch of hope there? Or anticipation? Whatever it was, it made her instantly suspicious And wary as hell.

“Why?” she prompted. “You want me to come?”

“I don’t give a damn either way. I just want to be kept in the loop, that’s all.”

“So, you do, then.”

“What?”

“Give a damn.”

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