Page 114 of Share with Me

“Everything. Phinn and I fought all the time.”

“You get used to it.”

“Like you and Isobel?” Brinley asked.

Dillon didn’t reply to that. “Phinn is one of us, Brin.”

“One of us? Andwhoisn’t one of us? Is that what you’re driving at, Dill?”

“Figure it out if you know what’s good for you.”

Brinley shook his head. “I never expected you to be Phinn’s surrogate, Dill. You’re my brother. You’re supposed to protect me.”

“I am.”

“No. You’re protecting your own interests. Marriage is not a business transaction. You know who said that to me? Our baby sister, Zoe.”

Brinley wasn’t sure any longer if she wanted to have Christmas dinner with her brother. She wanted to be as far away as possible from him.

Brinley remembered visiting a sobbing Isobel the months before the divorce had been finalized. She had spent the entire afternoon listening to her sister-in-law lament about having to give up a lucrative career to mold her life around Dillon’s. Dillon was a crazy workaholic, she had said. Isobel, depressed and lonely, had wished her children had a father who was with them. Ethan had missed camping with his dad in the summer. Elisa missed sitting on Dillon’s lap as he read them stories. Neither of them cared that Dillon put money into their bank accounts so they could do whatever they wanted. They’d rather have his presence even if he had brought them nothing but himself.

They’d rather have him.

That could never be. Dillon was married to his work first and foremost.

Perhaps Dillon shouldn’t have come to Sea Island. Perhaps he should’ve gone to Hawaii to see his kids.

Instead, he had chosen to be here with Brinley only to have her find out that he had come to ask her to reconcile with Phinn. What did Dillon know about love? What was in it for Dillon if Brinley were to get back together with Phinn?

“I’m leaving Brooks Investments, so you don’t need to fight me anymore about making decisions,” Brinley said. “Isn’t that enough?”

“What are you talking about?”

“There must be a connection between Brooks Investments and your coming here to tell me to get back with Phinn.”

“Must there always be a connection?”

“With you it’s mandatory. So what is it, Dill?” Brinley sat down on one of the armchair arms.

Dillon lit another cigarette. “Phinn wants a job at Brooks.”

“You can’t trust him. He’s a spendthrift.”

“But you can trust Ivan McMillan, the near-bankrupt violinist with the three mortgages and hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debts?”

Brinley sprang off the armchair. “Where did you get that information?”

She couldn’t believe Ivan was in such a bad situation.Yun is going to lose her house.

“Helen Hu. Who else? With that broken wrist he’s going to be unemployed soon.”

Oh no. Lord Jesus, how do I respond?

“Ivan is not working for Brooks, so you needn’t be concerned about him,” Brinley said. “In fact, he’s not even asking for money.”

“No? Then how do you explain Plumb Good bills?”

“That’s out-of-pocket, Dill.” Brinley didn’t back away. The way to deal with Dillon was to face him front and center. He liked a good fight. The dirtier the better. But now that Brinley believed in Jesus, she didn’t like Dillon’s dirty fights anymore.

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