Page 75 of Betrayal

Anna knuckled tears from her eyes.Hunter wasn’t worth—hell, no man was worth her tears.

Who was she kidding?She and Hunter had something special, and he’d trashed it.

She knocked on her sister’s door, and her tears started all by themselves.

The door opened, and Kate opened her arms.Anna dropped her overnight bag to step into her sister’s embrace.

“I’m so glad I can properly hug you again.How the hell did you and Liam cuddle when you were the size of a baby whale?”

“We had our ways.Do you want chocolate?”

“Buckets of it.”

Her sister led her down the hall and into their kitchen.“Sit down, Anna.”

Parking her suitcase near the door, Anna propped her laptop bag on top.She sagged onto a chair, crossed her arms on the table, and rested her head on them.Her mind was a fog of confusion.Nothing made sense, and she didn’t know how to make it make sense.Leaving Hunter had severed her connection to the world in some significant sense.She was floating untethered.

“Where’s Lily?”

“She’s asleep.And you don’t have my permission to wake her up.”

“I don’t want her to see me crying.”

“What happened?”Her sister set a mug of hot chocolate at her elbow.

Anna lifted her head.“You made me the deluxe.”

“You look like you need pampering.”Whereas, her sister stuck strictly to her mummy diet and sipped her herbal tea.Three ginger by the delicate aroma.

“He wouldn’t talk to me.”

“He being Hunter?What wouldn’t he talk to you about?”

“Anything.”And Anna had thought they were well beyond that.

“Shit.Is he crazy?Does he want you to end the relationship?”

“You swore.I love you.”Anna sniffed at her mug, inhaling the comfort of her sister’s calm presence, then licked chocolate flakes off the frothy topping.“Hunter’s not crazy.He keeps promises to other people’s children.He works for his friends for free.He keeps his employees for years.He’s a kind, decent man.”Her chest was bursting with the need to defend him.

“But he wasn’t kind and decent today,” Kate said.

“It was terrifying in a way.”Anna recalled the weirdness of seeing his usually bustling premises silent.“His office was empty.All the staff gone.At first, I thought something terrible had happened to the business.”

“What’s the worst thing that could happen to the business?”

“Financially, I would have said nothing.The risks he takes are calculated.You heard him at dinner.He’s given Lucy the same advice.”

“I’ve only met him a few times, but I wouldn’t have put money at the top of his list of worries or priorities.”

“His staff.He’d worry about them.The people he calls family.”She blew her nose and blotted her eyes.She’d thought she’d joined that select group.

“Then ask yourself why, Anna.”Kate’s head turned at the sound of the front door opening.

“You told Liam,” Anna accused.

“She told me I was needed at home.”Liam walked through the door, stopping first to press a kiss to Kate’s head, before coming around to Anna’s side of the table, crouching beside her.“I want to help too.”

“You can get drunk with me.”Anna gestured to her sister’s herbal tea.“Your lactating wife’s off alcohol for the duration.”

---