Page 56 of Ruthless Financier
“Alone?”
I let out a long sigh. “Yeah.”
“I’m on my way.”
Without another word, she hung up the phone and I assumed she was coming over. It was probably for the best anyhow. Telling one sister normally meant everyone in the family knew within an hour. Secrets were never our thing.
I found some leftover bread and made myself a breakfast of sorts.
The food didn’t fill me though. Nothing did. I kept remembering Jacob’s words. I loved him, but I’d slipped back into the bedroom without saying a word. I cringed as a total coward. I let out another long sigh and cleaned up my plate, just as my doorbell rang. I didn’t ask, and just buzzed Nicole in.
However, when I opened the door, three of them were there. Georgie had a box of her homemade chocolate chip muffins and Olivia had gourmet coffees she’d bought that matched Nicole’s demands to only drink free-trade brands. Nicole patted me on the back and took out a box of fresh strawberries as she walked into my place. I hugged my other sisters and said, “Georgie, I hadn’t expected you, and Olivia, too.”
Georgie held me tighter, like she’d take my pain from me if she could, and said, “Nicole said you sounded miserable. What happened to your husband?”
I walked in with my sisters, but my eyes burned as I said, “I … we were a business deal, not meant to be together forever.”
Georgie squeezed my hand and said, “That didn’t seem like business in my house. And you both went out of your way to help Ridley, and we figured out he sent his lawyer for Joseph’s trial.”
Did I have an eyelash in my eyes or something? I was misty-eyed as I said, “He did. He’s the best man I’ve ever met.”
Nicole said, “That doesn’t sound like business. You both seemed happy.”
I sniffled like I was sick and said, as I stared at all of them, “We all swore we’d be nothing like our parents.”
Georgie pushed a muffin at me and said, “I broke that vow already.”
My sister was now the happiest person I’d ever known. She glowed, all the time. For the first time in what felt like years, but was really less than twenty-four hours, my lips curled up in a smile. I said, “Georgie, you and Michael were in love before anything happened to our parents.“
My cheeks were wet.
Georgie blushed a little and said, “That’s not exactly true. We met before then, and conceived Jeremy, but we fell in love later.”
Georgie had bloomed into a better version of herself lately. I kept my head down and whispered, “You’re in love, and you’d never be like mom.”
She said, “Neither will you.”
That eyelash must be bad as I couldn’t stop the tears. I let out a small “ha” and I shook my head.
Olivia, the youngest, dug in her pockets as she said, “No, you’ve been more like dad, and living up to his belief that you were the son he never had.”
Crying was unusual for me. I ignored it as I said, “Probably.”
“Not probably,” Nicole said, like she had all the answers in the world. “Look, none of us are defined by birth order or what we do for each other. We’re friends and family.”
Olivia slapped the table as she said, “Ridley would still claim she’s the Jan of our family.”
Ridley added fast, “I am.”
I said, “Don’t be silly. You care about everyone and have a huge heart.”
Georgie’s nose wrinkled as she said, “And by the way, if you want anything more to worry about, Stephanie’s having problems in England.”
Nicole quickly rubbed Georgie’s back as she said, “That sucks.”
I nodded and let out a cough. My hands were wet from wiping tears from my eyes.
Nicole said, “I’m sure she’s upset, but honestly, we never met her guy to judge. We all agreed you and Jacob fit together.”
