Couldn’t.
Because she’d come to her sister to discuss the idea of maintaining contact with Craig, on a peripheral level. She needed Angie’s unbiased opinion on the matter.
And had a feeling Angie wasn’t capable of giving it to her.
They had their issues.
“That’s the only reason I got scared. And because you kept it from me, like there was something to hide...” She held up a hand when Amelia started to speak. “I know. I understand why you saw him first. I’m not saying it was the wrong thing to do, only explaining why I—”
“I know,” Amelia said, understanding and agreeing all in the same two words.
Amelia wasn’t going to live her life to please others. And yet, was she doing just that with Angie? She had to do what she thought was right. And if Angie was ever going to be able to trust her implicitly again, she had to be honest with her. But not at the expense of her own life.
She turned the talk to business for a few minutes. One of their most expensive embossers had gone down at the factory the night before. It was back up and running, but they’d lost an hour of production time. She was the partner on call that weekend. They discussed adjustments they could make to the schedule, putting a bigger run on hold and moving up a critical, smaller job, and while Angie finished her bagel, Amelia put a call in to the production manager who was at the factory that morning, giving the order to make the change.
“I had an email from Hermine,” Angie said, mentioning the male designer she’d met with that past week. He had a new line that he thought would be made perfect with Feel Good embellishments, and if the paperwork looked as good as the man made his offer sound, they’d be signing with him.
“He sent the contract?” she asked.
“No, although he said his lawyer will have it to Tanya early in the week. He was writing to offer me a job. I did a couple of drawings when I met with him, made some small changes to a couple of his designs, and he thinks I’d make a great addition to his team.” Angie’s tone was light. She was smiling.
And still, Amelia’s entire being constricted. “Is it something you want to consider?” she had to ask. And was afraid to ask. She didn’t want Angie to go. But knew she had to support her sister if that was what she really wanted.
Just as Angie was supporting her.
“Of course not!” Angie looked her straight in the eye. “You know that Feel Good, you and me, family, mean everything to me. Besides, I’d have to move to New York and there’s no way I want be that far away from mom. Or the girls,” she added, referring to her friends.
Relieved beyond words that Angie was as happy where she was as Amelia had assumed, she still needed to be sure. “What about the work, Angie? You’ve always loved the artistic part of what we do most. Would you like to spend all your time working on designs, rather than like it is now, with both of us spending far more time on the business end?”
Of course, if Angie would be okay with expanding Feel Good, of taking a chance and bringing on more top people to handle the business end of things, they could both spend more time designing. And then be able to produce more products to sell, too.
“I do love designing,” Angie said, pausing for a second with a smile on her face. “But truthfully, I love being in charge, too.” Her little sister’s grin was all sass then, and Amelia chuckled.
They both liked being in charge. She figured they came by that honestly, having grown up feeling as though they had control over nothing.
“So...tell me about Craig Harmon. Do you feel good about his genetic contribution to our little one there?” Angie sobered, sitting back with her teacup in hand.
Her sister’s more classically beautiful face was unlined, her gaze clear and caring as she met Amelia’s gaze.
She wanted to be as open and free to talk to Angie as her younger sister needed her to be. And she hesitated, on edge, nerves clamoring in every part of her body.
If she said too much, Angie might think she really liked the guy. Which she did. But on a casual basis only, which her sister wasn’t likely to believe.
And if she didn’t say enough, Angie would think she was holding back.
Having a sibling as close as she and Angie were was a godsend. By far the absolute best blessing in her life.
And it was hard, too, having someone know you well enough to be able to complete your thoughts for you.
And then stand in judgment on them if she thought you were going to hurt herself.
“I feel as good about his genetic contribution now as I did when I chose him,” she said, searching for total honesty, if not a full disclosure that could easily be misconstrued. “He seems like a decent guy from a decent family. Middle of the line, you know. Not obsessed about anything, like totally into any one thing, and yet proficient at many things. They’re educated, of course, but we already knew that, or knew that he was at least. They have good teeth, no major illnesses in the family and no mental illnesses of which he was aware.”
“Does he have siblings?”
“No.”
“Does he seem close with his parents?”