Absent in the Spring (The Shakespeare Sisters 3)

‘Hello?’

‘I have Mr Tanaka on the line for you.’ Lynn shot her a smile through the glass.

‘Mr Tanaka?’ Lucy repeated. ‘Okay, put him through.’

Within a moment she heard a click. ‘Grant?’

‘Lucy. How are you?’

‘A bit confused. Is Lachlan there?’ she asked.

‘He’s travelling.’ Grant’s tone held a note of regret. ‘I just wanted to bring you up to speed on the Glencarraig situation.’

‘Is Lachlan okay?’ she asked. ‘I really need to talk to him.’ She should have spoken to him days ago, she knew that now. But every time she picked up the phone she couldn’t find the right words. Maybe they didn’t exist.

‘He’s on his way to Miami. He needs to explain some things to his mom.’ She could hear Grant shifting something on his desk.

‘Oh. Of course.’ Family came first, always. Wasn’t she the one who told him that? ‘So what happened? My boss just told me the case is closed.’

‘That’s right. Lachlan and Duncan have been talking. They’ve come to an agreement.’

‘He’s been talking with his brother?’ She sat up straight. ‘When did that happen?’

‘At the gala you missed.’

His words hit her like a rebuke. She recoiled at their impact. ‘Oh.’

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like that.’

‘It’s okay.’ Her voice was soft. ‘He’s your friend, of course you’re going to stand up for him.’ She couldn’t help but taste the regret on her tongue. ‘How is he?’

The silence lasted for long enough that she began to wonder if the connection was lost. She shook the handset to see if there was something wrong with it.

‘He’s not been great,’ Grant finally said. ‘You messed with his mind, Lucy. He thought you liked him. Hell, the guy fell in love with you. You broke him.’

His words felt like a dagger scraping against her heart. ‘No,’ she whispered, as much as herself as to Grant. ‘I’m the broken one.’

Grant gave a little laugh. ‘Well, you know what they say: broken attracts broken.’

‘And hurt people hurt people,’ she said, her heart still stuck in her throat. She tried to inhale, the air catching in her mouth. ‘But I really didn’t mean to hurt him.’

‘He didn’t mean to hurt you, either.’ Grant sounded genuine. ‘But you left him when he needed you. Do you understand how that made him feel? Nobody has ever stayed with him. Not his father, not his mother. Hell, even I’m moving away. He thought you were different and you…’ Grant sighed. ‘You left.’

‘I had to take care of my family,’ Lucy told him. ‘He must understand that. They have to come first.’

‘You have a very narrow definition of family,’ Grant pointed out. ‘It doesn’t just mean blood ties. Look at Lachlan and me. We’re from different families, heck we’re from different races. And yet I love that man like a brother. And it doesn’t matter where either of us end up, if he needs me, I’ll be there.’

‘He’s very lucky to have you.’ She couldn’t hide the tears in her voice.

‘The feeling is pretty mutual,’ Grant said. ‘He’s a good guy, Lucy. Beneath all that bravado and that alpha male shit, he’s just a guy. Someone who deserves to be loved.’

She closed her eyes to stem the flow of tears. How many had she cried these past few weeks? There had to be a water shortage somewhere because of her. But even her mind was against her, her dark eyelids providing a screen for a replay of her memories. Of her first glance of Lachlan when he walked into that Miami restaurant, commanding the room as soon as he stepped inside. Of him walking into her bedroom in Glencarraig, lifting her as easily as if she was a blanket, his body warm and hard against hers.

Of the way he opened up to her, laying himself bare as he told her the story of his childhood.

And then she’d left him, and broken both their hearts.

‘I didn’t know what to do,’ she whispered, her eyes still tightly shut. ‘I had to see my sister, I had to leave…’ She shook her head, trying to make sense of it all. ‘Everything was so out of control.’