Fighting For You (The Connor Family 5)

“Taken at a wedding?”

“Yes. My cousin Summer Bennett.”

Her jaw dropped. “As in... the one who married the Alexander Westbrook?”

Alex was a very well-known actor.

“Yep.”

“You’re related to those Bennetts that own Bennett Enterprises?”

“The very same.”

“Wow. I love their stuff.”

“I’m not surprised.” Bennett Enterprises produced some kickass jewelry. My gaze landed on another picture, one of Brooke and a woman holding up cocktails and smiling at the camera. I’d looked up Brooke on Facebook a while ago, and she had a few pics with the same woman. It was Cami, her ex-best friend.

“I debated taking it down, but....”

“Why should you? Just because something ended badly doesn’t mean you shouldn’t enjoy the good memories.”

There were no pictures of Noah. I was shocked at the relief I felt.

Brooke shrugged, looking at the picture wistfully. “I miss the friendship. I have other friends, of course, and I get along well with my sister, but Cami was my person, you know?”

I moved closer, cupping her cheek. She looked up in surprise, her gaze searching mine.

“I can be your person if you want, Brooke.”

“You don’t know what you’re getting into. I’m a terrible friend. I’ll nag you about stuff, blackmail you into watching the movies I want.”

“I can handle it. Besides, I can be equally vicious.”

“Hmm... well, if you change your mind at any point, let me know. How was your afternoon with Milo?”

“We finalized party preparations. Lori’s going to love it.”

“I bet she will. By the way, I spoke to Hailey on the phone about your contracts and how that could work with the foundation. She had some great ideas.”

I’d given Brooke Paige’s contact information, but she was also in touch with Hailey, who had gotten more involved with the foundation over the past few months.

“You didn’t tell her anything about the party, right?”

“She already knew. But I don’t get why you think Hailey can’t keep a secret. She said you two always prepared surprises for your mom’s birthday and that she never spilled the beans.”

“We did, and it’s true. Maybe Hailey was better at keeping secrets back then. Or Mom was just really good at pretending she was surprised.” I felt oddly vulnerable. Hailey spoke as rarely about our parents as I did, and never to anyone outside the family. Brooke elbowed me lightly, and her easy smile made me pull her even closer.

“You know, Dad had a big role in my soccer career. I used to suck at it as a kid.”

“I can’t believe that.”

“Yeah, I did. But I wanted to be good at it so badly. He and I always bonded over it. He came from Ireland, and soccer is huge in Europe, or football, as they say. He practiced with me relentlessly.”

Maybe it was all those evenings I spent with her brainstorming about the center, or the fact that she listened so intently when I talked about my family, but I felt like I could talk with her about anything. But tonight, I wanted to keep things light, and talking about my parents always brought a bout of melancholy I couldn’t easily shake off.

“What are we watching?” I asked, to change the subject.

“Are you in the mood for a Game of Thrones rewatch?”