“Let’s start again with a clean slate.”
“Not interested.”
“Don’t be like that. We could talk about it. Tell you what. We can go out for dinner before the charity event.”
“You’re not coming to that.”
True, he’d been my plus one, but he thought he was still invited?
“Val, come on. You promised you’d introduce me to that producer.”
That was why he’d called? Because he was still hoping for that introduction? I felt so small. So small. I wasn’t going to allow anyone to make me feel that way.
“Ethan, in case it’s not clear, this is me revoking that invitation. Don’t call me again.”
I punched the End Call button, breathing in through my nose. I felt lost, but I had to pull myself together. My siblings would arrive for dinner in no time. They’d sniff me out instantly if I kept the long face, and I didn’t want our dinner to turn into moping hour.
Landon and I spoke briefly about my beef with Beauty SkinEssence when he arrived. I had no update, since I hadn’t heard from them since the mediation meeting three days ago. My twin had set up the company with me before moving on to do his own thing and becoming a wildly successful businessman.
When Hailey arrived, I worked on my poker face. To no avail.
It took her exactly seven minutes to point a finger at me and say, “Wait a second. Why do you look like you need an entire bottle of Pinot Noir for yourself? You aren’t laughing with your eyes.”
“What?” I asked.
“When you laugh, or smile, your eyes seem a little sad.”
Shit, well, the cat was out of the bag. There was no point denying it. I gave in and told her about the phone call with Ethan.
“God damn that idiot,” Hailey hissed. “You know what, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”
“No, you will not. He’s not worth your time.”
“Yes, but how else will he learn his lesson?”
“Let’s change the subject, or the boys will sniff us out.”
Hailey and I were bringing in the food while my brothers were setting the table, together with their better halves. Well, except for Jace. My soccer star brother was the odd one out, still single. My twin, Landon, was happily married to Maddie, the genius who had designed the garden outside my house as well as the one at the office. They also had a daughter, Willow. Will was engaged to Paige.
Lori and her husband and son were the only ones missing tonight. Pity, because I’d been looking forward to hugging my nephew, Milo.
Lori had been a single mother for seven years before she fell in love with Graham, and I was used to her and Milo being at my house a whole lot more. I missed spending time with that little boy.
Hailey grinned. “That wouldn’t be so bad. There would be no holding them back.”
I popped open a bottle of Pinot too, for good measure. The sour alcohol matched my soured mood and heart perfectly. Belatedly, I also realized it sent a clear signal. Our wine system wasn’t a secret: Pinot for moping, Chardonnay for celebrating.
Jace materialized right next to us.
“What’s with the Pinot?” When Hailey didn’t answer, he trained his eyes on me.
“Nothing serious.”
“If it’s serious enough for Pinot, then it’s something I should know about.”
My mind was working at top speed, looking between Jace and Hailey. I knew that if I insisted on keeping things to myself, Jace would lure it all out of Hailey, who’d never learned to keep family secrets. Hmm... the best course of action was definitely to break the news myself. That way I could leave out a few details so my brothers wouldn’t flex their alpha muscles.
“I ended things with the guy I was seeing. Ethan.”