The Sister (The Boss 6)

“That’s right,” Mom agreed. “You need to think of yourself first. Protect yourself.”

“Protect myself?” I had a sudden, vivid mental image of my daddy issues running at me like that army from Braveheart.

“You’ve had a couple of rough years,” Holli reminded me. “If you’re not ready to launch yourself into another vat of complicated, boiling emotions, nobody is going to think less of you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I closed my eyes and tipped my head back as I sank farther into the water. “At least you guys are up to speed, now. So…let’s talk about something else.”

“Yes!” Holli agreed, slapping the water. “Let’s talk about your trip to Las Vegas!”

I flinched as she sang the last word.

Mom looked to me. “What is she talking about? Are you going to Vegas?”

“No, actually. You are.” I gave Holli a glance so pointed I could have performed laparoscopic surgery with it. “I just didn’t get a chance to tell you.”

“What?” Mom sounded confused and delighted, but that was no guarantee she’d agree to actually go.

“Neil and I wanted to do something nice for the two of you.” At a specifically determined time which happens to coincide with our lover coming for a visit. “We have a friend coming to visit for a week in August, and he has his own driver. We thought we could spare Tony and send you guys to Vegas. There are some really, really nice suites at the Bellagio.”

“Oh, Sophie…I don’t know.” Mom’s reaction was not what I had expected. The mom I knew would jump at the chance for a free vacation. “I’m not sure Tony will go for it.”

“Does he not like Vegas?” I asked, my mind racing. “You guys can go somewhere else. We have an apartment in Venice—”

“Do you not want me around when your friend comes?” Mom frowned. “If you think Tony and I will cramp your style, we can stay out of your hair.”

“It’s not that at all. And you’ve already met him. It’s not like I’m ashamed of you or something. It’s El-Mudad. You met him last year.” From the corner of my eye, I caught Holli looking between the two of us like she was following the ball in a tennis match.

“The guy who came and stayed with you while Neil was in the hospital?” There was a slight tone of judgment there.

I ignored it. I knew what my mom had thought; that El-Mudad and I had screwed around while Neil had been in the hospital. Though that wasn’t the case, it was better than her knowing the alternative. I could live a thousand lifetimes without my mother being aware of the threesomes I had with my husband and another guy, and she could live two thousand lifetimes in the same state of ignorant bliss. We had a silent agreement, even if she didn’t know about it.

Holli knew, though, and she jumped in. “You’ve got to go to Vegas, Becky. It’s the complete tits. Big ones.”

“I just don’t know that Tony is going to be okay with taking money from his employer to run off on a vacation.” She shook her head. “I mean, I’ll talk to him—”

“Tell him it’s an engagement present,” Holli suggested. “What’s he going to do? Say thanks for the all-expenses-paid trip, but no thanks, I don’t like having a good time?”

“Oh, he likes having a good time,” Mom said with a knowing swig from her bottle.

“Ew.” It was bad enough that I’d found out about their relationship by walking in on them. Of course, it had kind of been payback from the universe for how Emma had found out about me. I still had a hard time laughing at that memory.

“I’m not dead from the waist down,” Mom horrifyingly went on. “If I have to hear about your husband being a sex machine—”

“Husbands are off the table!” I declared.

“I don’t have a husband,” Holli pointed out cheerfully. “I have a wife. So, I can talk about our sex life in detail, right?”

“I have to work with your wife. And you already tell me too much,” I reminded her. It’s very difficult to look someone in the eye after hearing all about the thorough work over she’d given my best friend the night before. It was even worse when the texts, were still rolling in during that eye contact.

Holli scowled. “No sex talk allowed, no weed allowed. I’ve been in funner hot tubs in convents.”

Mom and I both gave Holli the look.

“What? I have,” Holli insisted, adding, “You don’t know my life.”

“Like I said, I’ll talk to Tony. But I can’t promise anything.” She paused. “And Holli?”

Holli tilted her head.

“I never said no weed allowed.”

“I just have to get something out of my purse real quick.” Holli shot to her feet, water streaming from her body as she hurried across the patio.