A Surprise Arrival

 

My damn stubborn sister won’t leave me alone for the holiday. At my parents’ insistence, Lainey arrives at my townhouse two days before Christmas.

“No more pouting,” she declares not five minutes after walking through the door. “Look at this place.” She gestures around wildly. “You don’t even have a tree. Mr. Whiskey Eyes may be gone from your life, but that doesn’t mean life is over.”

That’s debatable.

“I should never have told you we broke up,” I complain as she drags me up to the shower.

She turns on the water, and I sit down on the closed toilet seat.

“Look, Aubrey.” She points to the pulsating flow coming from the shower head. It does look inviting. “This is water. It’ll make you clean. All you need to do is stand under that little nozzle thing. Maybe even add a little soap, and watch the magic happen.”

“Ha-ha. Smartass,” I retort, though I do grudgingly give her a smile.

I haven’t showered in days, but Lainey has me considering it.

When she heads for the door to leave me alone, it’s not without a warning. “I’m checking back in here in five minutes. You better be in that shower, Aubrey, or I swear I will drag your ass in there.”

We’re about the same height and weight, so she may be able to take me. Worried that my little sis might actually beat my ass, I put up my hands and say, “Okay, okay.”

I stand and tug my Wolves sweatshirt over my head, leaving me in an old ratty bra and sweatpants, my uniform of late. I toss the shirt at my sister and, catching it, she says, “I didn’t know you were a hockey fan. Oh, wait.” She turns it over. “This is for that team out in Las Vegas.”

I quickly look away.

When I venture a glance over at her, her eyes are wide and her mouth is agape.

“Don’t say a word,” I warn.

Of course, that doesn’t stop Lainey.

“Holy crap, Aubrey, Whiskey Eyes is a hockey player, isn’t he? He must’ve been your client. What’d you say your guy’s name was? Brent, right? What’s his last name? I’m so Googling him once you’re in that shower.”

“No, don’t,” I plead.

And that confirms it for my sister. “Oh my God, you fell for your client. I knew it was bound to happen. I’m right, aren’t I?”

I sigh because, really, wait till she hears the rest. Like the part where she and I were at Brent’s party the day before I met him.

For now, though, I stick with, “That’s the short version, but yes, you’re right. I fell for a damn freaking client.”

The room’s filling with steam, so she points to the shower and says, “Get in there. I’ll put some clean clothes on the counter. But after you’re dressed you are so telling me every detail.”

I shouldn’t divulge anything, but I don’t care anymore. “Okay,” I agree. “We’ll talk when I’m done.”

When I emerge from the shower, there’s a pair of skinny jeans, a black tank with spaghetti straps, and a plaid button-down shirt waiting for me on the counter. The clothes are neatly stacked, and they’re in Al’s fuzzy green lap. Lainey has one of his long green arms positioned high in the air, like he’s waving at me.

It’s a silly but sweet gesture that brings a much-needed smile to my lips.

I blow-dry my hair and dress in the clothes Lainey set out. I even put in my contacts. Though they’re extended-wear, I haven’t worn them in days. I’ve been living in my glasses.

Finally feeling much better, and certainly much cleaner, I head down to the living room.

My sister, bless her heart, has cracked open a bottle of wine. I’m going to need some in order to tell her the whole Brent story.

“Here,” she says, holding out a full wineglass to me by the stem. “I poured one for you, already.”

“Thanks,” I reply.

I take the glass and sit down next to Lainey on the sofa. Her legs are curled up under her, so I follow suit. This is how we’ve hunkered down a million times, ready to dish. Only this time Lainey is one step ahead of me. She has her laptop open, and when I lean in to take a peek I see there’s a team pic of Brent filling the screen.

She taps the screen. “So it seems you’ve been holding out on me big-time, haven’t you? Brent Oliver is gorgeous, yes. And he was your client, yes. But there’s more. You never told me Whiskey Eyes is freaking Sunflower Eyes!”

“Um…” I take a small sip of wine. “I couldn’t say anything, remember?”

Lainey shakes her head. “Wow, still…the same guy from the party ends up being your client. That’s crazy. What are the odds of that happening?”

“Extremely low, I’m sure.”

“You must’ve died when you first saw him.”

“You don’t even know the half of it, Lainey.”

“Good thing he didn’t recognize you. You were so drunk that night.”

“Uh, who said he didn’t recognize me?” I mumble.

“What? How could that be? You never talked to him, at least not when I was there. Did you meet him before your Uber got there that night?”

Taking another tiny sip of wine, I smile to myself.

“Aubrey,” Lainey begins in her best warning tone. “What are you not telling me?”

I cock my head and roll my eyes up to the ceiling. Tapping my chin, I say all evasive-like, “Oh, I don’t know. I may have neglected to mention that I never left that night. And I may have kind of ended up in Brent’s bed.”

“Holy shit!” Her eyes, same turquoise color as mine, widen. “You slept with Sunflower Eyes that night?”

“No,” I clarify. “I passed out drunk in his bed and just happened to wake up next to him.”

“That must’ve been a sight,” Lainey says, chuckling. “Did you fall in love right then and there?”

“Hardly,” I scoff, recalling the encounter. “We kind of hated each other at first.” I can’t help but smile when I add, “I thought he had stolen my panties and called him out for being a sick pervert and a pig. He didn’t appreciate that very much.”

“How romantic,” my sister says dryly. “I can see how that all led to love.”

I throw a pillow at her. “You’re such a bitch.”

“And you’re such a slut.”

I laugh. “With him, you bet I am. Or…was.”

Her expression turns serious. “Seriously, Aubrey, what happened between you two? Why’d you break it off with him?”

“I’ll tell you everything, but first—” I pick up the bottle and swish around the pinot noir. “—I think we need more wine.”

 

 

By the time the pinot noir is empty, Lainey knows everything.

“There has to be a way for you to be together,” she says wistfully.

My sister, the romantic.

“I wish.” I sigh. “But the new contract with that addendum is pretty much airtight.”

“Yes, but…”

“What?”

Lainey taps her finger to her chin. I’ve seen that look before; she’s trying to find a way around this for me. “You mentioned that you only had to sign the addendum that day, right? The rest of the contract was just a copy of the original, not technically ‘new.’”

“Right.”

“Well, I happened to take a class in contract law this past semester. I took it as a business elective, thinking it’d be a breeze, but it was actually kind of tough. Anyway, the professor was super thorough.”

Lainey falls silent, and I have to prompt, “Okay? So how does your difficult class help with my situation?”

“Well, one of the things we studied was exactly what you said you signed. An addendum, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Did their representative sign it, as well?” Lainey asks, wheels clearly turning.

I try to recall. “Hmm, come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing Mr. Dolby sign anything that day.”

“You should take a look at the paperwork, Aubrey. Our professor was clear that if an addendum isn’t signed by both parties it’s not enforceable. Everything reverts back to just the original contract.”

I jump up from the sofa. “Shit, Lainey. We have to find that addendum, like, right now. And not the digital one they e-mailed me. That’s just a copy from before we signed. I need to find the original from that day.”

“I’ll help you look for it,” she says, standing. “Just point me in the right direction.”

I stand up, bite my lip and glance around the room. “Where did I last see the damn thing? I think I saw it lying somewhere just the other day. I’ve been so damn disorganized lately. But the good news is I’m sure it’s somewhere in this place.”

I’m all set to begin the search, and so is Lainey, but just then the doorbell rings.

“Expecting someone?” she says.

I shake my head. “No.”

Since I’m just standing there like a goober, my thoughts on the contract and where it might be, my sister says, “Don’t worry, I’ll get it.”

When she opens the door, I can only see her. Part of a wall blocks the rest of my view, including who’s at the door.

“Who is it?” I yell when she continues to murmur with whoever is on the other side. If it’s a cute door-to-door sales guy who has pulled her attention away from our task, she’s never going to hear the end of it.

I start over to her. “Come on, Lainey. You can flirt with men at your own damn pl—”

I’m silenced when the guy she’s talking to walks in. “Hey, Aubrey.”

“Brent?” He’s as hot as ever, but his expression is oh-so-broken. “What’s wrong?” I ask, suddenly scared for him.

With a raw pleading in his voice, the likes of which I’ve never heard, he rasps, “I know I shouldn’t be here, and I know I have no right to ask anything of you. But damn it, I need you, babe.”