Page 86 of Connor's Claim
“Not at all. It’ll be good for him to have someone else who cares about him.” She ducked her head. “He shocked me with his secret, but in retrospect, I get how huge a burden that must’ve been for him to carry. He loved our mum, and she adored him. Honouring her wishes would’ve been the most important thing for him.”
Cassie drifted over, taking her drink with a grateful if somewhat distracted smile, and I stiffened my spine, suddenly determined to follow the examples I’d been shown. I wanted to get to know Riordan, but what was there of me to offer in return? I hadn’t managed it so far with the two women I wanted to befriend.
“Remember you asked me about myself?” I said to Cassie. At her eyebrow rise of enquiry, I continued. “I stalled out on the question, and I’ve realised it’s because my father and his career completely absorbed every aspect of my life. But I’m more than that.”
Cassie grinned. “Aye, ye are. Ready when ye are to give us the goods.”
I settled onto a stool and counted off my thoughts. “I like videos of little children who are best friends with animals. I love women trying on dresses with people telling them how great they look, especially if they aren’t skinny or Internet beautiful. I’ll devour videos of driving lessons where the dash cam picks up someone doing something kind, like stopping for a family of ducks to cross the road. But I’m hardline, too. If someone shares a picture of a spider, they get an instant block.”
Cassie’s eyes rounded. “Who needs that kind of jump scare?”
“Right there on your screen.” Genevieve gave a pretty grimace.
“Exactly!” Thoughts built inside me in a storm. “I want to try out hobbies to see which works for me.”
Cassie rocked on her heels. “We can do that together! Like crochet or painting. Or target practice.”
My storm was tinted with happiness. “I’d really love that. I’ve never taken a break from work, not even when I had the flu. I just wore a mask and sat in an empty office with a bucket of hand sanitiser and the windows open so I didn’t get anyone else sick. In winter. Do you know what my father said?”
The two women shared the same pitying expression.
“Nothing, except to comment that my makeup wasn’t up to scratch that day. Why did I do it? Why did I give him a decade of my life for no thanks when he was lying to me the whole time?”
The true answer was for Connor’s ears only, but the overriding point was that I’d never pushed back. Never complained. Nevertried.
Genevieve cupped my elbow, her touch warm. “You’re not going back, are you?”
“I’d like maybe to reduce my hours.”
Her gaze intensified. “No, try that again and listen to what you really want. You’re not going to do that thing you’ve always done anymore.”
So slowly, I shook my head, full of wonder at my revelations. “I don’t think I can.”
Cassie stirred her brew, her smile approving in a way that bolstered me further. “Then after you’ve told off your old man, ye get to pick your own life. What does that contain?”
“Connor,” I said immediately. “I’ve been in love with him since I was a teenager, but he was so far off the table it was never going to happen. That doesn’t mean things with him are perfect, so that’s one of the first things I need to fix.”
“Set boundaries, smart woman,” Cassie said.
That was exactly it. He’d hear my explanation, then we’d work out ground rules for how we went on.
Cassie pursed her lips. “Can I ask a question? Is your ma still around? I wondered.”
Old sadness brought an automatic sigh. “She died when I was small from heart failure. Non-hereditary and out of the blue. I don’t remember her much, but the career I always wanted was the one she had. She was an event planner. I must’ve inherited her skills because I’m good at it.”
“Nice that you’re carrying on a part of her.” Cassie’s gaze gentled. “My ma died, and I have no memory of her. I wish I did.”
Genevieve held up her coffee. “Jinx, except mine lived until I was a teenager. I’ve been angry at her this week because she lied and hurt Riordan in the process, but I’ll get over that.” She twisted to peek at me. “What is it you like about her job? I ask because it’s given me an idea.”
“I love tackling a busy calendar and managing dates. Slotting all the working pieces into place and getting people and suppliers to align. It does happy things to my head.”
“How about helping out here?” She gestured to the warehouse with a circle around her head. “Arran has been flat-out running the game, but that has a lot of moving parts, and he’s drowning in it. There’s no one person he can rely on to handle the contestants or to get the warehouse staff doing all the things they need to do. It all falls on his shoulders, and I know he doesn’t find it a natural fit.”
I considered the idea, my fingers twitching with the need to pitch in. “Do you think he’d welcome my help if I offered?”
She gave an enthusiastic nod. “Tonight, watch how it works. See if it interests you then ask Arran if you can manage the next one. I bet he’d jump at the chance to share the load. I won’t mention it in case you change your mind, but it’s a real and present need, and it’s also only one thing the warehouse does. The nightclub has theme nights every month, and one-offs on special occasions. The strip club does the same, and don’t even get me started on the brothel. Alisha is meant to be running regular club nights there, but she hasn’t got the idea off the ground.”
I breathed out excitement. Since Connor had brought me to the warehouse, I’d barely left. It was a world of its own, and I loved it here. I felt safe. I had friends. I had him.