Only because she says we spoil her in so many other ways. More important ways.
“And the present?” he continues.
“Got it.”
“Good. See you shortly.”
Arm in arm, Winter and I head back to the hotel. We’re just about to make the turn down the private driveway when I hear my name being called.
I turn, recognizing the voice. “What are you doing here?” I ask Sienna.
Wrapped up under a fake fur coat, her eyes dart to Winter before swinging nervously towards me. “Can we talk?”
Since the DNA results came through I’ve not seen Sienna. I have thought about her though; after all, she was the center of our thoughts and conversations for some time as we tried to unravel the whole sorry saga. And I kind of miss her bothersome arse. Pissing her off and playing with her emotions amused me.
Sometimes, I’m hard to work out. I don’t especially like playing it straight. Winter might have learned that firsthand in Vail, but playing with her was ridiculously fun. That night, I think we all worked that out pretty damn quickly.
Ever the voice of fucking reason, probably feeling some sympathy for the poison pixie who lost her mom as a young girl, Winter murmurs, “Give her a chance, Roo. She has nobody, and I know what that feels like.”
I cup her face, her nose pink from the chill air. “We’re your new family, Winter. You are never getting away from us, and we will never leave you.”
“I know,” she breathes. “That’s why I can feel her pain. If I lost any of you, it would gut me. Talk to her.Please.”
“We gave her a chance to tell us why she lied to us for fucking decades. I don’t owe her anything else.”
“She loves you. Whether blood relation or not, whether it’s sisterly love or not. She has deep feelings for you.” I hesitate, Winter pouncing. “It didn’t stop Jasper from loving you every single day. For raising you as his own. It’s no different for Sienna. She fucked up. Badly. Her mom too. And whether you like it or not, she loves you and misses you. You were all she knew, and now she has nothing.” I curse under my breath, Winter’s eyes soft and beseeching. “Give her a few minutes of your time. What can it hurt?”
Unable to tell my girlfriend no unless it suits me, I nod.
Silently, Winter steps away to give us some privacy, and I take a few steps closer to Sienna. Her eyes have turned glassy.
“Thank you for speaking with me,” she sobs. “I miss you all so much!”
“We don’t miss you.”
She swallows, guilt prickling my skin. Trying to be better, to learn from Winter’s wisdom, I add quickly, “We’re still shocked, Sienna. Still getting over it. I can’t believe you expect us to have any other reaction than the one we’re having. You lied to us, pretending you were our sister.”
“I know,” she heaves out brokenly. “I hoped you might’ve had a chance to forgive me by now.”
I scoff. “It’s been six weeks. Come back in six years and ask then.”
With a gloved hand, Sienna wipes at her dribbling nose. “Surely you don’t mean that?”
“Don’t ask questions you won’t like the answer to.”
Her face crumples. Her chest quakes with sorrow. Sniffing loudly, she tells me, “I never knew where I stood with you. You toyed with my feelings all the time. I hoped it was because you wanted me but knew you couldn’t, but now I see how wrong I was.”
I stay quiet. I can’t kick a drowning cat.
“Out of all of them, you should be the one who understands the most.”
“Why’s that?”
“You grew up without Dad. You know what it’s like to be loved by someone who isn’t your blood relation.”
Did Sienna overhear Winter? Or is my situation that obvious to everyone? Either way, it doesn’t matter, because there’s a very distinct difference. “I always knew Jasper wasn’t my real dad. No one lied to me about that.”
“But if you remove that from the equation, you can see how important it was that he stuck by you. I need you all to stick by me too, because I think I might hurt myself if you keep shunning me.”