“I’m sorry,” Eric said.
“I must have misheard you. It sounded like you said sorry.” There was no way my brother would apologize to me right after getting angry.
“I lost my temper, and I’ve been working really hard on not doing that. I guess finding out I have a niece got me on edge.”
I blinked, and my shoulders slumped.He apologized. Maybe he had changed.
“I accept your apology.” I wanted to say more about Jocelyn but thought better of it. If he was okay with me dating Jenner, then I could be okay with him dating Jocelyn.
Then it hit me about what he said about Jenner. “So, Jenner hasn’t disappeared?”
Eric shrugged and sat back down, looking like he just took a casual stroll instead of getting ready to explode in anger. “I don’t think so. Why? Have you heard something?”
“No. You looked so nervous when you arrived and mentioned Jenner, so I just thought—”
“You always jump to the worst conclusions, Lola. Relax.” He waved his hands over his body. “Like me. Moments ago, I wanted to take that cash register and throw it across the room, but now I don’t have a care in the world. Let whatever is bothering you just melt away. Picture chocolate melting. It works for me. Do you guys sell hot chocolate? I could really go for that right now.”
Oh my god... For the longest time, our father was the unhinged one in our family, and when he died, my brother sort of took up that mantle. But now, with my brother dealing with his problems, it was me.
I was the broken Hudson.
Chapter 17
Jenner
“Wow, this place is super fancy.” My sister looked like a runway model with her hair swept up, makeup on, and wearing a fancy dress.
It was the dress that shocked me the most. I didn’t think she had ever worn one before.
“You look fancy.” Eric winked at her.
I glanced over at Lola, who had the exact expression I did—something a person would wear after watching a magician’s act go horribly wrong.
Eric pointed to a table in the room’s corner that looked out over the mountains, and we walked past a waterfall in the middle of the dining room to get to our seats. The waterfall was nothing compared to the surprise of hearing my sister giggle. She had laughed before, but never had a girly giggle come from her mouth.
“I’m feeling nauseated,” I said as we neared the table.
I felt Lola’s hand on my lower back, and suddenly, the terrible nightmare of the evening melted into something of beauty. Lola wore a simple light gray dress that made her eyes sparkle. I leaned over and kissed the top of her head because I just couldn’t resist.
“You look fantastic in that suit,” she whispered to me. “Maybe later I could see you out of it.” She nibbled on her lower lip.
I was about to take her hand and find the most private place here so I could give her an early look when my sister ruined it. She never did like it when I was happy.
“Hey, you two, get a room.” She plucked something from her small velvet bag and threw it at me, nearly hitting me in the face.
“What the hell, Jocelyn?” I bent down and picked up a nickel.
“It’s to help pay for your hourly motel stay.” She snorted as Eric pushed her seat in for her.
This was going to be a long night...
I went to help Lola with her chair when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked back and found the server.
“Yes?”
“You cannot sit here,” he said in the fakest French accent I ever heard.
“Why not?” Eric asked as he moved toward me.