“Nice to see you too,” I comment, keeping the smile off my face. I don’t wish to antagonise her further. I drop to kiss her cheek, and she turns away before my lips connect. I sigh and carry on into the house.
Perry pecks her cheek. “Hey, chick, did you get your haircut?”
Kat fingers the tips and ducks her head away. “Hi, Perry.”
“You got anything to drink in this place?” he asks, walking into the main foyer. I stare at Kat. Her cheeks are pink as she watches Perry. When she finally looks back at me, I raise my brow, and she rolls her eyes.
“Yes, the bar is through there.” She struts past and refuses to meet my eye again. “What's your poison?” she says, moving past Perry and heading through the parlour to the far side where my father’s bar is still installed. I grit my teeth, angered that even after all these years, the house is still in its original glory.
“Pretty little blondes.” He grins, sitting on a bar stool, as Kat moves about behind the bar and crosses her arms. “Your breasts look phenomenal when you do that,” he observes, and she drops her arms almost immediately. My friend chuckles, but I clip him up the back of the head. He knows Kat has had a crush on him since they met. He loves to poke fun at her, and she loves to see him. I sometimes think he is what keeps Kat and me together. He is our glue because if it weren’t for his playful manner, the shoulder for her to cry on, she would have cut me off a long time ago.
I drop into a seat and check my phone.
“What’s his issue?” Kat asks Perry.
“Stop prying,” I grumble. “I’ll have a beer.” She is frowning at me, so I level her with a hard stare. “I’d love to say I like what you’ve done with the place, but I'm almost certain little has changed since my father owned this house.” She has the decency to look embarrassed.
My friend intercepts and tries to ease the tension building. “He wants to fuck an employee, but,”—Perry pulls a face—“when one makes the rules, one must abide.” He sighs dramatically and holds his hand out for the bottle of beer that Kat holds out. She’s just shy of twenty-one. I was fifteen when our mother had her, and despite the hatred I feel for her father and our mother, I feel only love for Kat. When she reached out a few years ago, I couldn’t turn her away. She was as spoiled as I was at her age. I know she doesn’t understand all of this, but she’s old enough now to truly know what kind of man her father is, learn the hard way who our mother is, and why they can’t be trusted. This is the first time it has affected or will affect her. I’m taking her home, the financial security her father manipulates her with.
“You cock-blocked yourself. Oh, the shame.” She smirks, placing my beer down and sliding it toward me.
“What do you want?”
“You know if you buy Carson Court, I will be homeless too.” She throws down the letter, my lawyer's logo staring back up at me. Her eyes fill, and I hate that I’m hurting her. Like me, this house is all she knows.
“No, you won’t. I wouldn’t see you out on the street.” I swig my beer and look away when she drops her gaze and fights the tears burning hotly in her eyes.
“But our parents can live out of bin bags?” Kat scoffs.
“Your parents.” I tip my beer her way. “Not my problem.”
“Cain, this has to stop.” Her hands slap against the glass surface. “I’m sorry for what my father did,” she says passionately.
“You know nothing, Kat, just the bullshit you’ve been placated with. Your father is a cancer, and I’m his fucking cure.” I slam my beer down, and she flinches from the loud crack. I don’t check the glass like she does. I know it’s reinforced.
“Cures aren’t supposed to hurt.” Her lip trembles.
“This one does,” I growl. “That letter was for your father. You should never have opened it,” I admonish.
“I recognised your lawyer's name,” she whispers. “Where the fuck am I supposed to go? You’re making him sick.” Her words catch, and she swallows.
“Good!” I roar, making her jump. My chest heaves as I glower at her across the glass top. Perry places a hand on my back and tells me to calm down. I suck in a deep breath, but she is teetering on the edge, too.
“You’re a cancer, too!” she cries, her tears spilling over. My heart lurches painfully, my hands go lax, and I stare at her in shock.
“Kat,” I murmur softly, holding my hand out, but she wraps her arms around her waist and leans against the back bar, causing the bottles to clink and rattle, tears running down her face.
Perry’s chair scrapes back, and he moves around the bar to pull her into a hug. She sniffles, and his eyes bore into me over her shoulder. Fuck.
“Kat, I’m sorry you find this hard.”
“Lots of people cheat,” she hiccups. “I know it’s not okay, but they loved each other. I’m sorry that they hurt your father.”
I laugh shortly. I’m over this bullshit she is being fed. Perry shakes his head at me, pleading with me to go easy on her. She needs to know the truth. If she still chooses her father afterwards, then she is on her own.
“Your father was my father’s closest friend,” I remind her, “his business partner.”
Her brows narrow into a frown. “They fell in love!” she wails dramatically.