“I guess. You’re really smart, Jack.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Not as smart as you. Are you ready for bed?”

“I think I need my medicine.”

I stood up from my chair. “Yes, you do need your medicine. Go get in bed and I’ll bring it to you.”

“Can Jack tuck me in too?” she asked.

“Yes. Jack can tuck you in.”

Hope scurried off to her room and I went into the kitchen to get her medicine from the refrigerator.

“Yuck. I remember that stuff.” Jack made a face when he saw the bottle.

“It’s pretty bad, isn’t it? The good thing is Hope doesn’t seem to mind it.”

After pouring the medicine in the medicine cup to the correct dosage line, Jack grabbed the glass of water on the counter and we went to Hope’s room.

“Mommy, my head hurts again.” She pouted.

Jack placed his hand on her forehead. “She feels warm.”

I handed Hope the medicine and told her to take it while I went to the bathroom and got the thermometer. It read 101 degrees.

“Fevers always get worse at night. Hopefully, by tomorrow, it’ll be gone. I’ll go get you some Tylenol.”

“I can get it,” Jack spoke. “It’s on the kitchen counter, right?”

“Yeah. Thank you.”

After giving Hope some Tylenol, I kissed her head and told her good night. When I walked out of her room, Jack followed and pulled the door enough to where it was opened a crack.

“Thank you, Lorelei.”

“For what?” I asked as I sat down at the table.

“For letting me come in and give Hope that movie.”

“Like I had much of a choice. You were standing outside my building already.”

“You called me over earlier during the movie. What did you need?”

“Never mind. I did it myself.” I silently laughed.

He took a seat in the chair next to me. “My mother took off for Paris today.”

I looked up at him from my sewing machine. “What? Why?”

“Apparently, she had a talk with the girl this morning that Joshua is shacking up with. Come to find out, she was the one who she hired to spy on Flourishing and she just so happens to be the one that told Joshua everything. My mother paid her off and then fled the country. According to her, now that the girl has her hush money, Joshua doesn’t have a leg to stand on.”

I looked at him in confusion. “But why did she leave to go to Paris, then?”

“To escape the limelight of what’s about to come. Even though people will think he’s making the story up, she didn’t want to be here to answer any questions from the press.”

“So she ran and left you and Coco to handle it?”

“Yep. Mother of the year again. I have a bad feeling about all of this and I feel like there’s something she isn’t telling us.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t figured it out yet.” He sighed.

I could see the anger and worry that consumed his eyes. Even though he’d never admit it, I could tell he was hurting.

“Enough about that. You seem to be feeling better.”

“I’m am. I’m still really tired, but overall okay.”

“I should get going so you can finish Hope’s costume.” As soon as he got up from his chair, his phone rang and he answered it.

“What!” he spoke in a panicked voice. “When? My God, I’m on my way over.”

He ended the call. The look on his face was terrifying.

“What happened?” I asked.

“That was Coco. Joshua was murdered.”

I cupped my hand over my mouth in shock.

“I need to get to Coco’s house. The police are there, questioning her.”

“My God, Jack. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll talk to you soon, Lorelei.” He walked out the door.

****

Jack

This was unbelievable. I hailed a cab and went straight to Coco’s brownstone where the flashing lights of a police car lit up the normally dimmed area. After stepping through the door, I headed straight to the living room and found my sister sitting on the couch crying while two male police officers questioned her. I ran to her side and she threw her arms around me, sobbing.

“Clearly, you can see she’s upset. Can you please come back tomorrow?”

“I’m sorry. You are?”

“Jack Sutton, her brother.”

“We apologize, but we have to ask where she was around six p.m.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Sutton, but we have to check all possible leads.”

“Coco, where were you?” I asked her.

“I was at the office.”

“Were you alone, ma’am,” one of the officers asked.

“No.”

“May I have the name of the person who was with you?” The officer took a pen from his pocket.

She hesitated for a moment and looked at me.

“Garrett Sullivan was with me.” She turned to the officer as she spoke.

“Why was Garrett at the office on a Saturday?” I asked.

“Thank you, Miss Sutton. We’ll be in touch if we have any more questions. We can see our way out.”

Coco stood up and took in a deep breath. “That’s a lot of work trying to make myself cry and fake being upset.” Dabbing her eyes with a tissue, she walked over to the bar area in her living room and poured a glass of wine.

“Would you like some?” she asked.

“No. What I would like is for you to answer my question.”

Chapter Forty-Three

Jack

I threw back my glass of scotch as Garrett walked into the living room. I slammed my glass down on the bar and pointed my finger at him as I walked towards him.

“How fucking dare you!” I yelled.

“Jack, stop!” Coco screamed.

“You’ve been sleeping with my sister and you didn’t tell me!”

“Jack, calm down.” He put his hands up.

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down!” I threw a punch at him.

He stumbled back and held his jaw.

“Do you feel better now, friend?” he asked in a calm tone.

I went to throw another punch.

“Jack, no!” Coco grabbed my arm and held me back. “I swear I will never talk to you again if you don’t stop.”

“She’s my sister, man. My fucking sister. You’ve known her your whole life.”

“And I’ve been in love with her my whole life!” he shouted.

I closed my eyes and slowly shook my head. Taking a seat on the couch, I cupped my face in my hands to try and process everything that was going on.

“Jack.” Coco sat down next to me. “Do you want me to be happy?”

I looked over at her as the tears streamed down her face.

“Of course I do.”

“Garrett makes me happy. He always has. Sometimes, the person you’re meant to love is standing right in front of you the whole time.”

“Coco, he’s like a brother to us.”

“But he’s not our brother. He makes me feel alive and whole. You can’t understand that because you never let anyone in. I’m in love with him, Jack.”

I looked over at Garrett, who was still standing in the same spot, holding his jaw.

“Do you love her?”

“Yes. I do.”

I got up from the couch and poured another drink.

“Why did you stay with Joshua if you were seeing Garrett?” I asked. “Which brings me to another question. How long has this been going on?”

“We’ve been seeing each other for a little over a month. Why do people who are married cheat and still stay married?”

I shook my head as I took a sip of a scotch. After downing it, I looked at Coco and then at Garrett.

“I’ll see you two Monday morning at the office. I need to get out of here and think.” I grabbed my coat and walked out.

As I was on my way home, I sat in the back of the cab and thought about what Coco said about me not letting anyone in. She was right. I had never let anyone in except one woman: Lorelei. The one woman I brought into my bed that was off limits to everyone. The only woman who I held in my arms all night. And what happened? She withheld a vital part of her life from me.

****

Lorelei

My mom and Stella sat at the table with shocked expressions as I told them about my week; being sick and Jack taking care of Hope. They couldn’t say anything because Hope was right there. My mom reached over and took hold of my hands.