He reached out and tapped her nose with a finger. “Whatever you want, Mags, it’s yours.”

Trevor let go of Allie’s knee and watched her face. She gazed at Mags and Nigel with a longing he didn’t understand. What was she thinking? Clearly, she didn’t find them as annoying as he did.

As dinner progressed, his repulsive parents cooed at each other and Allie ignored him to poke at her food. Nothing pissed him off more than being ignored.

Trevor was about to squeeze her knee again when Arnold stepped into the room. “Miss Campbell, your sister has just arrived.”

Allie jumped from her seat. “What? My sister’s here?” She threw her napkin on the table and hurried toward the dining room door.

Trevor stood as well. “Which sister?”

“A very young girl, brown hair.” Arnold glanced at Allie. “She had a suitcase with her.”

Allie all but ran to the foyer, Trevor close on her heels.

Brynn stood near the front door, her eyes darting around the room. When she saw Allison, relief filled the girl’s face. “Allie.”

Allie grasped her by the shoulders. “Oh my God, what’s wrong? How did you get here? Is Dad okay? What’s wrong?” The words tumbled out of her, falling one on top of the other.

“I’m okay. I took a cab.”

“Does Dad know you’re here?”

“No.” Brynn shook her head, her hair covering her face.

Trevor moved forward. “Why don’t we take her to the salon upstairs? Arnold, would you be so good as to have Frances prepare a room and perhaps bring a tray of sandwiches?”

“Very good, sir.”

Allie threw her arm around the girl’s shoulders and followed him up the stairs. Trevor looked back and gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “I hear you had to join a school club? Ghastly, being a joiner.” He shuddered. “So, what did you finally settle on?”

Brynn quickly glanced at him before her eyes bounced away. “Um, photography. I kind of like taking pictures.”

“I’d like to see them sometime.” Timid, she would be at home behind the camera, watching everyone around her, observing but never participating. Perhaps Allison was correct, Brynn did need her. But that didn’t mean he was letting Allie go. The very thought made him… He grimaced. Fuck, he didn’t know how he felt. But he wasn’t ready to give her up. He reached the salon and held the door for the pair of them. “Ladies.”

Brynn, her eyes wide, practically gawked as she twirled in a circle. “Wow.” She reached out and touched the bust of a long-forgotten Roman nobleman. “Is this for real?”

Allie guided Brynn to the leather sofa and lowered herself next to her sister. “Now, tell me what’s happened. Why are you here, Brynn?”

Trevor stood with his back against the door, his arms crossed. He’d known Allie would be difficult, knew she came with a full set of family baggage. Well, this was what he got for his trouble—little sister turning up unexpectedly. But she wasn’t so bad, really, this little girl. Could hardly be more of a pain in the ass than his own parents.

And Allie was very gentle with her, very loving. Allison Campbell was a good person. A great lay but a good person.

“I’m leaving home. I just want to be with you, Al.” With her eyes cast to the floor, the poor girl looked miserable.

“Brynn,” Allie said, “you know you’re a terrible liar? You have a tell, kid.”

Brynn’s eyes drifted to Allie. “I do miss you.”

“But?”

“Dad’s dating.”

Allie let out a little laugh. “Brynn, honey, that’s crazy.”

“He’s seeing my guidance counselor, Ms. Castor. I overheard them talking on the phone last night. He was laughing, and he called her Karen.”

“I’m sure you misunderstood. Maybe they were discussing you.”

Brynn looked up then. “He’s been gone two nights this week. He said he had some errands to run after dinner. You know Dad doesn’t do errands, he leaves all that stuff to you. Mom’s only been dead for like, six months. It’s disgusting.”

Allie glanced up at Trevor, her face ashen.

He pushed off the door and walked forward, taking a seat across from them. “You’re welcome to stay here, Brynn. For as long as you need to. But you have to tell your father where you are.”

Brynn looked at him like he was a god. “Thanks. But”—she turned to Allie—“can you do it? Call Dad, I mean? I don’t really want to talk to him right now.”

Allie gave her a wry look. “Yeah, I bet you don’t.”

“Are you mad?”

“No, but promise me you’ll never leave home like this again. We already have one runaway in the family. Nobody likes a copycat, Brynnie.”

He suddenly felt de trop. Standing, he made his way to the door. What possessed him to offer up his home to Brynn, he wasn’t sure. But the poor little thing seemed so sad and lost, he couldn’t possibly turn her away. Plus, Allie wouldn’t be happy with her sister miserable at home. When Allison’s happiness had become a priority, he didn’t know, but for some reason, making Allie Campbell happy was suddenly very important to him.

He stood in the hallway and impatiently waited for Allie and her sister. Eventually, they emerged. Brynn looked a little better, but Allison looked worse, and she had that awful plastic smile affixed to her face.

“Brynn, love, Frances is waiting for you at the end of the corridor.” He pointed down the hall. “She’ll take you to your room. Let her know if you need anything.”

Pressing her lips together, Brynn nodded, wrapped her arms around her middle, and walked down the hallway. When she was out of sight, Trevor turned to Allie. “I think I’m running a bloody hotel.” Allie gave a little laugh and he smiled at the sound.

“Why don’t you go ring your father? He must be worried sick.” He grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together, leading her toward her room.

“I can’t believe he’s dating again. It’s surreal, you know. We just lost my mom and he’s ready to move on.”

“Men tend to get over these things faster, plus, your mother was sick for a long time.” The words were out of his mouth before he could pull them back.

Allie stopped in the middle of the hall. With a sigh, Trevor turned and faced her. “I’m terribly sorry. That was a callous thing to say.”

She gazed up at him in the dim hall light. “Yeah, it was.”

He lifted her hand, kissing the back of it. “I’m sure he loved your mother very much.”

She glanced up at the ceiling and flattened her lips. “Sorry I yelled at you today. It wasn’t your fault. I was frustrated, and I took it out on you.” She sighed and shifted her focus to him.

Trevor lifted one shoulder. “No harm done.” He leaned forward and placed a small kiss on the corner of her lips. “Go call him. I’ll be in the office if you need me.”

***

Taking a deep breath, Allie willed herself to calm down. She’d already flown off the handle with one family member today—better not make the same mistake twice.

She grabbed her cell and called home. When no one picked up, she tried his phone. He answered on the third ring. Allie could hear loud voices and laughter in the background. “Hello?”

“Dad, it’s Allie. Where are you?”

“Hey, Al, I’m kind of in the middle of something. Can I call you back?”

“Brynn’s here. She took a cab to Trevor’s and she’s spending the night. I’ll make sure she gets to school in the morning and then I’ll come by the house. We need to talk.” She hit the end button and frowned.

What the hell was going on? Her father wasn’t worried sick. He didn’t even know Brynn had left. One daughter missing and the other had run away. And her dad was out on a fucking date. Unbelievable.

She had done her best to take care of her family—she’d failed miserably, but at least she tried. What had her dad been doing? He’d left everything to Allie and lost the business. Didn’t he give a damn about all that Allie had sacrificed for her sisters? For him?

It hurt like hell, feeling used.