I glance at the clock. If I’m going to get to the club at a decent time, I need to start getting ready. I’m not feeling it, but I’m expected to be there, so I’ll go. It’s not like I’m going to go to sleep early or anything—I’ve barely slept at all for the past month. Maybe I’ll just be fashionably late to the club. That’s acceptable.
I need to relax for a few more minutes first, and I look at the large, comfortable desk chair—my chair—though I’m not sure it will ever feel right.
Before I manage to sit down, the door to my office bursts open.
Ah, shit.
“You really did it, didn’t you?”
I take an involuntary step backward as my sister approaches, eyes blazing. She marches straight up to me and slaps me across the face.
“He was my fucking husband!” she screams.
“He was a fucking traitor,” I reply calmly.
“You had no right!”
I tense. The last thing I want or need is for someone in the family questioning my judgment, even Nora.
“I had every right!” I yell back. “I am the head of this family, and that means I get to make the decisions. We welcomed him into our family and our business, and he returned the favor by working with the Ramsays. If you think there was some other logical response, that’s just one more thing you didn’t have in common with him!”
She blinks a few times as she works out my convoluted sentence.
“You should have talked to me first! I haven’t even unpacked from the fucking honeymoon!”
“Would unpacking have made a difference?” I ask. “It’s easier for you this way. I saved you the trauma of waiting for it to happen. You’re welcome.”
“Fuck you.”
“That would be incest.”
“I hate you!”
“Nothing new there either.”
She picks up an ashtray from the table and flings it at me. I barely duck in time, and it smashes into the mirror behind me. The sound of glass shattering rings in my ears.
“Feel better now?” I ask.
“It didn’t hit you, so no.”
“Charming as ever, Nora.”
“You know the Maple Syrup Festival Ball is only a couple of months away. How the hell will I find a date for it after you killed the last one?”
Ah, yes! There’s my sister.
“Do you want me to find you a new husband?” I ask. “Someone more suitable? I know Pops has some records around here somewhere…”
“What century do you think we live in?” She wipes tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Just trying to help.”
“Who the hell would even consider joining this family now, huh?”
“Someone who understands what it means to be loyal.”
“I’ll die alone.”
“You will not.” I close my eyes and grit my teeth. “You just need to get your mind off of it. Take a vacation. Go to the Bahamas or Paris or something. Retail therapy—is that what Kate calls it? Do some shopping. Get your mind off of him.”
“How could you do this to me, Nate? After everything else we’ve been through! How could you?”
Nora’s anger falters. Her gaze drop to the ground, and I can see her chin starting to quiver. I feel the pangs of guilt in my stomach.
“Come here,” I say with a sigh.
Nora races toward me and practically crashes into my chest, knocking me a little off balance, but I recover quickly and wrap my arms around her. She shakes as she cries, and I can feel her tears soaking through my shirt.
“It will all be fine, Nor. I swear it will be.”
“I don’t see how.”
“If he would have betray the business, he’d eventually betray you. Do you think I could let him get away with that? Do you really think I’d allow someone to be in a position to hurt you?”
“You’re all I have, Nate. You’re the only one who ever understood me or what I went through, you know that? Not even Micha.” She sniffs. “Certainly not Pops.”
“Pops understood.”
“He knew more than he let on.” Nora takes a half step back, quickly wiping her cheeks with her hand. “Enough about them. Get back to Jack. Antony said you were the one who did it. Is that true?”
“Micha’s gone, Nor. It had to be me.”
“Are you all right?” She looks up at me, and I’m surprised by the tender concern in her eyes, considering the reason for it.
“I’m fine,” I lie. “I’ve been around it all my life.”
“You’ve never taken it that far.”
“Even if Micha were still here, I would have been the one to kill him because he betrayed you.”
Nora lets out a long sigh as she rests her cheek on my chest.
“I’m not getting married again,” she says quietly. “Not right away, at least. I took the bullet the last time. It should be you.”
“I know.”
“Who?”
“I have no idea.”
“Are you going to start looking?” Nora looks up at me.
“I haven’t thought about it too much yet.”
“But you’ll do it, right?” Nora’s voice quavers. “I can’t do it again, Nate. I clearly need to take more time to find someone who can not only deal with my shit but won’t be a fucking traitor to my family.”
“Take your time, Nor.” I rub her back gently, hoping she isn’t focusing on the traumatic part of her past. “I only want what’s best for you. You know that. You deserve someone right for you.”
“I want a funeral.” She takes a half step back, her hands on my arms as she looks right into my eyes.
Ah, shit.
“Then you’d better call Threes,” I say, shaking my head slowly, “before he gets rid of the body.”
“Are you serious?” She takes another step away from me, eyes wide.
I raise
