Problem was, I could never withstand lengthy silences, so I said, “I feel I owe it to Sammy and to you to speak up.”
The surprise on her face was so strong her head moved as if I’d smacked her. “Sammy? Me? What do you mean?”
I shook my head lightly. “He’s as headstrong as they come.”
Her lips twisted. “He still did everything Michael did. Everything. Including joining that motorcycle club.”
I couldn’t hold back my smile. Sandy had talked my ear off that first night at the clubhouse when she was supposed to protect me from Layla. She’d shared plenty of history about the men of the Biloxi Riot MC chapter. “You’re wrong. Sammy joined before Michael did.”
She thought it over. “You’re right, but it wasn’t long before my brother joined, too.”
“My point is that he doesn’t do anything because your brother does it, or vice versa. They both have strong opinions about what should be done and how to do it.”
“Right,” she mumbled.
I sighed. Deep down I knew I only had one shot to plant a seed of acceptance in her mind. I had to make it count. “You blame your brother for something that was Sammy’s idea.”
I was lying. It was the biggest bluff I ever attempted, but at the same time, having lived with Sammy during his teenage years, I knew he could be persuasive. Especially with someone he cared about.
Corinna glared at me. “What do you even know about it?”
“Michael told me about it. All about it. He never knew you had such a crush on his best friend. So he never understood why you were so angry, or why you would blame him for it.”
She sat straighter. “And I suppose you explained it to him?”
I shook my head. “No. I mentioned your crush, and it was like a light bulb went off. He understood where you were coming from, even though Sammy never followed Michael like a mindless sheep.”
Corinna didn’t have Har’s green eyes. Her eyes were a light brown and she leveled them on me. “I think you’ve put my brother on a pedestal.”
I shook my head. “I really haven’t. If he were still doing that sort of thing, believe me, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. But, I don’t hold it against him that he did it at one time – assuming the woman was willing.”
“She was willing, all right,” Corinna muttered, and she threw me a look like she couldn’t believe the words came out of her mouth.
I didn’t know if it was the tension, the outlandish expression on Corinna’s face, or some random side effect of my antibiotic, but laughter overtook me and I threw my head back giving into the release.
As my laugher quieted, I heard Corinna laughing, too. Only her laughter wasn’t a release, it sounded like the mounting laughter of realization.
When she pulled herself together she touched my arm. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let myself go like that.”
And that was the very reason Sammy had never given her a second glance.
Lucky for me, my poker face and ability to keep quiet stopped me from oversharing. Instead I smiled.
“Don’t be sorry, Corinna. Everyone needs to let themselves go, especially if we’re talking about laughter.”
She smiled. “You’re right. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I said in a low voice.
After a moment, I pushed, “Do you still blame him for it? I mean, seeing as she was willing, do you really blame him?”
Her face went stony with her discomfort. She shook her head and sighed. “I guess not. Though after so many years I should get over it. I mean, my life has pulled me in a drastically different direction from either of my brothers, let alone Sammy.”
My brows furrowed. “How do you mean?”
She huffed out a breath. “I’m too strait-laced to ever fit in with him, now that he’s Brute. Some part of me will always love him, but that love is for a man I don’t really know, or who I’ve imagined.”
“Can you forgive your brother?”
Her smile was wan. “I hope so. I want to, but like you said, he’s headstrong, to say the least.”
I nodded. “It sounds like you’re willing to try, and that’s as good a start as any.”
She gave me an assessing look. “You were injured recently. What happened?”
My grin was half-hearted. “I should probably sugar-coat this, but I’m gonna be blunt. I was stabbed last night.”
Her eyes widened. “What? Stabbed? You’re kidding.”
“I have a decent sense of humor, but stabbing isn’t something I’d joke about, Corinna.”
“God, when did it happen?”
I grimaced. “Last night.”
Her face lit with surprise for a moment before it dimmed to seriousness. “And Mother invited you two to dinner, but Michael had no idea I’d be here.”
I nodded.
She glared in the direction of the kitchen.
I reached out and touched her arm. “Don’t be mad.”
Her expression said I was crazy. “That’s easy for you to say. But I won’t cause a scene. Besides, that’s absolutely why Michael went to the kitchen with her.”
My man sauntered out of the kitchen. As he moved, I could see the tension leaving his body. I moved to stand up, but he shook his head at me.
He sat between Corinna and me, but extended an arm along my shoulders. “You good?”
I nodded.
He looked at his sister. “Corinna. It’s nice to see you.”
She snorted. “Is it? I’m sorry, don’t answer that. Stephanie said you were just as surprised as me.”
With an arched eyebrow, he speared me with a look before he turned back to his sister. “Yeah. Though in a way I should’ve seen it coming. She’s adamant we —”
“I’ll try if you do,” Corinna said.
“Really?”
“Yes. Stephanie pointed somethings out.”
Mrs. Walcott came into the room. “It’s time to eat.”
Har
ALL THROUGH DINNER, Har wanted to get Stephanie away from his family and not just because of her injury. He was dying to know what she pointed out to his sister to make her so amenable to
