“I met Claire.”
Claire who? But even as the question formed, she already had the answer. Claire, her sister. Claire, the perfect one, the princess. The concert pianist and soloist. World traveler. Rich bitch. Her selfish, narcissistic, shallow, cruel, awful sister.
“Not possible,” she murmured as her eyes closed. Sleep would be good, she told herself. She would sleep now and this would all go away.
“Apparently Jesse called and told her about your surgery and she flew in.”
Nicole’s eyes opened. “What?”
“She’s here to help during your recovery.”
If Nicole hadn’t been so uncomfortable and drugged, she would have laughed. “Help? She wants to help? Where the hell has she been for the past twenty-two years? Where was she while I was stuck here, raising Jesse and working in the bakery? Where was she when our mother went off to be with her and then died? Where was she when Dad died? Does she bother to show up even once? I can’t believe it. She needs to leave right now. She needs to get her designer-wearing ass out of my city and back to her cocktail party circuit or wherever it is she spent her—”
Nicole made the mistake of trying to sit up on her own. Pain ripped through her, stealing her breath and making her moan. She sank back into the bed and closed her eyes. Claire here? Because Nicole’s life wasn’t sucky enough already?
“I hate her.”
“I know.” Wyatt squeezed her fingers. “She thinks she’s helping.”
It was too much, Nicole thought. “I can’t deal with her right now. Just keep her away from me. I mean it, Wyatt. Don’t let her come to the hospital.”
“I won’t,” he promised, then kissed her forehead.
He was a good guy, she thought as sleep beckoned. One of the best. Why hadn’t she been smart enough to fall in love with him? Instead she’d fallen for Drew. Talk about a disaster. All of it. And now Claire? What was next? Locusts?
CLAIRE ARRIVED at the hospital in plenty of time to take Nicole home. The previous day she’d made the drive twice so she was familiar with the route. Driving was a little less scary, as well. As long as she stayed off the freeway, she felt almost competent. She’d also talked to Nicole’s nurse, explaining that they were family and that she, Claire, wanted to pick her up. They had given her the approximate time of release. Now Claire was here and ready to help.
She tried not to think too much about Wyatt’s claim that Nicole knew nothing about her visit and wasn’t going to be happy to see her. Despite repeated calls to Jesse’s cell phone, she’d been unable to catch her, nor had Jesse answered any of her messages. Obviously something was going on, but Claire was confident it was little more than a misunderstanding that could be easily cleared up. At least that’s what she told herself every time her stomach flipped over or her chest started to constrict.She tightened her grip on her handbag as she exited the elevator and started down the long hallway. The signs pointed to the nurses’ station, but before she got there, she saw Nicole in a wheelchair being pushed by a nurse, with Wyatt bringing up the rear.
Emotions flooded Claire, bringing her to a stop as she just stared at the sister she hadn’t seen in years. Nicole looked good, pale, but that made sense. The woman had just had surgery. She wore a zip-up hoodie over a T-shirt, with her hair pulled back in ponytail. Claire instantly felt overdressed.
“Nicole,” she whispered, fierce joy filling her. They were together again. Finally.
“Oh, crap,” Nicole muttered. “Can I get more drugs?”
“Your sister?” the nurse asked. “You look alike. Almost like twins.”
“Fraternal and don’t make a bad situation worse by talking about it,” Nicole said.
Wyatt put his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll take care of this.” He walked to Claire. “What are you doing here? I told you not to come.”
She ignored him and Nicole’s snarky comments, instead rushing forward, then crouching in front of her sister. She wanted to hug her, but was afraid of hurting her. She settled on touching her arm and smiling into her eyes.
“You look great. How do you feel?”
Nicole stared at her. “Like I had an organ ripped out. What are you doing here?”
“I’m taking you home.”
“No, you’re not,” Wyatt said. “That’s why I’m here.”
“What are you doing in Seattle?” Nicole asked. “Please tell me it’s a short visit that ends in an hour.”
“I heard about your surgery, so I flew here to take care of you.”
“That’s so sweet,” the nurse said.
“I don’t need your help,” Nicole said. “Go away.”
Claire was doing her best not to react to all the hostility. She told herself that her sister was in pain, that Wyatt didn’t know her and that a lot of time and bad feelings had come between the Keyes sisters. It was going to take more than a day to heal old wounds.
What she wanted to do was stand up, stomp her foot and point out that she was the wronged party here. That Nicole had turned her back on Claire years ago and refused to reconsider her position. That she’d been blamed for things that had hurt her just as much as them. But there was no point in starting there. She was here for a purpose.
She stood. “I’m not going anywhere. You need me.”
Nicole groaned. “I need a lot of things, but you’re not one of them. Wyatt, did I tell you to shoot me before? Did you listen?”
Wyatt put his hand on her shoulder. “I told you I couldn’t do that.”
“All men are useless,” Nicole muttered, then looked back at Claire. “You want to get up so I can get out of here? I hurt, I’m tired and I just want to go home.”
“My car is right out front,” Claire told her. “I know the way. I practiced the drive.”
“We’re all so proud.”
The nurse gave Claire a sympathetic smile, then pushed her patient toward the elevators. Claire trailed after them, not sure what to say or do. She couldn’t force Nicole into her car. Maybe it would be better to let Wyatt deal with getting Nicole to the house and Claire could take over from there.
Still, it hurt to be rejected and ignored. She’d hoped things would be different.
“I’ll change them,” she told herself as they walked out into the cool, spring morning.
There was a large truck parked in front of the entrance. Wyatt opened the passenger door, then lifted Nicole inside and put her on the seat.
Claire watched, aching at the sight of the tenderness and care Wyatt displayed. She wanted a little of that for herself. Not from Wyatt, but from someone. She wanted a man to care about her, worry about her. She wanted friends and family. She wanted a life.
Which was mostly what she’d come home to find.
CHAPTER THREE
“I THOUGHT YOU WERE LYING,” Nicole said as they pulled out of the hospital parking lot. “I thought I was having drug-induced hallucinations. I can’t believe she’s here. She’s possibly the most useless human being on the planet. Why me? Why now?”
Wyatt didn’t have any answers, so he kept quiet. He’d heard enough about Claire over the years to form an unflattering opinion of her. But today, at the hospital, she’d looked so hopeful and wounded at the same time. He’d almost felt bad for her.Which only proved what a fool he was when it came to women. He always picked wrong. He had the divorce to prove it. Nicole knew her sister a whole lot better than he did, and he trusted Nicole. What she said went.
“What are you going to do about her?” he asked.
“I supposed asking you to shoot her would be a waste of time.” She sighed. “I don’t know. Ignore her and hope she goes away.”
“You’re going to need some help, at least for a couple of days. You won’t be able to take care of yourself.”
He kept his eyes on the road, but felt Nicole’s angry stare. “You have got to be kidding me. You’re not suggesting I let her stay and attempt to take care of me. Do you know how incredibly useless she is? She’s not a person, Wyatt. She’s a trained monkey. I’m amazed she can even drive a car. Oh, wait. I haven’t seen the car. I’ll bet you money it’s a limo, with a driver. Claire wouldn’t want to risk her delicate and valuable hands by actually doing work. Holding the steering wheel might impact her performance and we wouldn’t want that.”
He’d known the sisters didn’t get along and the bare bones of the estrangement, but he’d never understood the depth of Nicole’s anger and bitterness before.
Nicole had been hurt when Claire had gone away, but until now, he’d never known the wounds went so deep. Sarcasm and black humor concealed a lot of pain. It was just like her to play the bitter bitch to protect herself.
“I can come over in the evenings,” he said. “After work.”
She slumped down in the seat, then pressed her arm into her midsection and groaned. “I don’t want that. You have to take care of Amy. I’ll be fine.”
“No, you won’t.”
“I don’t want to think about it. Not right now.”
None of this was supposed to be a problem, he reminded himself. When the surgery had been scheduled, Drew, Nicole’s husband, had still been in the picture.
Wyatt thought of his stepbrother and instantly wanted to pound him into the ground. What a total idiot. Talk about screwing up big-time. Drew had crossed the line and Nicole was never going to forgive him. Wyatt wasn’t sure he would be able to forgive his brother either.
He glanced in his rearview mirror and saw Claire in the car behind them. Even from a couple of car lengths away, he could see her death grip on the steering wheel and the determination in her face.
“You should move in with me and Amy,” he said. “That’s the easiest solution.”
“No.”
“You’re being stubborn.”
“It’s part of my charm.”
Under normal circumstances, Jesse could have pitched in, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
“If you don’t want me, you’ll have to have someone,” he said. “At least for the first couple of days. Claire can keep food in the house, bring it to you.”
“Ha. You think the piano princess can cook?”
“She can order takeout.”
“I can do that.”
“And check on you.”
“Did I mention a trained monkey? It would be a lot more helpful. Or one of those service dogs.”
“She’s your sister.”
Nicole glared at him again. “She was the start of my bad luck streak.”
“You’re overreacting. Use her. There should be some pleasure in that.”
“Less than you would think.”
They arrived at the house. After parking, Wyatt came around to the passenger side and opened the door.
Nicole looked at him. “Don’t even think about carrying me. I can walk.”
“When was the last time you let a man sweep you off your feet?”
“I would never do that.”
“You need to work on your trust issues.”
With that, he gathered her in his arms. Claire had already opened the back door. She followed them inside.
He went up the stairs and into Nicole’s bedroom. Someone, probably Claire, had pulled back the covers. When he set Nicole in the bed, she sucked in a breath, then forced a smile.
“Thank you.”
She’d gone pale. He knew she had to be hurting. “When can you take something for the pain?”
“Not for a while. I got a shot in the hospital. I’ll be fine.”
She didn’t look fine.
He pulled off her athletic shoes, then unzipped her sweatshirt. She eased out of it and he tossed it on a chair.
She wasn’t wearing a bra. He could see her br**sts moving under her thin T-shirt and wished the curves tempted him. Falling for Nicole would solve a lot of problems. Unfortunately, he felt nothing.
He pulled the covers over her, then sat on the edge of the bed.
“It’s just for a few days,” he told her. “I’m happy to hang out here in the evenings and you know Amy loves you but you’ll need help during the day.”
She closed her eyes.
“It won’t be so bad,” he said.
“I hate you.”
“Is that a yes?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
He stood. Claire hovered in the doorway. He went past her then waited until she’d trailed after him into the hallway and downstairs. Once they were in the kitchen, he faced her.
“You said you came here to look after your sister,” he said.
“Yes. Obviously. Why else?”
“Fine. Then that’s what you’re going to do. Help. This isn’t about you. Nicole is in a lot of pain. She’s going to be healing and your only job is to make her life easier. You don’t get to run off to visit clubs or hang out with your friends. You’re to be here and be responsible. This is a serious commitment. I’ll be checking in every night and I promise you, if you screw this up, you’ll be sorry.”
Claire looked at him as if he were an alien life form. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“What was unclear?”
“Is that really what you think of me?” She shook her head. “Never mind.” She crossed to the counter and leaned against it. “Part of me wants to ask what she’s told you, but I don’t really want to know. I mean, why would I set myself up that way? I’m bad and she’s good and that’s how it’s always been.”