Page 124 of Scandal
I can almost hear his eyes rolling in his head. “The public will always see him as the lead singer of Manic at Midnight first, an earl second—remember that,” he says very matter-of-factly. “Tay’s too sweet to have a favorite aunt, but I’m not. You’ve always been my favorite sister.”
I smile softly. “You can’t have a favorite sister, Cash. That’s like having a favorite child.”
“Yes, I fucking can. And every parent has a favorite child. They just never admit it.”
“Oh yeah? Who do you think Mom’s favorite is?”
“Easy.” He scoffs. “Hendrix. He’s got a gorgeous girlfriend, emotionally mature and wildly successful.”
“You’re successful,” I argue.
He grunts something like a “Yeah, right,” and then changes the subject. “So you’re really staying, huh?”
“Yeah, I really am. Do you think I’m being stupid?”
He sighs deeply. “Not any more than any of our other lovesick siblings. What is it, by the way, that has all of you coupling up? Is there something in the water?”
I laugh as I look at my watch. I need to get going. Moving toward the door of our suite, I ask, “Why? Scared?”
“Fuck, no,” he answers firmly. “There’s no way in hell I’m ever doing that again.”
I feel a pang of sadness for my brother. I still remember that summer when he came home, not just brokenhearted but utterly shattered. My other brothers and sisters only see an asshole, but I remember every tear that brought him to this point.
Now he’s just a remnant of the man he used to be.
Because of her.
“So you do think I’m being stupid?” I step into the hallway. Talking on the phone is probably—definitely—frowned upon, but I don’t care. I don’t get to talk to my brother enough these days, and now that I won’t be seeing him nearly enough…
Another heavy sigh. “No, Merc. That’s not what I’m saying. Do I think most people confuse love with lust? Yes. But you and Asher? I think you found the real deal.”
“Yeah? How do you know?”
He pauses before answering. “The way you look at each other,” he says. “Like you can see a lifetime together and it doesn’t scare you.”
It sounds like he’s speaking from experience.
I turn the corner toward the sitting room, still a bit early. The room is empty as I slip inside. “If you could go back and?—”
“I wouldn’t change a thing,” he replies, already anticipating my question.
“Really?”
“I might be a little surlier, but Taylor is the center of my world.”
“And you’re the center of hers,” I remind him.
“Only half the time. Or at least that’s what the court documents state.”
My brow furrows. “What do you mean?”
“It’s nothing,” he attempts to brush it off. “Nikki has just missed a few of her weeks lately.”
“That’s not like her.” She might have been a shit girlfriend to Cash, but Nikki was a great mother to Taylor.
“I don’t know. I don’t get involved in her personal life anymore, and any extra time with Tay is fine by me.”
“God, I’m going to miss that girl. Promise me you’ll bring her to visit?”
