Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(21)

“They sound like extraordinary boys.”

“They are to me and that’s what matters, right?”

Bruno’s gaze locked with hers. The intense stare was unexpected and a little confusing. Kristine found herself feeling flustered and awkward, which was not a happy combination.

“I, ah, should let you get to work,” she said as she rose and carried her mug back to the small galley. She washed it and set it in the dish rack. When she finished, she went down the stairs and into the cool, cloudy morning. Bruno followed.

She faced him. “Have your people let me know the next time you’re in town,” she said. “I’ll bake more cookies.”

He laughed. “That would be nice.”

“Enjoy Europe.”

“I will.” He paused. “You should come with me sometime.”

While she knew he was just being nice to say that, she couldn’t help laughing at the idea. “We both know that will never happen. My family would cease to function if I wasn’t around.” Her running off to France and Italy in a private jet. Sure. Why not?

She was still chuckling as she told him goodbye and returned to her SUV. As if. Not that the jet wasn’t nice, but honestly if she was going to throw caution to the wind and do something totally out of character, she would much rather open her own store and sell her cookies and brownies. She would leave the jet-setting to the Kardashians and daydream about rolling cooling racks and industrial-size ovens.



Chapter Six


“Get up.”

Sophie lay on her back, trying desperately to keep that relaxed “I could so go back to sleep” feeling.

“I work hard all week,” she said, pulling up the covers and burrowing into the warmth of her bed. She shifted the phone to her other hand. “Sunday is the only day I sleep in. You love me. Don’t you think I deserve to stay in bed?”

“I think you need to do something other than sleep and work.” Kristine sounded more amused than annoyed. “You blew me off last week. You’re not doing it again. Get your butt out of bed, put on a pair of yoga pants and be ready in thirty minutes. Either I show up and take you to Tai Chi or I show up with three boys who just had way too much syrup on their pancakes. You can breathe and relax or you can listen to their shrill energy. It’s your call.”

“When did you get so bossy?”

“Around the time I had three kids under the age of five.”

“What was I doing?”

“Building an empire.”

“Oh, right.” Sophie sat up. “Can you at least bring me coffee?”

“Let me guess. You haven’t unpacked your coffee maker yet and there’s no food in the house.”

Sophie thought about all the boxes still stacked in her garage. “I was going to do that today only now I have to go to dumb Tai Chi. What is that anyway? Is it like yoga?”

“You asked that before. No, it’s not like yoga. It’s about finding balance and being centered. And breathing.”

Sophie laughed. “So nothing I’m good at.”

“Exactly. And that would be the point. Tick, tick, tick.”

With that, Kristine hung up.

Sophie tossed the phone on the bed and stretched. If she was going to exercise, there was no point in showering. She got up and rummaged through her dresser. At least she’d managed to unpack most of her clothes. Kitchen items had seemed less important. She usually grabbed some kind of to-go breakfast on the way to the warehouse. But she really did have to think about getting more food in the house at some point. And unpacking her coffee maker, if nothing else.

Fifteen minutes later she had on leggings, a long-sleeved T-shirt and an oversize sweatshirt with the CK logo on the front. She was debating looking for her coffee maker when the doorbell rang.

“You’re early,” she told her cousin as Kristine entered the house.

“You need time to drink this.”

Sophie took the offered insulated drink container and smiled. “You saved me. Why are you so nice?” She took a sip, ready for the warmth and smoothness of a perfect cup of coffee only to feel some cold, thick, nasty ooze on her tongue. She managed to swallow before glaring at her cousin.

“What is it? My God, that’s horrible. What is the flavor? Nettles and brine? Jeez.”

Kristine rolled her eyes. “Seriously? It’s a vanilla protein powder flavored with blackberries. When did you get so dramatic?”

Protein powder? Sophie did her best not to gag. “When you started trying to kill me. It’s not enough that you’re the perfect mother? Now you have to be healthy, too? You’re no longer my favorite cousin.”

Kristine raised her eyebrows. “Really? You like Amber better than me?”

Sophie sipped more of the gross drink. “Okay, no, but if I had a third cousin I would for sure like her better.”

“You’re lying. Now finish your drink.”

“I’d rather have coffee.”

“I’m sure that’s true. You can get coffee after class.”

“And a cinnamon roll.”

Sophie chugged the rest of her protein drink then went to brush her teeth. Again. But there was no way she was going to spend the morning with that disgusting taste in her mouth. She grabbed her purse and followed Kristine outside.