Tinsel (Lark Cove #4)(22)

If we could get along.

I carried my phone across the living room at Thea and Logan’s house to sit in one of the overstuffed chairs positioned by a window. The front of the home was filled with huge glass panes that overlooked their snow-covered yard and Flathead Lake beyond.

It was frozen now, but in the summer, the lake was magical, with glassy blue water that begged me to run my fingers over its smooth surface.

Right now, it just looked cold and empty.

Like my life.

I turned away from the view and let my eyes travel around the living room.

This house was so different than the sprawling estate where Logan, Aubrey and I had grown up. This home was beautiful, with its cedar shakes and tall roof peaks. Logan had bought one of the most expensive homes in the area. But it wasn’t ostentatious. It had a casual, homey feel, which was probably due to Thea being so down-to-earth.

The furniture was high-end, but it was functional. The coffee table held books that were actually being read. The throw blankets on the couch had been snuggled under on movie night. There wasn’t a coaster in sight, because here, you set your coffee mug directly on the end tables.

There was green crayon on the wall by the television. Thea’s own artwork adorned the walls, her dimensional pieces the shelves. A basket in the corner overflowed with baby toys.

This home was alive and full of personality. It was full of love.

It was the polar opposite of my penthouse apartment in the city.

My housekeeper cleaned rooms every week that hadn’t seen a person, other than her, in months. I hadn’t thought a thing of it before. So why did that seem so silly at the moment?

Outside, evergreens towered over the road running around the edge of the lake. Their faces were taking the full force of the sun’s morning rays, making their ice-covered needles sparkle.

Malcom had added that same sparkle to the photo for the magazine.

That goddamn magazine.

Since that article had landed on my doorstep, I’d been questioning everything about my life.

Every. Single. Thing.

I lived in a high-rise penthouse in a glitzy neighborhood in SoHo. I had a trust fund that would keep me living in finery for the rest of my life. I had complete freedom with no job or responsibilities.

So why wasn’t I happy? What was I missing? Normally, I would have blown the magazine article off by now. Why was it still niggling at me?

I’d been trying so hard these last few years, giving up nasty friendships and helping more with Mom’s charities or family functions. Yet no one in my family seemed to see it. I’d had such high hopes that someone from the outside would.

That reporter’s words would not stop haunting me. Superficial. Gaudy. Flighty.

“I’m not those things,” I mumbled to no one. Was I?

Shaking it off, I unlocked my phone, pulling up Mom’s number in the hope that talking to one of my parents would give me a sense of normalcy.

I hadn’t talked to Dad since the magazine had come out. And as much as I would like to make sure he wasn’t still upset with me, I knew better than to call him during work hours. Really, I’d been lucky that Aubrey had answered.

Maybe we weren’t as hopeless as I’d thought.

Dad would have sent me straight to voicemail. But Mom, as always, answered immediately.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Sweetheart, how are you? Are you enjoying your vacation?”

“Uh . . . yeah. Though it isn’t much of a vacation. Believe it or not, I’m working at Thea’s bar.”

“I’m sorry, Sofia. I think your connection must be spotty. What did you say?”

“I said, I’m working at Thea’s bar.”

A wave of panic hit as the other end of the phone went completely still. Was she disappointed? Had I stooped too low? Mom didn’t discriminate against blue-collar jobs, but then again, they’d never been held down by her youngest daughter.

The family’s image was always paramount.

To my knowledge, Mom had never worked. She’d met Dad in college and they’d married young. It was ironic that my siblings had condemned me for never getting a job when our mother had never had one either.

Though Mom did volunteer with select charities and was a member of numerous clubs. Plus, she was a mother.

I’d always considered it lucky I hadn’t gotten pregnant since my exes had all turned out to be awful men. I was fortunate not to be tied to any of them forever. But maybe if I had children, that reporter would have left me alone entirely. Maybe there wouldn’t be the tension between me and my family members.

Maybe there wouldn’t still be silence on the other end of the phone.

“Mom?”

“I’m here.” She cleared her throat. “You just took me by surprise.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’m . . . you’re really working?”

“Yes.” Harder than ever before. “Just helping while Thea and Logan are on their trip.”

“That’s wonderful. I’m sure they’re happy to have you.”

I laughed. “I don’t know about that. But I’m trying.”

Not just for myself, but for Dakota. I had this powerful urge to make up for my awful first impression. Not only because he was a man who made my heart race and my palms sweat. But because he’d become my chauffeur, mentor and keeper. My presence had put him out, and I guess I wanted to make it easy on him if I could.