Tinsel (Lark Cove #4)(70)

“You’re always welcome.” Aubrey put her arm around my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

I leaned into her side. “Me too.”

“My car is down there.” She pointed to the far end of the parking lot.

“Thank you, Glen. For everything.” He was getting a raise for being early to the studio instead of waiting that extra thirty minutes I’d requested. Though, no matter when he’d arrived, I think he would have found me in that same spot on the sidewalk.

“My pleasure, Ms. Kendrick. I’ll be waiting for your call in the morning to take you home.”

I waved my good-bye and followed Aubrey down the sidewalk. It took hardly any time at all for us to get to her penthouse, a place she’d decorated with a modern minimalist touch. It was about as opposite to my mother’s style as you could get and not nearly as homey as my own place.

But it was bright. I needed bright.

When we got inside, she busied herself with finding me some pajamas to wear while I went to the living room to call our parents from her phone.

I’d called them on the drive to the precinct using Glen’s phone. My parents had been ready to drive into the city, but I’d assured them I was fine and urged them to save themselves a long trip. Aubrey had dropped everything and rushed to sit at my side.

After reassuring Mom and Dad that I was fine, I made a quick call to Logan and told him the same. Then I closed my eyes, wishing Aubrey had bought a more comfortable couch, and waited for her to return.

“I called for a massage therapist.” Aubrey sat next to me on the couch, handing over some clothes. “We could both use a long massage before going to bed.”

“I need to get a new phone.” I closed my eyes. “And cancel my credit cards.”

“I already emailed Carrie. She’s taking care of your credit cards. A new phone will be couriered over in an hour.”

“Sometimes being rich has its perks.” Though if I hadn’t been rich, would I have gotten mugged?

“What can I do?” Aubrey asked, taking my hand.

The sting in my nose, the one that had kept me company for hours, was sharper than ever. “I’m going to cry. And I need you to let me and not make me feel bad for it.”

“Oh, Sofia, I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

The dam broke loose. The tears I’d been holding back all evening, for months really, came forward.

My sister pulled me into her side and let me cry them all onto her shoulder. And when I was finally able to pull myself together, when the emotion had been set free, I looked at her and confessed something I’d been hiding for months.

“I miss him.”

Collectively, Dakota and I had only been together for a couple weeks. But those weeks had meant more to me than any day in the months in between.

“Call him,” Aubrey said gently.

“I can’t. If I call him once, I won’t want to stop.”

“Why would you have to stop?”

I wiped my eyes dry. “Because it’ll never work. He says he can’t see us together. He can’t see a future. And I don’t think I can see one either.”

“You might if you gave it a try.”

“Maybe. But I’m scared this is all just me. I was going through a hard time, and I found a man to make it easier. I don’t trust my feelings for Dakota.”

“Do you love him?” Aubrey asked.

“Completely.” I love him. “But I thought that about Kevin and Bryson and Jay. How can I know this time it’s right?”

“Dakota is different than any man you’ve ever brought home.”

“He is different. He doesn’t want me for my money. He doesn’t want me for my last name. He doesn’t want me at all.”

The Kendrick princess had finally been denied something. And unless I changed my ancestry, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

Aubrey’s hand clasped mine harder just as the doorbell chimed.

I started to rise from the couch, but she kept hold of my hand. “I wish there was something I could do.”

“You’re doing it.” Heartbreak was easier to handle when you had a sister. And a friend.

If that was the only lasting relationship to come from this year, then I was more than okay with the outcome.

Aubrey and I got our massages then went to bed. Sleep didn’t come easy and I woke with a heavy heart. But finally admitting to another person how I felt about Dakota, how I worried about my own feelings, was healing in a way.

Maybe it was the first step in letting him go.

Still in my borrowed pajamas, I came out to the kitchen to find Aubrey all dressed and ready for work. I also found a surprise guest.

Dad.

I rushed right into his arms.

“I’m glad you’re all right.” He held me tight. “We’re going to look at getting you some security. Both of you. You girls have always been so independent, but I don’t want to get another phone call like last night’s.”

I nodded into his suit jacket. “That’s fine by me.”

“As long as he or she stays out of my way, it’s fine with me too,” Aubrey declared before sipping from her cappuccino.

“Do you have some clothes I can wear home?” The clothes I’d worn yesterday were being donated to charity immediately. Or burned.