Layers Off by Lacey Silks Read Free Book Online Page B

as in today, for the worse.
    Relying on something to take the edge off, I took a sip from a flute of champagne, hoping no one would notice, just as they hadn’t noticed the other two. The only thing that could take my dreaded past away was a sip or two. The great thing about mingling in groups this big was that they didn’t notice when I helped to ease my anxiety.
    “Thanks, Dad. We promise not to disappoint you and to grow the business the way you taught us.” Julian stood with his head held high, lifting his flute of champagne to toast. At twenty-one, while he could be partying with his friends, Julian always chose family and work. Standing beside each other in their custom-made silver suits, Julian’s a few shades darker than Tristan’s, they both looked like they were ready to pose for an elaborate spread in GQ magazine. I could never get enough of looking at the Cross brothers. My gaze drank in their broad shoulders and bulked leg muscles underneath the seamless suits. And when they turned around, I’d get a dose of tight behinds I could bounce coins off.
    “Don’t make it sound like I’m planning to move to Florida to join the Snowbirds, son. I’ll be here every day.” Mr. Cross laughed with that deep joyous passion he always had. If Mr. Cross had a belly, I imagined it would shake like Santa’s, but he was just as fit as his two sons. I’d heard he wanted Julian and Tristan to travel more, to forge relationships with other companies. With Tristan receiving his degree next year, Mr. Cross filled up his son’s schedules to the max.
    I stood by the windows. Sunset began to glisten over Hudson River, reflecting not only in the water but also off every window in Manhattan. It was like magic. Up here, looking over the city that never slept, the peace I saw out there seemed almost unnatural.
    A vibrant laugh drew my attention toward the center of the room.
    Emma, the youngest sibling, sat in Mr. Cross’s leather chair. The seven-year-old pushed off with her feet and swung around, over and over again. I finished my glass and set it aside, and then strolled to the desk and halted her spins.
    “Emma, you’re going to throw up.”
    “I don’t care,” she pouted, her lower lip pushing out and forward.
    “What’s the matter?” I crouched down beside her.
    “They get everything. All I want is a poodle, and they get to go undercover and do investigations. I don’t want a business, just a tiny little poodle.” She cupped her hands together, looking at them mesmerised as if the puppy was already there. “Is that too much to ask?”
    On the inside I tickled with laughter at how Emma looked behind Mr. Cross’s desk. It nearly swallowed her whole. Yet despite her reluctance now, I wouldn’t doubt if one day she was the one running Cross Enterprises.
    “It’s not too much, Emma. I would die to have a puppy too, any kind of a puppy.”
    “Then why don’t you buy one? You don’t have parents who can stop you...”
    Emma bit her lip.
    “It’s all right, honey. No, I don’t have parents to stop me from buying one, but I’d rather have a mom and a dad like you do than a puppy. Do you really want to pick up poop after a dog?”
    She giggled when I said poop.
    “I think I can get Julian and Tristan to do it for me.”
    I bet she could too. She had her brothers wrapped around her little finger.
    “Just remember, it’s a big responsibility.”
    “I’m responsible. I can get dressed by myself, tie my shoes, and unload the dishwasher. Ask my mama.” Then she leaned in closer. “I can even get past a cell phone password!”
    I wondered whether the brothers knew they were creating a future hacker.
    “I know you’re responsible. And one day, when you do get a puppy, I hope you’ll let me pet him or her a little bit.”
    “Of course I would. I love you.”
    “I love you too, Emma.” I hugged her.
    A low bark came from the front door, and everyone quieted. Emma shot off the chair and froze.
    “What was