Susan Mallery - Sweet Spot

Nicole sighed. “You being the voice of reason is really getting old. Just so we’re clear on that.”

“I know. I’m sorry. But she’s your sister.”

Jesse was also a lying, cheating bitch, but Nicole didn’t mention that. Bad enough that she had to be here. She didn’t want to fight with Claire, too.

They took the stairs to the third-floor apartment. Nicole found herself hoping her sister was gone, but Jesse opened the door when Claire knocked.

If she was surprised to see them, she didn’t show it.

“May we come in?” Claire asked.

Jesse shrugged, then stepped out of the way. Nicole followed Claire inside.

The apartment was small and dark, a studio with water-stained walls and a smell of dampness. Nicole braced herself against any feelings of sympathy. She’d tossed Jesse out when she’d discovered her in bed with Drew. If Jesse hadn’t screwed up big-time, she would have still been living in the house. Her kid sister had done this to herself.

Claire looked around and tried to smile. “Everyone has to start somewhere,” she said cheerfully. “This is nice.”

“Sure. Whatever.” Jesse folded her arms across her chest. “Why are you here?”

Her sullenness made Nicole want to leave. Unfortunately she didn’t have a phone number for Jesse anymore, so she couldn’t just call her.

“I’m dropping the charges,” she told Jesse. “Not because I want to, but because my attorney is concerned about how our case will play in court. I’ve already wasted enough money on you. I don’t want to keep doing that.”

Despite her best intentions, her gaze slipped down to her sister’s midsection. There was a slight bulge. Nicole couldn’t decide if proof of the pregnancy was good or bad.

Jesse looked confused. “I don’t understand.”

“You’re pregnant,” Nicole said coldly. “That might make the jury sympathetic.”

Jesse took a step back. “How do you know?”

“My attorney mentioned it.”

“But I told him in confidence. He promised not to say anything. What about attorney-client privilege?”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “I’m his client. I pay for his service. You’re the person who stole. What makes you think he’d do what you said?”

At that moment, Jesse looked painfully young and unsure of herself. “I didn’t realize.”

Claire stepped between them. “Jesse, I hope you appreciate the opportunity Nicole is giving you. You won’t have to worry about going to court.”

“For taking what’s half mine?” Jesse asked, the moment of weakness gone.

“Here we go again,” Nicole muttered, grateful for her encounter with Hawk yesterday. Their powerful sexual experience had made her stronger somehow. At the very least it had given her something to think about other than Jesse and Drew and being humiliated.

“Our father left half the bakery to me,” Jesse said loudly.

“In trust until you’re twenty-five,” Nicole reminded her.

“You could buy me out. That’s all I want. I didn’t steal the cake recipe. I can’t steal what’s half mine.”

Nicole felt her temper rising. “You went behind my back. You built an Internet site that looked exactly like the one we already have and you sold cakes. What would you call it?”

“Doing what I had a right to.”

“And Drew? Did we share him, too?”

Jesse turned away. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

“Imagine how much I don’t care about what you want.”

“I didn’t sleep with him,” Jesse whispered.

Nicole wanted to throw something. “I saw him in your bed. You were naked. He was kissing you. What would you call it?”

“Don’t be like that. Why can’t you try to understand?”

Nicole tasted fury. “Oh, so this is my fault? After all I did for you?”

Claire stepped between them. “Stop. Both of you.”

“She won’t believe me,” Jesse whined.

“She’s a known liar.” And worse, Nicole thought.

“I don’t lie.”

“You leave things out. Omission is just as bad.”

“Stop it.” Claire glared at both of them. “We have to work this out.”

“No, we don’t,” Nicole said quietly. “Some things can’t be forgiven.”

Jesse spun back to face them. “That’s right. Nicole only wants me punished.”

“At last you’re making sense,” Nicole said.

Jesse glared at her. “You know what’s so funny about all this? The baby isn’t Drew’s. It’s Matt’s.”

Nicole wasn’t surprised Jesse would go there. “How can you be sure? You were sleeping with both of them.”

Her baby sister flushed. “That’s what you think, what you’ll always think. That’s why you told him about Drew. You wanted to hurt me as much as you’d been hurt. Congratulations. He hates me, too.”

Nicole refused to feel guilty. “As always, your flare for the dramatic overrides any need to tell the truth. I didn’t tell Matt about you and Drew. I told his mother, who came over to talk to you, that you were no longer living with me.”

Tears filled Jesse’s eyes. “So you told her what you saw, what you believed happened with Drew and she told Matt. You ruined everything.”

“The person who did that is you,” Nicole said coldly.

“No, I didn’t,” Jesse yelled. “I didn’t sleep with Drew. I didn’t.”

Claire looked disappointed. “Jesse, we can only make this work if we start from a place of honesty.”

“I’m being honest.” Jesse wiped away tears. “Why won’t you believe me?”

Nicole felt more disappointed than angry. She’d seen Drew and Jesse in bed together. Jesse had been naked, at least from the waist up. Nicole had seen that much.

“I’m tired of this,” she told Claire. “Let’s go.”

“No!” Jesse threw herself in front of the door. “You have to listen. The baby is Matt’s. You have to believe me.”

Claire shook her head. “I’m sorry, Jesse. You were in bed with Drew. We all know that happened. Why can’t we start from there?”

Jesse straightened. “Fine,” she said, tears still filling her eyes. “If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll talk about. I screwed his brains out for days. We couldn’t get enough of each other. Is that what you want to hear? I gave him everything you never could. Is it all better now?”

Nicole pressed her hand to her stomach. “I have to go.”

She pushed Jesse out of the way and left the apartment. Claire followed.

“I’m sorry,” her twin told her. “I thought we could get through to her.”

“That’ll never happen,” Nicole murmured, wondering if she was going to throw up now or wait until she got home.

JESSE SLAMMED the door shut behind them, but it didn’t make her feel any better. She retreated to her sofa and curled up on the hard, smelly surface, wishing she could go back in time. Just five minutes. Maybe if she had a do-over, she could explain it to them, in a way that made sense.

It wasn’t true, she thought as she cried and tried not to feel so incredibly alone. None of it. But they didn’t care. They only wanted to believe the worst of her.

Somewhere deep inside, she knew that was her fault. Nicole liked to point out how much of a screwup she was and Jesse knew she was right. She didn’t mean to get in trouble…it just seemed to happen. But this. She didn’t deserve this.

She was guilty of being friends with Drew, and maybe bad judgment, but nothing more. Sometimes Nicole could be difficult. Jesse and Drew had gotten into the habit of talking. Just talking. She wasn’t interested in Drew and even if she’d had a crush on him, she wouldn’t have done anything about it. He was Nicole’s husband.

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, but that didn’t close out the memories of that last night at Nicole’s house. How she, Jesse, had been upset about Matt. It had been late and she’d been in her room. Drew had come in and she’d welcomed the chance to talk.

She’d explained her fears and hopes and how she knew in her heart, Matt was the one she would love forever. Drew had hugged her.

She’d guessed he’d been offering comfort, which had been okay, if a little awkward. She’d accepted his embrace. But then he’d kissed her.

She’d been so stunned, she hadn’t known what to do. He’d kissed her and started talking about how this monogamy business wasn’t the real her. She was always flirting with different guys, including Drew. And then he flattered her, telling her that she was pretty and so much softer than Nicole. That she could do so much better than Matt.

It was almost instinct to respond. To agree that she wasn’t a one-man kind of girl. She never had been. It was like she was watching herself from a great distance. Then he’d pushed off the T-shirt she’d worn to bed and touched her breasts. Something inside of her had snapped.

She’d tried to stop him. She’d been quiet, not wanting Nicole to find out, instinctively knowing her sister wouldn’t believe that she hadn’t initiated this. And that’s when Nicole had walked in.

Drew had jumped up and started saying how she’d come on to him. That this had been all her idea. Nicole had looked at her with such hatred, Jesse had felt as if she’d been branded.

She’d known then that nothing she could say would matter.

Jesse pressed her hand to her stomach. She was pregnant with Matt’s baby, and no one would believe her. Especially not the two people she loved most in the world. Nicole had already turned her back on her and Matt had done the same.

NICOLE DROVE HOME trying to ignore the knot in her stomach. She felt so much anger at Jesse but, despite everything, she missed having her around. Nothing about the situation was fair.

She pulled into her driveway and saw an unfamiliar car parked in front of the house. Brittany climbed out and waved.

“I have a really big favor to ask,” the teenager said as she walked over. “It’s Raoul’s birthday. He’s turning eighteen. I want to cook him something special, but I’m not sure I can pull it all together. Would it be okay if I cooked it here and you helped? Then I’ll take it over to him.”

Nicole didn’t know what to say. While Brittany seemed like an okay kid, Nicole didn’t know her. They’d only spoken a few times. So why would she…

The fake dating. Hawk had obviously told his daughter they were going out.

“I’m happy to help,” Nicole told her. “But doesn’t your dad cook?” He’d been a single parent for a while and he seemed the type to learn that sort of thing.

“He does, but this is different. It’s for a guy.” Brittany wrinkled her nose. “He understands that I date, but I don’t think he likes it.”

“Typical father,” Nicole murmured, remembering how her dad had lacked any interest in her life. Someone being attentive would have been nice.

“I know. But he loves me.” Brittany smiled as she spoke, as if she were very sure of the fact. And why wouldn’t she be? “So is it okay? Helping me with dinner? I know you have a date with my dad tonight. I won’t make you late.”

“Sure. Come on in.”

After her talk with Jesse, Nicole welcomed the distraction.

Brittany ran back to her car, then returned with a couple of grocery bags. “I wanted something special, you know. Raoul’s been in foster care for a long time. Ever since his brother went to jail. Not that his home life was all that great before. He’s been moving around a lot. I don’t know if anyone else even remembers it’s his birthday.”

Brittany pulled items out of the bag as she spoke. Nicole looked over the contents.

There was beef, noodles, carrots, a small package of beef Stroganoff mix, sour cream and premade cookie dough that just had to be heated in the oven.

“Looks easy enough,” Nicole said.

“Good. I brought casserole dishes and one of those insulated carriers to keep everything hot while I drive over to Raoul’s.”

Nicole organized Brittany’s supplies, then turned on the oven to preheat and got the teenager set up with a cutting board and a knife.

“I trim the meat, right?” Brittany asked.

“Yes. Try to keep the pieces about the same size so they’ll cook at the same rate.”

“Okay.”

Brittany cut away. “Thanks for helping with this. I didn’t know where else to go. My friends’ moms would probably help, but I felt weird about that.”

Nicole wasn’t sure why. “Have you two been going out a while?”

“Five months. Raoul is so great. He’s really responsible and he loves me a lot.”

An interesting combination. Nicole thought about the stolen doughnuts, then reminded herself that he’d more than made up for his actions. She was happy to have him working in the bakery.

“Do you know where my dad is taking you?” Brittany asked.

“No.”

“I’m sure it will be really nice. He likes to take his girlfriends to nice places. A good quality in a boyfriend.”

Nicole nodded because she didn’t know what to say. She didn’t actually think of Hawk as her boyfriend.