I frowned. “But you two are okay?”
“Are you kidding, we’re awesome. I swear I walk through the world with a big, goofy grin. It’s astounding that cartoon birds don’t fly around me, encircling my head. But that doesn’t mean he’s not a complete idiot at times. What?” she asked. “You’re laughing.”
“You’re funny,” I said. “And that’s just good to hear. I’m not very good at relationships.”
“But you’re getting better at them, I think,” she said, and from the tone of her voice, it was clear she was talking about Cole.
“Maybe,” I said. “Right now, I’m a bit pissed at the man in my life, too.”
“Really? Why?”
I hesitated only a moment. Then I sucked in a deep breath and told her about how my dad had gotten involved in a business deal with Ilya Muratti, and that Cole was supposed to be helping out, but was just pissing me off.
“Did this all start because your dad pulled some sort of con?”
“What makes you say that?”
“Cop, remember? And you told me once that your dad had dealings with Tyler on some real estate scam. I didn’t get the impression that either man was on the up-and-up.”
“Fair enough. And yes. It was a con.” And since I really couldn’t have asked for a better segue, I took the plunge and told her what had happened with my dad and the forgery of the will. And then I told her about my life. The way I’d lived growing up. All the cons I’d brushed up against.
“I was on the grift, too,” I said, and it felt good to tell. “For a long time, actually.”
“I’m glad you told me,” Sloane said. “To be honest, I’ve suspected something like that.”
“Really? Why didn’t you say something?”
“I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.” She shrugged. “Guess I was right. And now you’re putting it behind you?”
“Hoping to. Honestly, that’s one of the reasons I came here. New house, clean slate. Stupid, maybe, but . . .” I trailed off with a shrug.
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all. Have you told Angie?”
I shook my head. “You’re easier. We’re newer at this friendship thing, and even though I wasn’t certain, I kind of figured you already knew some of it.”
“I get that.”
“Angie’s a little harder. We’ve been friends for a long time now, but I met her because I was planning on scamming her. I’m not sure how well that’ll go over.”
Sloane’s smile was immediate and real—and made me feel one hundred percent better even before she spoke. “This is Angie we’re talking about. Jahn’s niece. Soon to be Evan’s wife. I think she can handle the irony.”
“When you put it like that . . .” I finished off my wine, thinking about what she said. And agreeing that she was right. “Thanks. I’m still royally pissed at Cole, but I feel better about the rest of it. So I’m glad I came.”
“Me, too. It’s nice to have an excuse to end my workout early.”
I started to stand, then sat back down again. “Listen, there’s one other thing. I think I may have said something I wasn’t supposed to.”
“Oh. What?”
“I told Cole I knew about the Firehouse. And then afterward, I realized that you might not have wanted me to say. I mean, he’ll have to figure I heard it from you, right?”
“Probably, but don’t worry about it. I doubt he’s going to take out an ad in the Tribune announcing that he’s a member there, but it’s not a state secret.”
“Good. I was worried I’d broken a confidence.”
“Did he take you there?”
I shook my head. “No. But—” I cut myself off.
“What?”
“Can I ask a personal question?” I began, then continued when she nodded. “Is it your thing? What goes on there, I mean.”
“Let’s just say that Tyler opened the world to me in more ways than one. He pushes my boundaries, and I need that. Plus, I like it,” she added with a very wicked smile.
I thought about that, then gathered my courage. “I want Cole to take me, but I don’t know if he ever will.”
“I don’t know a lot about Cole, so I may be wrong. But Tyler never really spent time there. It was more of an aside for him, you know? Like one more thing in the toy box.”
“But with Cole?”
“Whatever he gets there, he needs it. Maybe he’s afraid you can’t handle it.”
I knew that what she said was true. But I was hoping that maybe—just maybe—Cole was starting to learn that I could handle more than he believed.
“I should get out of your hair,” I said.
“I won’t beg you to stay if you have stuff to do, but I’m getting light-headed. Why don’t we go down to the bar and have some appetizers? Maybe even some sort of fruity, sugary, bad-for-you cocktail to really celebrate your upcoming closing in style.”
“Can I ask you about the Firehouse?”
“Can I ask you about growing up in the grift?”
And since that seemed like a fair trade-off to both of us, we agreed. Sloane changed quickly into jeans, and we headed out.
We were randomly chatting about all sorts of things when we arrived at the Coq d’Or. The wedding, my house, general plans to spend a day at the beach. But all talk stopped the moment we stepped through the door and saw all three of the knights sitting right there at the bar, just as pretty as you please, as if Cole and Evan hadn’t caused me a shitload of grief—not to mention completely pissing me off.