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“Are we okay, Swish? You’re not still cross with ht?” There was a time when Miles would never have asked such a question, and Vicki would have left the conversation thinking he didn’t care either way It was yet another example of Charity’s influence on her brother Miles was sbrother was opening up so much

“Miles, I truly appreciate everything you’ve done for us Back ere kids, as well as, now But it’s important for you to understand that we can take care of ourselves You don’t have to do quite so much anymore”

“I know that, Vicki I do But you’ll always be my baby brother and sister It’s a little hard for me to rein in the overprotectiveness, but I’ll try harder, okay?”

She smiled “That’s all I ask”

They chatted a while longer, discussing their , and Vicki’s travel dates Vicki insisted that her brother call his dog, Stormy, to the phone so that she could lavish baby talk on the confused pupper…and she was a lot happier by the time the call ended

Vicki tried hard to disguise her shock when she left the apart by the elevator

“Chance was needed elsewhere,” he said before she could ask about the change It see his days off to fill in for Chance lately No wonder he resented Vicki

She sighed and told herself that Brand EPS’s scheduling conflicts were of no concern to her This was so he needed to sort out with his superior, or Chance, or whomever

She nodded in response to his words, choosing not to say anything, and his eyes flickered He adjusted his cuffs and stepped toward the elevator

They stood side by side, about three feet of space between the them in with each other Vicki had never felt more claustrophobic than she did in that moment She wished that she’d just remained in her oblivious bubble about where he lived and had never confronted him about it

Because things felt aard and horrible between theht now

“Thank you again,” he said after a short silence She looked at hi her He pointed to the lapel of his gray jacket, and she inhaled sharply when she saw the boutonnière affixed there

“It’s nothing,” she ht of her gift being put to use

“It’s the first real birthday present anybody has givenshoulders as he appeared to consider his words “Well, in years, I guess”

That untwisted her tongue in a hurry “Surely not?”

“I don’t have any close family left,” he explained, without any of his habitual reluctance to divulge personal information “And the few acquaintances I do have aren’t exactly the gift giving type”