MisplacedLessons by Mari Carr and Lexxie Couper Page A

matters,
especially with Harper. He never wanted his sister to know how much he despised
her mother, even though he suspected the feeling was somewhat mutual.
    “Her name’s Sarah.” He swallowed heavily, the word leaving a
dirty taste in his mouth.
    “You hate her.”
    He didn’t bother to deny it. “Yeah. I do.”
    “Why?”
    He wasn’t going down that road. Ever again, if he could help
it. “She wasn’t a very nice person. She cheated on my dad, then left him and
married an asshole.”
    “Harper stayed with you and your dad?”
    He shook his head. She should have. His father should have
moved heaven and earth to get custody of Harper. If he had …
    Andrew shut the thought down before it could form.
    “She lived with her mom for almost a year, but it didn’t
work out.” That’s the understatement of the century. “That’s when she
came to stay with me and our dad. Then Dad had a heart attack when Harper was
fourteen. I was in my early twenties, out of school and working, so she just
stayed with me.”
    “Wow. Sounds like you were her brother, mother and father
rolled into one.”
    Andrew picked up Amy’s beer and drained it in one long swig.
Her concerned gaze made him uncomfortable and he was worried she’d keep asking
questions, continue picking at things better left alone.
    Thankfully, she let it go. “I’m afraid my family story will
seem boring in comparison. My parents were married until my dad passed away, at
which point, my mum moved to Sydney to be closer to my older sisters and their
families. I was the baby, which means at heart, I’m terribly spoiled and used
to getting my own way.”
    Andrew pretended to be shocked. “You? Spoiled?”
    She lightly punched his arm and they fell into a
companionable silence. Andrew relaxed, content to merely sit and talk to her.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a conversation with a woman other
than his sister. Mike was right. He’d been stuck in a rut of work and sex club
affairs. He hadn’t realized what he was missing until Amy climbed into his bed.
    “So where’s that sightseeing list of yours? I want to know
how much other shit I’m going to have to endure this week.” While Amy had
consulted it regularly, he hadn’t seen it himself.
    She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled it
out. “You loved every minute and you know it. But don’t worry. We made progress
today.”
    He took it from her and unfolded the sheet of paper. She’d
drawn lines through Skydeck and the aquarium, as well as the Museum of
Contemporary Art. He couldn’t believe how much they’d managed to squeeze into
one day. She still wanted to go to the Navy Pier. The other places on her list
were typical tourist attractions. There were a couple he’d try to talk her out
of because they just weren’t worth the time. Finally his gaze landed on the
last item on the list.
    She wanted to go to Velvet Chains.
    “No,” he muttered. He should have known he’d find it on the
list. After all, she’d already confessed her interest in going to a sex club
and that Harper had told her about his membership.
    “What?” she asked.
    “I’ll take you to every single one of these places if you’ll
mark Velvet Chains off your list.”
    “Why?”
    He knew why, but he wasn’t willing to tell her. “I’m sure
Harper’s built it up as this really cool place, but I don’t think you’d like it
there.”
    “Why not?”
    “Just mark it off your list.”
    She shook her head. “No. I want to go there.”
    Shit. This was going to turn into an argument if he didn’t
take a giant step back. He’d simply have to keep her so busy doing other things
that she wouldn’t have time for Velvet Chains.
    Of course, that solution would only work until he left town
and she was on her own next week.
    “You don’t have to take me there if you don’t want to. I
never intended to have a tour guide for any of this stuff. I’m fine going on my
own.”
    Did she really