6. A Ticket For Two

DARIO

I had been staring at the document for five minutes without reading a single word of it.

The partnership agreement for broadcast rights sat open in front of me, my pen resting exactly where I’d left it. I knew every clause by heart. My eyes moved across the lines, but nothing registered. It was as if my brain had stepped slightly out of sync with the rest of me.

Across the desk, Caleb sat patiently.

He was leaning back in the chair opposite mine, one leg crossed over the other, hands loosely folded. He had always been like that, even as a kid. Patient in a way I had never been. Where I pushed, he waited. Where I decided, he considered. It used to irritate me when we were younger. Now it just made him the only person who could sit in silence with me for more than a minute without forcing conversation.

He did not rush me. He did not ask what I was doing. He simply watched, as if this was normal.

It was not normal.

I turned a page without reading it.

My mind kept slipping back to the same moment I had been trying to bury since it happened. Indigo in my office with her hands fisted in my shirt. The way she had looked at me right before she closed the distance between us. The kiss itself was not what unsettled me. It was how immediate it had been. How easily she had crossed that line and how quickly she had pulled back after.

As if she had remembered something.

As if she had regretted remembering it.

Did she remember me? Or was I just another man she could afford to forget twice?

I exhaled through my nose and forced my attention back to the document. It did not work. The words remained meaningless shapes.

Caleb shifted slightly in his seat. “You’ve been on page two for a while,” he said.

“I’m reading,” I replied without looking up.

He did not argue. That was another thing about him. He never pushed where it was unnecessary. He just noticed everything and chose when to speak about it.

I turned to another page I had already forgotten.

A frustrated sound left my throat before I could stop it. I closed the file slightly, then reopened it as if that would reset my focus. It did not.

Caleb watched me for another second, then leaned forward slightly. “You want me to come back later?”

“No,” I said immediately.

I tried once more to read the first paragraph. My eyes moved. My mind did not follow.

Indigo again.

Her face when she pulled away. The way she avoided my eyes while gathering the papers from the floor. The moment she hit her head on the edge of my desk.

I pressed my tongue against the inside of my cheek and leaned back in my chair.

Caleb was still watching me.

“I have a headache,” I said finally.

It was not entirely a lie. It was close enough to the truth that I did not bother correcting it.

He nodded slowly. “You should probably—”

The door opened before he could finish.

Leah stepped inside with a bright smile. “Hey, you. You sounded off on the phone earlier, so I thought I’d come by.”

She wore a soft cream dress that flowed lightly around her figure, her hair loose and slightly tousled from the breeze outside.

Caleb stood immediately. “Hey,” he greeted her warmly.

Leah smiled. “Caleb, it’s good to see you again.”

They exchanged a quick hug, before turning to me.

Her smile widened as she walked over and kissed me, settling onto my lap like she always did. I returned the kiss because it was expected, not because I felt it.

Her eyes sparkled as she leaned in closer. “I got the solo for Renaissance Ball. The main gala. They only pick a few performers… and they chose me.”

I felt a genuine spark of pride for her. Leah was talented — truly gifted as a pianist — and she had worked hard for opportunities like this.

I smiled and pulled her closer, kissing her properly this time.

“I’m happy for you,” I murmured against her lips as we finally parted. “You’ve earned it. No one deserves that stage more than you do.”

Caleb smiled warmly. “That’s huge, Leah. Congratulations.”

She turned toward him, pleased. “Thank you, Caleb.”

Then she tilted her head slightly. “Are you going this year?”

Caleb paused for a moment. “I don’t know yet,” he said. “Probably depends on schedule.”

Leah hummed, leaning back into me again. But I already knew the answer.

Caleb always said things like that, but he would go. He always went. The Renaissance Ball was one of the biggest cultural events of the season, and Caleb was one of their consistent sponsors. Art was one of the few things he actually made time for outside of work. He would be there whether he had decided it yet or not.

She bit her lip, suddenly shy. “I got two tickets. I know you’re swamped, but… I’d love it if you came to watch me play.”

I didn’t even hesitate. “I’ll be there.”

“Yay!” She kissed me again, her arms tightening around my neck. Then she rested her head on my shoulder, still gently playing with my hair. “I’m giving the other ticket to Indigo. She loves watching me play, and she loves dressing up for these kinds of events. It’ll be good for her.”

Indigo.

I pictured her again without permission. The kiss. The sudden pullback. The way she had said she was sorry like she had done something wrong, when she had been the one who started it.

I realized I had gone still.

Leah did not notice. She rarely noticed anything that was not immediately in front of her.

“Yeah,” I said finally. “That’s fine.”

She smiled, satisfied, and kissed me again before sliding off my lap. “I should go. I’ll see you tonight.”

My response was cut off by the knock on my door. “Come in.”

The door opened as Indigo stepped inside.

My eyes went to her face before anything else. There was a small swelling, slightly red, impossible to miss once you noticed it.

“What happened to your face?” Leah asked immediately, her voice filled with concern.

She walked over to Indigo before I could say anything, scanning her face like she was checking for damage. Indigo shifted slightly under the attention but didn’t step back.

Leah lingered, eyes narrowing on Indigo’s forehead. “That looks like it hurts.”

“I’m fine,” Indigo said quickly, already moving toward my desk with the file. “I just hit it.”

Leah frowned. “How?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Indigo replied, a little firmer this time.

Caleb stood, glancing at her with concern. “That swelling needs ice. I’ll take her down to get some.”

Leah nodded. “Good idea. Go on, Indi.”

Indigo hesitated, then nodded. “Okay.”

Caleb held the door open for her. As she walked past him, I watched them leave, jaw tightening before I could stop it.

Leah kissed my cheek on her way out. “Be nice to her okay? She’s my cousin.”