She looked like she’d argue but then another yawn slipped out. “All right. Morning does come early and since I’m going to have a crew tomorrow . . .” She glanced at Nick.

“Not just a crew,” he said. He stood and I rose with him. “The best crew.”

“Oh, Nicky.” Lexi stepped close and then, as if bracing herself for rejection, she threw her arms around him anyway.

I held my breath, waiting to see what would happen. Nick lifted his arms and put his hands on her upper arms as if he’d peel her off him. Instead, he slid his hands to her upper back and hugged her close. The look on his face, as if he couldn’t believe she was here and he was hugging her, about broke me. My throat got tight and my heart went sploosh, and I felt a suspicious pricking in my eyes as if the tear ducts were just firing up.

Nick cleared his throat and patted Lexi’s back. She released him with a watery smile of her own and then turned to Jackson. “Well, come on. Places to go. People to see.”

He exchanged a nod with Nick and followed her to the door. Before she disappeared, Lexi spun back around. “I’ll see you at your office tomorrow, Annabelle. Ten o’clock, okay?”

“Perfect,” I said.

“Just remember when you meet Sophie and Miguel Vasquez to leave my name out of it,” Nick said.

Lexi squinted. “You said that before, but you didn’t say why.”

“It’s for me,” I said. “Nick is trying to let me take the full credit for landing a huge account. Sophie and Miguel know he’s my landlord, so if they know that you’re his sister and that he’s paying for the work, then—”

“It looks like your landlord gave you the job instead of you earning it?” Lexi asked. Nick and I both nodded. “Well, just so we’re all clear, if your designs had been garbage, I wouldn’t have agreed to hire you even if it did mean losing Nicky’s support.”

I grinned at her. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

Lexi nodded, cast one last look at her brother, smiled, and left.

I began to gather the dessert dishes from the coffee table. Nick started to help but I shook my head. “I’ve got it.”

He ignored me and followed me into the kitchen, carrying the remaining dishes and coffee mugs. We set them in the sink. When I would have started to rinse them, he reached across me and shut off the tap.

“I can do that later,” he said. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.”