It was only then, as she stared at the unconscious man sprawled in her booth, that she realized how little she actually knew about him. They were supposed to be boyfriend and girlfriend, yet his personal life was a total nk.


    She had no idea where he lived or if he had any friends in the city she could call.


    After a moment''s thought, she reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. She scrolled through his contacts. The list was shockingly sparse. Pinned to the top was a contact simplybeled "Sister," followed by another entry with just a single star emoji as the name.


    No time to overthink it. She tapped on "Sister."


    She vaguely recalled Finn mentioning he had an older sister named Arabe Lockridge. He''d even shown her a photo once-a stunningly beautiful woman with an elegant air and, ording to Finn, a notoriously bad temper.


    When the call connected, Evangeline took a deep breath. "Hello, this is-Finn is drunk, and he-"


    The line went dead. Arabe had hung up on her.


    Evangeline stared at the phone, dumbfounded.


    She tried again. This time, no one answered. On her third attempt, a blunt text message popped up on her screen: *Scammer. Piss off.*


    Evangeline rolled her eyes. Fine. She switched to a video call.


    This time, Arabe answered. She was wrapped in a plush white bathrobe, her hair messily tied back, and her face was covered with a thick, green face mask. It was apletely domestic look, yet Evangeline could still feel a bone-deep sense of superiority and an icy demeanor radiating through the screen.


    "Hi, I''m not a scammer," Evangeline said quickly.


    "And what scammer ever admits to being one?" Arabe shot back, her voice dripping with disdain.


    *Fair enough,* Evangeline thought.


    She nced back at the sleeping Finn, about to turn the camera on him to prove her innocence, but the moment she moved, Arabe''s brow furrowed slightly. "Evangeline?" she asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.


    "You know who I am?" Evangeline asked, surprised.


    "Mm," Arabe grunted. With the media frenzy surrounding her and Finn, it would have been hard not to.


    A wave of relief washed over Evangeline. This would make things much easier. She was just about to exin the situation when Arabe cut straight to the chase.


    "Is Finn really drunk?"


    Evangeline nodded. "He had four sses of "


    "Four?" Arabe''s voice shot up in rm, cutting her off. "That much?"


    Evangeline fell silent. She supposed for someone who didn''t drink, four sses was a lot.


    "Didn''t Finn tell you about his tolerance?" Arabe pressed.


    "...He did," Evangeline admitted. She just hadn''t believed him. Looking back, she realized she''d never seen Finn have more than one drink. He''d have a single ss and then wouldn''t touch another drop all night.


    Sensing her surprise, Arabe''s tone softened slightly. "Finn''s allergic to alcohol. He loves tasting fine wines and spirits, so he''ll have a small amount, but he never overindulges." She paused, a thoughtful note entering her voice. "He''s always been so disciplined about it. He''s never gotten drunk before. This is a first."


    *What on earth did they talk about?* Arabe wondered, her gaze sharpening as she stared at Evangeline through the screen. *What did they do? For Finn to trust her this much...*


    Evangeline shifted ufortably under her intense scrutiny. "I can send you our address-"


    "Don''t bother," Arabe interrupted again. "I don''t babysit drunk men. But I don''t trust anyone else in the Lockridge family with him either. He''s staying with you tonight." She offered a wry, almost imperceptible smile. "Do with him what you will."


    And with that, before Evangeline could even process the words, Arabe hung up.