“I don’t know what to do,” I admit.
“I saw how he looked at you. He’s a man in love. Forgive him. What happened between us is ancient history, not even worth mentioning. Do you know how many men I’ve had similar nights with?” she asks, wiggling a finely arched brow.
I cringe. “Spare me the details, please.”
“You should have seen his face when he walked out of the room. I felt bad for the guy.”
“How would you feel if one of your boyfriends had sex with me?” I ask her.
She considers it. “We could get rich off that, you know.”
“London!” I snap.
“I’m just messing around,” she says, but she sounds like she isn’t. She seriously worries me.
“By the way, I don’t have the money to pay Trevor this month,” I say, referring to her ex-boyfriend that she owes money to.
She looks a little alarmed, but then waves it off. “We’ll figure it out. You know I never thanked you for saving my ass back then. You’re the best big sister in the world, and it’s about time I paid you back for everything you’ve done for me.”
“How about going back in time and not sleeping with my boyfriend,” I mutter under my breath.
“Paris,” she says. “Forget it happened. Move forward. He’s been gone a couple of hours, why don’t you call him?”
“Easier said than done.”
She nods. “Maybe. But you need to keep your eyes on the prize. Grayson is a catch, and if you don’t want him, trust me another woman will.”
My eyes snap to her.
“Not me!” she says, putting her hands up.
I groan and cover my face with my hands. “This is not how today was meant to go.”
“I’m sorry,” she says. “If I hadn’t come, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“The truth would have come out eventually. It’s not your fault. We should go out and get some dinner,” I say, forcing myself to get out of bed. I look at my sister. “You’ve changed.”
“Yeah? So have you. You’re a lot stronger now,” she says, looking at me with pride.
I nod. I didn’t really have a choice.
“Oh, my God, there’s two of them,” Aiden says as London and I walk into work.
“Aiden, London. London, this is my boss,” I say.
“Hello, handsome,” London purrs. I slap her shoulder. “Ouch!”
“Stay away from her. She’s a viper,” I tell Aiden, ignoring London’s gasp of indignation.
Aiden chuckles. “Noted.”
“That being said, this viper needs a job. I know you were looking for someone else, so I was wondering...?” I let my question trail off.
He eyes London. “Is the viper a hard worker?”
Well, that’s a hard question to answer.
“I can become one,” London says, shrugging.
I look at Aiden, who bursts out laughing. “I’ll give you a trial. That’s all I can promise.”
“Thank you,” I tell him, leaning forward against the bar.
He grins. “The two of you might bring in more customers.”
I gasp. “Pervert.”
“Maybe I should get another bouncer, too,” he muses, not paying any attention to me.
“Okay, London, job—check. Now we need to find you a place to live,” I say.
“If you move in with Grayson, I could just live in your apartment,” she says, tapping a manicured finger on her lips. Aiden is suddenly interested in the conversation since gossip is involved.
“Moving in already?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m not moving anywhere,” I say, rolling my eyes at him.
“Where is Grayson, Mr Possessive, anyway?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
“In the dog house,” London mock-whispers, dragging her finger across her throat.
“What did he do?” he asks, now scowling. Aww, my boss is a little protective of me it seems.
“He slept with my sister,” I say at the same time London says, “What’s a little sharing amongst sisters?”
Aiden’s mouth drops open. “No fucking way.”
London scoffs, “She’s only telling you the bad part of the story, not the good.”
“How the hell is there a good part of the story?” I ask, crossing my arms. Aiden’s head turns back and forth, and he watches the two of us argue. A customer walks in so Aiden herds us into the backroom where we can have privacy.
“Has he been calling you?” London asks, sitting on top of the desk.
“Yeah. Non-stop.”
“See. Put him out of his misery,” she says, playing with the end of a lock of her hair. Easy for her to say. She doesn’t have to think about the love of her life with her own sister. Or the fact that he only started getting to know me because he thought I was her. That’s what hurts the most. Was their one night together so amazing and filled with passion that he wanted seconds? Was he upset when he found out I wasn’t London? He did walk out on me that night, leaving me alone and confused. I really don’t know what to think, all I know is this—it hurts. I’m not ready to forgive him or to face him just yet. I pull my phone out. Twenty-eight missed calls and ten messages. All from Grayson. I reply to him, one simple message.
I need time.
That’s all I have to offer right now.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Two weeks have passed since I last spoke to Grayson. I don’t answer his calls. I sit in a different seat in the classes we share, and I avoid him as much as I can. The few times he’s tried to talk to me or showed up at my house, I’ve excused myself or not answered the door. It’s been hell, and I’ve been walking around and living life on auto pilot. London got a place of her own, about five minutes away from my house. She’s getting on her feet and working on being independent, and I couldn’t be happier for her. She’s still selfish and self-involved, but I guess I should take whatever improvement I can get from her and not push my luck. She isn’t going to become a better person overnight; that’s for damn sure. After work, I get Aiden to drop me off at Grayson’s. I don’t know what I’m doing, but shutting him out has been hurting both of us, and I’ve had enough. I’m confused, and I don’t know what the hell to do to get over this.
“Thanks Aiden,” I tell him, kissing him on the cheek.
“No problem. You can call me anytime you know that, right?”
“I appreciate that. Best boss ever,” I tell him, sliding out of the car and closing the door. I wave bye as I turn around and walk to the house. Grayson’s car is out front, so I know he’s at home. I have a key of his but I feel weird using it after not talking to him all this time and not knowing where we stand as a couple. I knock on the door, and fidget with my hair as I wait for him to answer. He opens the door, standing there, looking surprised.
“Paris,” he says, his gaze trailing over me from head to toe.
“Hey, I thought maybe we could talk?” I say, pushing my hair behind my ear.
“I’d love that,” he says. “I do have to tell you that…”
“Grayson! Hurry up!” someone calls from inside the house. My eyes widen as I recognise the voice. Fuck. This.