CHAPTER Twenty-One
“If I could go back in time I wouldn’t have screwed him,” London says, trying to cheer me up. She’s sitting on my bed with a tub of ice cream, trying to make me eat some.
“I want to hear your side of the story,” I say, sitting up against my pillows.
She winces. “Why torture yourself, sis?”
“Tell me,” I growl.
“Okay, okay. Jeez. I was at a club. I can’t even remember the name of it now. Met Grayson on the dance floor. By the way, I didn’t even know his name. We made out; things got a little hot and heavy so he took me back to his hotel room.” She stops, looking at me to see how I’m taking things. I actually feel like throwing up, each word cutting me like a knife, but I try to keep my face expressionless. “We had sex. We didn’t even talk really. He was hot. I was hot. That was the extent of things. You don’t need to get so upset, Paris. There was nothing there. Just some really good hot sex.” I throw my pillow at her. “Just being honest, babe,” she says, eating a spoon of ice cream.
“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 f*cking 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.