Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83340 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
But even if she’d forgive me, Grant never would, and he would never forgive my father, who was now his biggest commercial real estate competitor.
“Well, you should look at it that way.” Kinsley grinned just as the waiter approached our table. He was blond, pretty, and twinkish. The second our eyes snagged, I saw the flash of interest ignite in his gaze.
“Well, hello there. I’m definitely sorry it took me so long to get to your table. If I’d seen you, I promise I would have been here quicker.” He bit into his bottom lip.
I chuckled. He was good, and if he was looking for the same thing I always was—a no-strings-attached fuck—I’d be interested. “I guess you’ll have to make it up to me, then,” I flirted back, ignoring my sister, who didn’t hide her gagging sound in the background.
Grayson, his nametag said, darted a glance her way.
“Ignore her,” I added.
“He picks his nose and has really stinky feet,” Kinsley said, making both the waiter and me laugh. Sisters, man. She was lucky I loved her.
“Can I get you both something to drink?”
I just ordered water while Kinsley got a glass of wine.
“Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be happy to oblige. Until then, I’ll be back to take your order, sugar.” Grayson winked at us and walked away, just as a stick of gum flew at my head.
“Will you stop?” I grabbed it off the floor.
“How do you do that? First, you manage to meet someone everywhere we go. It’s like you’re a gay beacon or something. Is there a secret signal you send out that I can’t hear?”
“No, I’m just that good,” I joked back, earning one of her famous eye rolls. I’d said the same thing to the doc. Christ, I’d enjoyed talking to him…and now I was thinking about him at a really random time. “What was the second thing? You said first.”
“Oh, how did he know you’re gay? I grew up with you for your whole life and didn’t know.”
“I can’t tell you, or I’d have to kill you. We’re not allowed to share secrets from the Gay Bible with the straights.”
Kinsley laughed again, which made me do the same. I’d really missed this. I loved my sister, being close with her. I couldn’t wait to be able to do this more often.
We looked over the menu. Before I knew it, Grayson was back, all flirty and sexy. I ordered a steak salad, and Kinsley got her favorite salmon dish. We chatted while we waited for our meals to arrive—about my new condo, my shop opening up, our parents, and her boyfriend.
We were halfway through lunch when she said, “You know it’s impossible for you to never see them, not when you’re living at home again. We run in too many of the same circles.”
Shit, so we were going to do this, were we? I was hoping we could avoid it. “I know.” Though I had to admit, it would be a whole lot easier if I never had to see them. There was too much pain there, even if I also wished we could just get over it. Mads was… She was all heart, and I’d hurt her. That was all Grant, Nora, and Hutch would ever see in me.
Though Hutch had told them that night to go easy on me…
“She seeing anyone? Mads?”
“No, not that I’ve heard. I’m pretty sure I would have. You know how news travels with Mom and Dad’s friends. They’re like a pack of rabid teenagers.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. “That’s the one part I’m not looking forward to about being back. I never felt like I fit into that world—and I don’t mean because I’m gay.” I played the part well. I was sure no one knew other than Kinsley. I could wine and dine with the best of them, but it always felt so empty to me, so lonely. I was much more comfortable under the hood of a car or chatting with a group of kids at the hospital.
That wasn’t completely true, though. If it didn’t all feel so superficial, I’d be fine with it. Luckily, since I hadn’t gone back to work with my parents, I wouldn’t have the same obligations to attend those events.
“It’s not your fault Maddy isn’t with anyone. She’s a grown woman. If she wants to find someone to date, she can. She needs to learn to step out from under Nora and Grant’s thumbs.”
“It’s hard for her.” It was my reflex to defend her. Mads had always been a little more sensitive. She always saw the good in the world, and the ugliness hurt her more than most. That was why it killed me that I’d been one of those people who’d broken her heart. She hadn’t deserved it, and I still wasn’t quite sure how to get past it.