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“Occupied,” I said, thinking it was an employee.
“Open up, Addy.”
My eyes rounded. It was Miranda.
“I know you’re in there,” she said.
Exhaling a frustrated breath, I turned the knob. Giving me a narrow-eyed look, she swept into the room.
“Are you kidding me?” Miranda wrinkled her nose. “This is a storage room for cleaning supplies. I can’t believe he put you in here. He’s such an ass. You can’t stay here. You’ll come stay with me.”
“We can’t.” I shook my head. “I lied to the cops about my dad. We need somewhere to stay until I turn eighteen. Your parents aren’t gonna let us stay with you for two weeks like it’s a slumber party.”
“But—”
Speaking quickly, I cut off her protest. “It has to be this way, at least until I can get the necessary paperwork to be Rachel’s guardian.”
After that, we would see. One step at a time. It was all I could handle.
“My brother has a lawyer.” A tiny line appeared between Miranda’s perfect black brows. “Is he taking care of that for you?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “In exchange, I agreed to work for him.”
She pursed her lips. “He wants to sleep with you.”
“Apparently.” I made a face. “But after having me underfoot all the time, he’ll probably change his mind.”
Miranda scoffed. “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”
“I’m a hot mess. He can have anyone he wants.” I threw out the things I’d already told myself, so I didn’t freak out too badly. “Lots of pretty women work here.”
“But his eyes follow you, not them,” Rachel said.
“He asks about you.” Miranda’s dark gaze took on a reflective sheen. “Every time I see him, he asks. He’s obsessed with you.”
“Well then.” I swallowed hard. “I’ll just have to figure out some way to work that to my advantage.”
My sister frowned. “Ouradvantage. Us. You and me. We’re in this together.”
“What does Collin think about this arrangement?” Miranda asked.
“He doesn’t know about it.” I gave her a firm look. “And you can’t tell him where we’re staying.”
“She left him a Dear John letter,” my sister told Miranda. “Before we came here.”
“You did what?” Miranda screeched.
“My life’s a train wreck,” I said, telling it how I saw it. “He has a record contract. He’s not going to stick around.”
And even if he wanted to, I wouldn’t let him throw away his future for me.
“We’d come to an end eventually.” I shrugged as if the facts didn’t hurt, but they did. Their razor-sharp edges left deep gashes.
“Did you have sex last night?” Miranda asked.
“Yes.”
I didn’t tell her it was beautiful, so much better than I’d dreamed of. My life might be a wreck, but I didn’t want to wreck hers. I knew Miranda still had feelings for him. There was no need to hurt my friend unnecessarily.
