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“Kimberly, since when do you read gossip magazines?” Gran asked.
"I don’t. I got wind of him because he’s a respected CEO. Usually they grant that distinction to athletes or actors or something." She turned to me, an eyebrow raised. "You sure about the fake part? Because the man is hot."
I laughed nervously. I wasn't sure how to explain everything. “Look, I simply wanted..." I sighed. "Honestly, it was kind of childish, but I wanted to flip off Malcolm in a way.”
"Ha, the revenge date. I approve," Kimberly said with a grin.
"Revenge date? What do you mean?" Gran asked.
"Malcolm was there with her, and I couldn't bear facing them. He thought I was single and was trying to make a joke out of it. Or possibly pity me. I'm not even sure what it was. I think Dom just... well, he probably pitied me, too, but it all turned out for the best."
"Right," Gran drew out, obviously unsure of my explanation.
"That explains the charity evening. But why would you pretend for a whole weekend?" Kimberly asked. My sister was nothing if not thorough.
"Look, it's hard to explain without sounding ridiculous. I'm not even sure why Dom went along with it. But I'm grateful he did. The weekend would have been excruciatingly painful otherwise."
Kimberly moved next to me. "You should’ve just backed out of the weekend or sent me instead."
Gran nodded. "Reese, life is far too short to go through unpleasant moments. Especially when it comes to that asshole."
I was stunned. Kimberly just blinked. I couldn't remember a time when Gran had openly sworn.
"Why are you girls looking at me like that?" she huffed. "Of course, I know how to swear. I just try not to do it around Paisley."
"Or around us,” Kimberly said.
That settled, they both looked at me intently, obviously waiting for an explanation. But I didn’t have a good one.
"It felt like if I chickened out, then he would win, you know?" I murmured.
"Why is Malcolm back?" Kimberly asked, and the hair stood up at the back of my neck.
"I'm not sure," I admitted. "Maybe he just wants to live in Chicago. He's from here, after all."
"Let’s talk to Declan. Clearly he didn't scare him enough last time."
"No. I mean it, Kimberly. That's one of the reasons I didn't tell you."
Gran shook her head. "Reese, you can talk to us. You don't have to keep things to yourself. We won't tell anyone if you don't want us to."
"Thank you. I would appreciate it if you didn't. You should have seen Malcolm’s face when Dom was next to me...tall and so much more attractive than him."
Kimberly and Gran glanced at each other, and then Gran narrowed her eyes, pointing at me. "I will say just one thing on this topic. This man makes you light up, and we haven't seen that in a while. Not even when you were with that asshole."
"Gran—” I began.
"Just let me finish. If there's any chance, any at all, that you have real feelings for him, see if it leads to something."
I shook my head vehemently. "No. That's out of the question."
Gran sighed and then looked at Kimberly, who shook her head. "No, don't look at me. I'm supporting my sister no matter what she says." Then she turned to me. "But for the record, I agree with Gran."
"Of course you do. All right, well, I came by to say hi to both of you. But since I’m here, I’ll go upstairs and take care of a few things."
"But it's Sunday!" Kimberly exclaimed.
"I know, but I had some to-dos on Friday that I didn't get to. And I want to start the week with a clean slate."
