Peter rubs his forehead, and I hate that I notice how his hair is longer now. Long enough to not only fall over his forehead, but over his eyes, too.
“The truth, obviously.”
A shocked laugh escapes me then, and it gives me the jolt I need to move my body. “Yeah, Neve? Leo? Turns out the two of us have not only met, but fucked each other’s brains out one sunny spring weekend in Halifax. Surprise!” My mocking tone isn’t well-received, based on the bored look on Peter’s face.
“Or,” he starts, “we tell them we met without giving each other our last names or any other identifying piece of information because we didn’t think we’d ever see each other again. We tell them we had an incredible weekend together, and it obviously wasn’t supposed to end there, because here we are.Obviously, this was meant to happen, Beth.” His optimism grates on my nerves, which is weird, because I’m normally the optimistic one. Peter manages to put even my normally sunshiny attitude to shame, though.
“Don’t call me that,” I hiss at him. “Literally no one calls me Beth. It’s Billie, okay?” I pinch the bridge of my nose as he remains quiet. “And stop saying obviously. This is not some cute twist of fate, Peter. Neve probably wants to kill me, and rightly so. I’m about to tell her I slept with her client.Ourclient. Multiple times. This is a disaster.”
My tone seems to do nothing to deter him.
“I disagree,” he says calmly. “And it’s Darcy, if we’re gonna get technical about what people normally call us. But I am partial to you calling me Peter, so please don’t stop.AndNeve is currently quite in love with her coworker, which I believe was a big no-no for her before she met Leo, so I don’t see how this is a problem.” He’s leaning far too casually against a closet. I can’t look at him, so I turn and busy myself with the faucet and begin to wash my hands and forearms.
“This is so not the same thing. Not even close. We practically had a one-night stand. Those two are, like, soulmates or some shit. They’re made for each other.” Before I can continue, the heat of his body is at my back, and he’s reaching around me with a towel in his hand.
“Here, use this to clean yourself off. I have another dry one here.” He steps back quickly, and for a reason I do not feel like exploring right now, that bothers me. “I’ll bring you some fresh clothes. You’re welcome to use my bathroom, if you’d prefer.”
“No. I mean, no, thanks. This is fine. And there’s no need to get me clothes. I’m not going to stay.” Not that I had fully thought this through, but it’s probably for the best I leave anyway. I focus on my task, wiping chunks of mud off my skin.
Peter sighs. “It wasn’t a one-night stand. It was two days and three nights I haven’t stopped thinking about since the moment I last saw you.”
He doesn’t say anything else, but I hear the soft click of the door, and I feel the loss of his presence as soon as he’s gone. I force myself to take several deep breaths, working through the shock of seeing him. Here. Likethis.
I guess we’re going to be permanent fixtures in one another’s lives since our closest friends are a couple. Ugh. I never would have slept with him if I’d known. I wouldn’t even have allowed myself to have a single meal with him. This could have been a funny little story of how we met weeks ago, but now it’s… awkward.
Do I regret that weekend? If I’m honest with myself, the answer is no. The sex was hotter than hot, and I’m not sure I’ve ever felt as relaxed as I did then. I guess orgasms, reading, and naps will do that.
Too bad it’s never happening again.
None of it.
CHAPTER 11
PETEY. LIZZIE. THE CAESAR.
DARCY
Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.
It’s her.
She’shere.
Covered in mud, hair a mess, eyes wide—borderline horrified, actually.
She’s in my house, talking about turning a pig, who’s got it out for her, into bacon. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize her voice right away, but then again, in our short time together, I never heard this kind of anger coming from her.
She said she’s not going to stay, but fuck that. Shehasto. No way I’m letting her go now I have her. I mean, she doesn’t seem as happy to see me as I am to see her, but I think she just needs to get over the shock of it. It’ll be fine.
The moment I walk back into the mudroom and see her face, it’s clear this isnotgoing to be fine anytime soon.
There’s a new energy in the room I immediately dislike, so instead of letting her speak first, I beat her to it.
“Here. It’s the smallest stuff I had, so I hope it works. You should stay, Elizabeth. Billie. Sorry. Everyone who’s worked on the house is coming, and I know they’re looking forward to seeing you.” I wish I had a stronger argument. One that doesn’t involve asking her to stay because I want her to. Because I want to see her and talk to her more than I care to do either of those things with anyone else.
She seems to mull over my words, a single nod telling me I’ve won this battle at least.
“I’ll stay for a bit, but I need you to understand what happened between us, it’s never happening again. A repeat wasn’t on the table to begin with, which is exactly why I didn’t give you my full name or my phone number, but now it’s definitive. This is already messy enough as it is, but we can look past the fact we’ve seen each other naked and be… I don’t know. Friendly. Professional. Civil. Take your pick.”
