Page 27

I was starting to think it might be worth trying to figure it all out because—despite the brief amount of time we’d known each other—I’d never cared about a man this much before.

But it wasn’t entirely up to me. I had no idea where Greyson’s head was at. He showed up at my door last night and spent the evening listening to me prattle on about stars before cuddling with me on the couch until we both fell asleep, so it seemed like he wanted more than a physical relationship too, but I learned the hard way a long time ago that it was dangerous to assume that someone felt the same way I did.

“So, did you enjoy the spa?” Jess asked, and the forced casualness in her tone drew my attention immediately.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s a spa. What’s not to love about that?”

Jess nodded, but her eyes were darting around. I did the same and realized that we were at the back of the group, a few paces behind everyone else. Jess was walking slowly and I automatically matched her speed without thinking about it.

“I was hoping I’d get a chance to talk to you alone,” she said, her voice dropping a bit, even though none of the others were close enough to hear.

The spa was in a building right next to the resort, so we were walking out into the midday sunshine while I waited for her to tell me what she wanted to discuss.

“That guy in your room this morning… that was Grey Lynch, wasn’t it?”

It sounded strange to hear him called Grey when I’d been referring to him as Greyson. Now that I thought about it, I remembered Audrey calling him that too.

“Yes,” I said. “Are you a fan? I could probably get him to sign something for you.”

Jess’s smile was fleeting. “Yeah, I am, but that’s not really what I wanted to talk to you about. I was just wondering, are you guys… I mean, what’s going on between you?”

Wasn’t I just wondering that myself?

“We’re… getting to know each other.”

Jess nodded, like she expected that answer. “You know, he’s in his forties, right?”

I frowned. “You know his age? Exactly how big of a fan are you?”

Jess chuckled, and the break in tension made me realize that whatever was on her mind must be serious. “I know he played until he was in his mid-thirties because a lot of players retire before that. It’s rough on their bodies, and they make good money, so…” She shook her head. “Anyway, I don’t mean to pry, but I couldn’t help noticing that it’s quite an age difference.”

I stopped walking on the sidewalk between the spa and resort, turning to face her as the rest of the women continued on without noticing that we weren’t with them. “What’s your point?”

I couldn’t help sounding defensive. I didn’t appreciate the comment about our age difference because I meant what I told Greyson. It was just a silly number that didn’t matter. It certainly didn’t affect my feelings for him.

“I just wondered if Angela knew about him,” Jess said, looking uncomfortable with the conversation she started. “You know, she might not think it’s a good idea…”

Oh.

I hadn’t been hiding what was going on with Greyson from my sister. I simply hadn’t had the chance to bring it up yet. But now that Jess mentioned it, I realized she was right.

Angela was the one person I knew that had what I might consider to be a valid reason to judge age gap relationships.

I wasn’t the only twin with heartbreak in my past. Mine was in high school, and Angela’s was a couple of years later, when she was twenty years old and in college. She was taking an English class and the professor was thirty-six. He seduced her, hiding the fact that he was married with two young children, and treated her terribly over the course of their two-month affair. It wasn’t until she learned about his family that she finally ended things, but it was messy and painful for her. He threatened her to keep her quiet and made her question her own worth by implying that she earned her grade in his class on her back.

I hated watching her go through all that, but…

“It isn’t the same,” I said. “She was taken advantage of by an older man in a position of power over her. Greyson and I don’t have that dynamic at all. And he’s a good guy.”

Jess nodded. “I get that, I really do. And maybe it’s not my place to say anything, but I just wanted to bring it up to you before you tell Angela about him because she might not take it well. She’ll worry.”

She was right. My instinct was to dismiss any concerns Angela might have because I knew Greyson wasn’t like her professor, but then I thought about the pain of Eddie’s betrayal that still lingered inside me, even though I’d long since moved on with my life. It wasn’t always easy to get over that kind of thing, and what would be the point in worrying Angela when I didn’t know if this situation between Greyson and me was going anywhere.

The idea of keeping something like this from her felt strange because we usually shared everything with each other, but it was for the best.

“Can you just not mention this to her?” I asked, and Jess looked relieved as she nodded.

“I won’t mention it. I promise. Besides, I don’t want to risk anything upstaging Leanne’s wedding. And there’s enough relationship drama going on here this week.”