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Thirteen
“It was irresponsible. And stupid. And it won’t happen again.” Fingers nested in her blond hair, Hallie hunched over her speakerphone at her desk and prayed her sister wouldn’t fire her.
Photos of Hallie and Gavin had popped up on social media shortly after their impromptu make-out sesh on the boardwalk. Telling the crowd she wasn’t her sister hadn’t prevented at least one person from selling the photos to the highest bidder. The fake story—that Hannah was a cheater and Gavin was the scum of the earth—had probably broken the internet by now.
“I’m so sorry, Han.” Hallie bristled, but her sister’s reaction wasn’t the one she’d been expecting. Hannah burst out laughing. “Are you... Are you all right?”
Hannah snorted through another peal of laughter.
Oh-kay.“I assumed you’d be upset learning the world believes you’re an adulteress who is cheating on your new husband with his brother.”
“Hallie, hon,” came Hannah’s consoling, comforting voice all the way from France. “Will and I were posting online photos of our vacay at that exact moment. Our whereabouts are corroborated and time-stamped. There are several of my fans arguing in my defense—they know those photos are of you and Gavin and not me.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good news.” She’d never considered the PR nightmare could work itself out. “I love your fans.”
“Me, too.”
Hallie sighed. “For what it’s worth, I wasn’t trying to start a scandal.”
“I can see exactly what you were trying to start.” Hannah’s tone was salacious. “Are you going to indulge me with details about why you were sliding lips with Gavin Sutherland?”
In the background, Will asked, “Who is that?”
“Don’t tell him!” Hallie said at the same time Hannah happily supplied, “Hallie.”
“Hannah!”
“The whole world knows you were kissing him. Will would find out eventually. Which begs the question, why were you strolling on the boardwalk with Gavin?”
“He took me to dinner. As a thank-you. I’ve been helping him with the interior design for his new house.”
“And then last night you decided to measure the square footage of his mouth?” Hannah laughed at her own joke. Will groaned.
No way was Hallie telling her sister she’d ended up having condom-less sex with Gavin on his countertop. For one, Hallie wasn’t sure she was ready to admit it out loud and for another, she really wasn’t ready for Will to know about it.
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Hannah said when Hallie didn’t respond. “You know the public. They’re going to think what they’re going to think. Like Gram always says, we are in charge of how we react.”
“You’re right.” Hallie had conveniently forgotten the wisdom their grandmother had shared repeatedly over the years. In Hallie’s defense, whenever Gavin kissed her, she forgot everything.
“I’m always right,” Hannah said.
“Square footage of his mouth,” Hallie repeated with a smile. Her sister was pretty funny.
“When was the last time you went after what you wanted?” Hannah asked tenderly. “Maybe it’s time you allowed yourself to take a risk.”
The truth was Hallie had gone after what she’d wanted mere hours ago in Gavin’s newly christened kitchen. She ended the call, still smiling both at her sister’s reaction and her own warm memories of last night.
Hallie had mentioned a next time and he hadn’t argued. Instead, he’d made a giant ice cream sundae smothered in caramel sauce, hot fudge and whipped cream. He’d fed her bites while she sat on the same countertop where they’d had sex.
She’d never look at a bowl of ice cream the same way again.
Before Gavin, she’d convinced herself she wasn’t missing out on anything by not having a man in her life. But now that he’d been embedded deep inside her, she knew she had been missing out. And she wasn’t nearly through making sexy memories with him.
Even as she allowed the fantasy, she reminded herself to draw boundaries around what they were doing together. Not for the sake of her twin sister’s reputation, but for her own. Control was important to Hallie—yes, even while having fun. She’d simply find a way to do both.
Once her rule-breaking days were over, she could walk away, head held high, with enough sexy memories to fuel her for the rest of her days.
“Place looks good.” Gavin’s brother Cash walked from one side of the house to the other to admire the views. “You had to outdo me. One waterfront view wasn’t enough for you?”
