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Instead, I confess a niggle that has always been in the back of my mind.
“People will find out about my... involvement with you. Melinda probably won’t go quietly.”
Personally, I don’t give a damn what anyone thinks. If someone wants to make a stink because I’m...wasdating Royce, then they better say it to my face so I can deal with it and not pull a Melinda, sneaking around and spying on folks.
“She’d better,” Royce answers, his expression grim. “The Grayson Group lawyers will ensure that she does. Still, if you want to make an announcement to stem off any looks or questions, I’ll be right by your side, supporting you all the way.”
“How can you do that if you’re in New York?”
“I’m staying until Tuesday when Thomas, Tiffany, you, and me, will fly to New York to spend Thanksgiving with Gramps.”
“Thanks for asking instead of telling me,” I deadpan.
“I thought you liked my directness?”
“Sometimes...”
His eyes blaze with heat.
Ignoring the dampness in my thong, I force my eyes down, gathering up my coffee cup to make a show of cooling the contents before I take a sip.
“Sin, will you come with me to New York? Thomas and I can talk to Gramps alone, but we think it is better that you and Tiffany are there. We want to present a united front. You can be sure that I won’t let anything happen to you.”
A chill goes up my spine. “What would happen to me?”
“Gramps... well, he enjoys getting his way and when he doesn’t...the man can be pretty ruthless. He will just have to learn that Thomas and I throw down just as hard.”
I nearly choke on my egg, imagining Royce throwing me down on the bed...
Why am I having these thoughts? I’m in the middle of deciding if I want to forgive this man, and all I keep going back to is the sex we’ve had.
And the sex you know you still want to have.
“Why didn’t you just come to me, Royce. Why all the bottled up frustrations and anger?”
“I was afraid that if I talked to you... I didn’t want to hear that you and Thomas... I couldn’t take it, Sin. For a long time, I put our rivalry down to Thomas’s jealousy of the attention Gramps gave me after I got out of the hospital. I know now that I was jealous of Thomas. My cousin lived in a stable home with two loving, if not overbearing parents. While I...” He shrugs. “Well, I won’t get into that shit over breakfast—“
“We need to talk about it, Royce. Maybe not now, but one day, soon.”
“We will, Sin. I promise.” He gives me a brilliant smile, so full of happiness that my lips lift.
I quickly shovel another forkful of pancakes into my mouth.
Damn. Have I caved and forgiven him already?
I must have it in my heart because I’m already making plans for the future. Still, in my mind though, he has a long way to go to regain my trust.
You Go
Genesis
Wegobacktomy apartment where Royce bounds up the stairs like a puppy, carrying all three grocery bags in one hand. We went shopping after we ate breakfast, as he insisted on making dinner for me this evening.
When I open the door, he makes himself at home by heading straight to the kitchen and putting up the groceries. After he finishes, he plants himself beside me on the couch like he’s putting down roots. Half a beat later, the remote is in his hand and he’s flipping through the channels at lightning speed. Settling on Bloomberg News, he immediately scoffs at the news anchor who claims the economy is on the uptick.
“That’s bullshit. We’ll be in this recession for at least another six months.”
I’m about to ask him why, when my phone buzzes in the pocket of my jeans with Nat’s name on the screen.
