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“What the fuck, Piper?”
I rolled over onto my stomach and buried my face in my hands, blushing furiously.
Rachel shrieked with triumph. “I knew there was a story there!”
Dammit. Chelsea eyed me from head to toe. She worked as a designer for a major fashion house and I winced, waiting for her to comment on the new clothes, my new look, all far more expensive and elegant than was my habit.
Chelsea sat beside me on the bed. “We heard about Peter. What a dick.”
I should’ve known better. Rachel might tease and prod me, but Chelsea had always been a sea of comfort when I needed it. A pang in my chest distracted me, and I reached up to rub it.
Rachel sat on my other side and took my free hand, running her fingers over my knuckles, and said, “Tyler’s already planning a social media smear campaign. Your ex is never going to get laid again.”
To my surprise, the thought of Peter didn’t fill me with the same agonizing ache it had a few days before. “Don’t bother,” I told them.
Chelsea raised her eyebrows. “What happened after you caught him cheating on you?”
I looked around the room, anywhere but at her.
She moved our joined hands from my heart to my lap. “Too early to talk about it?”
Grateful for the out she provided, and ignoring Rachel’s outrage, I nodded. “It’s complicated.” And boy if that wasn’t the truth.
Rachel traced her finger along the necklace James gave me for Christmas and hummed. “You know you’re not going to find any judgment here, right? Nothing will ever beat the Christmas when Jared brought those twins home.”
We snickered. Our parents had handled the situation with compassion and aplomb, welcoming the girls into their home and into the family, even braving the malls on Christmas Eve so the girls would have something under the tree the next day.
“It’s not the judgment,” I whispered. “It’s just too raw.”
Chelsea looked at me sharply. “More raw than Peter cheating on you?”
I twisted my lips. “Much more.”
She leaned over to give me a sideways hug. “Folks are going to know something happened, especially since you’re supposed to be in pieces over Peter.”
I met her blue eyes with my own. “Something did happen. It was amazing. But it’s over, and I’m here with you all, ready to celebrate the rest of the holidays.”
Chelsea frowned, as if she disagreed, but didn’t argue with me. Rachel leaned her head on my shoulder and stroked my hand, offering me her unconditional support.
It was over, and I needed to get my head and my heart straight. The beautiful Christmas interlude my men gave me ended the moment I walked out of their hotel this morning. They wanted it that way, and despite the gaping hole in my chest where my heart should have been, I told myself that I did too.
Chapter Sixteen
Piper
MY APARTMENT SEEMED empty and sterile when I returned on New Year’s Eve. I’d never settled in because I’d expected to move in with Peter after the wedding. Breathing deeply, I enjoyed the first moment of real quiet I’d had to myself since I hopped on the plane to Atlanta over a week ago. I dropped my bags in my room and threw myself onto my couch. Blissful solitude.
After a few moments of peace and quiet, I roused myself and began sorting through the packages and mail that had accumulated in my absence. It was all very drab, very predictable, exactly what a tax attorney in her late twenties working for a soulless corporation might expect.
Damn.
I threw myself back onto the couch, dissatisfaction with my life boiling over into rage. I slipped off my shoes and hurled them across the room, instantly guilty about my violent expression of emotion.
Phantom fingers traced down my spine and I bit back a sob at the memory of sitting on the couch in the hotel room, watching stupid action movies with James and Ibrahim. No, I told myself sharply. This wouldn’t do. I didn’t dump Peter and spend three nights with those men only to mourn them instead. It was a magical interlude. Now, I needed to get on with the rest of my life.
The days in California centered me and reminded me of what was important—family, friends, spending time with the people I loved.
I’d flown back on New Year’s Eve specifically to accompany a girlfriend to a gala. When Evie called in tears, her story of cheating was remarkably similar to mine. She begged me to accompany her to the event as her plus one instead of her lying, cheating ex. I couldn’t say no.
