AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Later—muchlater—I sneak into my own house and make it into my shower without seeing anyone. When I’m cleaned up and dressed, I open my bedroom door and screech.
My sister is leaning against the hallway outside my room. Her eyes narrow. “Where were you last night?”
My back straightens. “None of your business, Piper. What are you, my mother?”
“Mm-hmm.” She purses her lips, then turns toward the stairs. “Mom will not be impressed when she hears about this.”
“Tattletale,” I grumble under my breath.
Piper just huffs and starts down the steps. I follow, but only because I’m going downstairs anyway—and that’s when I hear the voices. There are people in my kitchen, chattering excitedly. As soon as my sister and I enter the room, they jump up and scream.
Simone points at me accusingly. “You tried to hide from us!”
“Not even awordthat she was going on a date!” Trina says, hands on her hips.
“Unacceptable,” Fiona adds.
“Is nothing sacred?” I say, throwing my hands out to the sides. “Can’t I have a bit of privacy here?”
I’m trying to sound angry, but the truth is, I’m glad they’re here. Even in the shower, I’d started second-guessing myself. I’m torn between feeling like I’m floating on air and feeling like I’ve just made a huge mistake. Sebastian isn’t casual about anything. Last night sealed my fate.
Having my friends here to debrief and laugh and tease me makes tension unwind from my shoulders, even if my sister doesn’t exactly look happy.
Candice is the one who walks toward me, tugging me to one of the barstools at my kitchen island. She slides a steaming latte toward me in a Four Cups takeaway cup. “Girl, Sebastian swaggered into the café this morning like the cat who got the cream.”
“He got the cream all right,” Simone says.
Trina barks out a laugh, then glances at Piper. “Sorry.”
“That’s disgusting.” Piper grimaces. “And Sebastian’s a jerk. I can’t believe you slept with him.”
“How do you know I slept with him?” I protest.
Everyone except my sister cackles. My face turns hot and red.
Piper shakes her head, her brows drawing together. “I’m just worried, Georgia. He hurt you so much last time. I don’t think he’s changed at all; he’ll still try to steamroll you into living the life he wants.”
Her words are like a clanging bell inside me, ringing the fears I try to hide from myself. Sebastian is high-handed, overbearing, and arrogant. He misses Clare, and last night he seemed to be floating the idea of moving back there.
When he proposed to me all those years ago, I knew I could never be with him. He’d smother me with his version of love, with his insistence on living life exactly on his terms. It would breed only resentment, and we’d end up hating each other.
Am I blind? Am I walking into the same unfixable mess as I did when I was a teenager?
Piper pinches her lips. She thinks I am.
But then I think about the way he looked, silhouetted in the doorway to my new gallery. He didn’t just run away from me, stubborn and angry when things didn’t go his way. He came back. He got a house to stay in, dug shallow roots into the ground here. He made me dinner and breakfast when he hasn’t even unpacked his suitcases, bought a tablecloth and candles, and found a waffle maker on short notice.
Those aren’t things he would have done twenty-five years ago. He would have been too proud, too stubborn to put that much effort into wooing a woman.
“I have to go to work,” Piper says. We watch her leave, the front door snicking shut behind her.
Simone swivels toward me. “Right. Your sister’s gone, and now we can talk. Start with what you were wearing, and finish with how many orgasms he gave you in the last twelve hours.”
23
SIMONE
Georgia is a sneaky little liar,and I love her for it. She’s been hiding all kinds of stuff from us over the past week (Sebastian and her, in the studio! Squee!), but she’s allowed to do that. I’m mostly kidding about the rules about sharing gossip. I just hate when my friends get stuck in their own heads. Talking helps.
