could tell he was two seconds from tugging on the ends. “Maybe you should go talk to her.”
“About what? She’s said enough. She’s done enough.”
“I don’t think that was her intention, pip. People fuck up more than usual in the heat of the moment. I’m sure she’s just here to apologize.”
I pursed my lips, hating the fact that Vaughn was being rational when I wanted to rage. I didn’t want to talk to her. I wanted Selena gone so I could get on with pretending she’d never existed. I still hadn’t gotten up the courage to confront my father, not even when he texted me this morning to make sure that I was okay. All I could manage at the time was a thumbs-up emoji. If I’d tried using words, there was no telling what might have come spilling out.
My father lied to me.
My entire life, I was led to believe he and my mom had something special when all along he’d been nothing more than her goddamn sidepiece. Did that mean what I felt for Vaughn weren’t real, either? My parents had been the reason I believed in true love and soulmates. What if the feeling I’d gotten when Vaughn kissed me for the first time had only been…I don’t know, gas?
I felt strong fingers curling around my own and that same feeling, like watching a flower bloom on a warm, spring day, returned. It was real.
“Come on,” Vaughn gently urged. “We’ll do it together.”
“Fuck, you’re sweet,” I blurted, making the corner of his lips turn up in a crooked grin.
Leaning over, he slid his other hand between my thighs, and I gasped when he roughly cupped my pussy through my shorts. “Remember that when I want more of this later on,” he whispered before kissing my cheek.
I was still sitting there, blinking stupidly and feeling my temperature rise when he came around to open my door. He ended up having to lift me out when I couldn’t seem to move my legs. His hands stayed around my waist, making sure I was steady before taking my hand and leading me up the stairs where my long-lost sister waited.
“Is she okay?” Selena asked when I swayed on my feet.
I was sure it seemed like I was a bit dramatic, but only to those who’d never had themselves a Vaughn Franklin Rees.
“She’s fine,” Vaughn answered when I only stared.
Selena was the one who’d shown up unannounced. Twice. If she hadn’t come here to apologize, I wasn’t about to beg for one.
“Oh…okay.” She started wringing her hands as she searched for words, but I wasn’t falling for her shy act again. “I know you probably don’t want to speak to me, but I’m heading back home today, and I was hoping we could talk.” She glanced at Vaughn when she said the last part, and I heard the unspoken “alone.”
I could tell by the way he smirked and made himself comfortable against the railing that he did, too, and made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere. I’d never been so grateful for his arrogance before.
“I’m pretty sure I’ve learned all I need to,” I told her. “Let’s recap. My father was a home-wrecker, my mother didn’t love him, and I ruined your life.”
“But you didn’t ruin anything!” she said. A moment later, she was rushing toward me and taking my hand. For some reason, I didn’t push her away. Her skin was warm and soft instead of cold and scaly like I had imagined it would be. “How could you say that?”
“It’s what I would think if the shoe were on the other foot.”
She paused at that before nodding. “I’m sorry about the other day. I didn’t mean to turn your life upside down like that. I just wanted to meet you. You’re—” She turned away but not before I saw the tear that slipped as she swallowed hard. “You’re all I have left.”
I found myself squeezing her hand and moving to stand closer. I didn’t want to believe her, but how could I not? The pain in her eyes… No one could act that good. “What do you mean?”
“My father, he…he died.”
“Oh.” Before I could consider if it was a good idea, I pulled Selena into my arms and held on for dear life. I couldn’t imagine what I would do if I lost my father. It made me even more grateful for my friends. I wondered about Selena’s friends and if she had any to come all this way