Twisted Love (Modern Romance #3) - Piper Lawson Page 0,31
evening drinking scotch and bragging about accomplishments.
My second offer, from a female colleague I've hooked up with before, should've been more tempting.
I told her I had a commitment. She pressed a key into my hand before I could refuse and said I could come by after.
The key is still sitting on the coffee table when the hotel attendant departs. I turn on the gaming system, grabbing the headphones I brought from home. There's no one else in the virtual room, and I check my watch.
Since I sent Daisy a picture of Jet in an old-fashioned red phone booth this morning, I haven’t gotten a response.
She’ll be here.
It’s become our routine. Every week, no matter what. Through graduation, first jobs, late nights, even travel. Occasionally we’d reschedule in advance if we knew there was something unavoidable. But never cancel.
The first time we played together, we were both stressed with exams, which in retrospect seems trivial.
“Tell me something good,” she said to me when I finished capping a list of complaints about school and life.
I glanced over, my shoulder brushing hers from where we sat side by side. “Something good.”
Her mouth twitched at the corner. “Yeah. Something good.”
Now, it’s our way of connecting, of reassuring one another we’re still here, no matter how high or low life gets. We are.
I send off a text.
Ben: ???
Daisy calls me a minute later. “Hey. I'm still at the office."
My head falls back.
I’m so damned out of it, I wasn’t thinking about the time difference.
“I'm in London for a conference. Didn’t you get my picture of Jet?”
“In the phone booth. Right." Her voice is distracted, and I wish I could see her face. "By the time I get home, it'll be late. Two or three, your time.”
I pick up the key card, turning it in my hands. “What's going on with you?"
"Well. I walked in on Lil with a guy yesterday. I know she’s an adult and she can do what she wants. But it felt like she was trying to be something she wasn’t, like…”
“Like Vi.”
“Yeah. I overreacted."
Despite the mention of her twin, Daisy’s voice, her presence, her existence halfway around the world at the exact same time has the knot in my shoulders loosening.
“Tell me something good,” I say.
Silence comes down the line for a minute. "Marc texted. Does that count?”
Definitely not. A stone settles in my stomach.
“Wall Street.” I picture her spending time with him, laughing with him. Letting him kiss her the way I did the other night. “It’s not a good idea to see other people while we're dating.”
“Fake dating."
“Semantics.” I toss the key on the table and stand, going to the minibar for a bottle of scotch and a crystal glass. “It’s complicated enough convincing everyone we're together."
“I haven’t heard any questioning since Wednesday.”
“Because we made out like porn stars in the middle of a crowded club,” I say.
It was one kiss. One that burned hot enough, and went on long enough, to convince the entire world we wanted each other.
But that's the plan.
“It was a successful first appearance,” I say. “But there are more. If your friends at work saw you with someone else, it'd make things harder to explain."
"So I'm not supposed to see anyone for a month?"
Irritation claws at my throat as I pour my drink. "I can count on one hand the number of guys you’ve dated since I’ve known you.”
“Well, maybe that’s about to change.”
I exhale, exasperated and unsure of where the stubbornness is coming from. “It's not a hardship. Whatever you need, you can get from me."
“You’re in for companionship, genuine affection, and sex?”
I lift the glass to my lips. The liquid burns a hot trail down my throat. “I suppose—”
“It was a joke, Ben.” But her voice is sharp and the tightness in my chest doesn’t ease.
"It's not like Marc is the guy you're destined to spend your life with." She doesn't answer, which makes me laugh. "You're not serious? There's no way he'll give you what you need."
"You don't know him. Maybe he will."
My abs clench. “Xavier’s hosting a dinner at his townhouse on Wednesday. Small. Partners and their wives and girlfriends. He emailed about it today.” It’s the perfect chance to show how centered I am, how strong Daisy and I are.
“We can talk about it when you’re back. In the meantime, you sound as if you need to sleep. Don’t wait up for me. We’ll play next week.”
I want to argue with her. “Don’t stay in the office too late.”