Page 4 of Late Nights

When we were with West, she avoided me, and that included looking at me. I wasn’t sure how to take that. Was it because she felt something toward me as well? Or was she oblivious to me once there was someone else to occupy her interest?

When it was just the two of us, things were fairly friendly, maybe even flirty at times. Although I didn’t know if that had more to do with our personalities than anything else. We never talked about anything serious—everything always remained surface level.

“We’ll let you get settled, and then we can talk more about what happened,” West said. “I’m sure Mom is a mess right now.”

Demi winced at his words. “Yeah. She’s mad at Dad and disappointed in me.”

West pulled her into a side hug. “I’m sure it will all work out. We can figure it out together.”

She wrapped one arm around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. “Thanks, West.”

The three of us retreated back to the living room, leaving Demi to unpack.

West rubbed a hand down his face. “Well, this is unexpected.”

Unexpected didn’t begin to describe how blindsided I felt. Never in a million years did I think I would be living in the same apartment as West’s little sister.

Halle placed a hand on West’s arm. “Demi’s a smart girl. I have no doubt she can figure out what she wants her future to be.”

“I know, but…” He let out a heavy sigh. “It was one thing to tell my dad that I want to work less. It’s another thing altogether for Demi to tell him she don’t want to work with him at all.”

I could see the concern in Halle’s eyes, but instead of voicing it she said, “I’m sure after some time has passed, things with your father will be okay. He’s probably just in shock right now. Maybe even sad at not having his little girl join him at Vanderhall Capital.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he nodded. “Although he’s going to be a beast to work with tomorrow,” he said to me.

After West and I had graduated from Stanford together, we had immediately started working at Vanderhall Capital. Not only did I work for a great company, but I also got to work with my best friend.

“I think I have a day full of meetings tomorrow,” I said in jest.

West chuckled. “Yeah, me too.”

Victor Vanderhall was a good man, but his business persona was hard-nosed. Vanderhall Capital meant everything to him, so much that he often lost sight of what really mattered in life. And dealing with the fall-out of one of his children not joining the family business was going to make for a rough couple of days at work.

Halle wrapped her arms around West’s waist and reached up to place a kiss on his cheek. “Why don’t you grab what you need to stay at my place tonight and let Demi get some rest before you feel the need to plan out everything.”

He smiled down at her. “Okay.” He kissed her on the forehead before letting her go and heading back to his bedroom to pack.

Halle turned her gaze on me once West was gone. “You going to be able to handle this?”

My brows furrowed. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

She gave me a you-know-why look. “West may be clueless, but I’m not.”

My jaw clenched. I liked Halle, a lot. She was great and perfect for West. But right now, I was not liking how observant she was. Tonight wasn’t the first time she’d given me questioning looks when it came to my relationship with Demi.

“You heard what Demi said,” I pointed out, trying to avoid sharing any of my real feelings. “She sees me as a brother. And that’s how it will remain.”

She scrutinized my features, seeming to look for any areas where my feelings might be exposed. Too bad for her, she wasn’t going to find any. I’d become a pro at masking my feelings, and she wasn’t going to be the first one to see through me.

Accepting that she wasn’t going to find what she had hoped, she relented. “Fine. Just be careful.”

I gave her one of my fake but charming smiles. “I always am.”

And it was true. I was always careful. Careful not to let anyone in, no matter how much I wished to.

“Ready?” West’s voice cut through my staring contest with Halle.

“Yep,” she said, smiling at West.

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