Page 14 of Secret Marriage To My Bosshole

“I’m not denying he was an ass at all.” I reach for a fry, popping it in my mouth. “I know I should make him pay some of the money back, but that means getting a lawyer. I really can’t afford one right now.”

“Or Jake would help you out. You know he would.” Sophie pulls herself up to sit on the edge of my counter and unwraps her burger. “Your brother is a professional baseball player with more money than he knows what to do with. You can’t tell me that he didn’t offer to make this all disappear.”

“He did.” I unwrap my own burger and take a big bite.

“Then why didn’t you let him?” Sophie swings her legs as she picks at her fries. “I want you to do what you want with your life, Cora. This isn’t it. Why are you letting Victor ruin your life?”

The question hits harder than it should. It’s been a few months since everything exploded with Victor, but our love was dying long before then.

Which is probably why he cheated, even when I wanted to work on our issues.

I take another bite of my burger, my chest tight. “It’s easier this way. If I force him to get involved with the bills, he'll be back in my life, and that’s the last thing I want. I just want to deal with the debt and then move on.”

“How long is it going to take you?”

“With the salary I get from Griffin and keeping my bills as low as possible, it should only take two years at the most.”

“And you think you can put up with Griffin Blake for that long?” Sophie snorts and puts her food down. “You two have never been able to get along for very long. He either says something that upsets you, or you go looking for a fight.”

“Well… let’s just say that things are different now. We’ve agreed to move forward and start putting the past behind us.” I finish my glass of wine and pick at more of my food. “I’m tired of being angry with him. It isn’t worth the effort that it takes.”

“So, what? You’re friends now?”

I push off the counter I’m leaning on and go to the window as a helicopter flies over, a spotlight shining down on the street. “Looks like things are about to be settled out there. See, nothing to worry about!”

“Cora!” Sophie smacks her hand against the counter. “Joking about your scary-as-hell neighborhood is not what you should be doing with your life. I’m really worried about your safety. And don’t even think that I’m switching off the topic of Griffin right now. You’re deflecting something.”

Red and blue lights flash off buildings. Dozens of people peer out their windows in the surrounding apartment complexes.

I shrug and turn back to Sophie. “Seemed like a more interesting topic than anything related to Griffin.”

“I know you’re hiding something. Spill it.”

My cheeks warm, and my stomach ties itself into knots. I’ve been friends with Sophie since preschool. She was the one who used to come over on days I was upset over things Griffin said to me.

She would hold my hand and promise that things would be better one day—that I would never have to see him again once we were adults.

And now look at where life has taken me.

I don’t have anyone else I can talk to about what happened on the retreat, but I know Sophie is going to be disappointed with me. She’s going to think that I’ve lost my mind, and then she’s going to chew me out.

I fill my glass and take another sip of wine to steel my nerves. “While we were in Colorado, I went out and ended up drinking and dancing with Griffin. And then I… we kissed, and when I woke up the next morning, I was in his bed, and he was on the couch.”

Sophie’s jaw drops. It snaps shut before falling open again. There is a strangled noise that comes out of her as she reaches for her wine and downs it.

“Repeat yourself.” Sophie fills up her glass. “Because I know there’s no way that you kissed the man who made you miserable when we were kids. You slept with him?”

“No, no, we didn’t sleep together—it was just a kiss. If you think that’s the biggest problem with kissing Griffin, then the situation might not be that bad.”

“Might not be that bad?” Sophie slides off the counter and storms over, taking my face between her hands. “Cora, are you out of your mind? What in the world would possess you to kiss him?”

“We were drunk. I had a drink or two, and so did he. And then we were dancing, and something clicked… and we kissed. It was just in-the-heat-of-the-moment kind of thing.” Groaning, I close my eyes and lean into her touch. “Ugh, I know I screwed up. I never should have gone to the bar with him, but I can’t bring myself to regret it. The kiss was good.”

Sophie’s hands drop, and she takes a step back, shaking her head. “At least the kiss was good, but was it worth ruining your life? What if he decides to fire you to keep the scandal from getting out?”

“That doesn’t make sense.” I walk over to the lumpy couch and sink into the cushions. “Griffin isn’t going to do anything about our kiss. We talked and agreed that it won’t happen again, and then I returned to work. That was a few days ago, and nothing has happened since.”

“And how do you know he will continue to leave you alone? Cora, you should have thought this through.”

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