Page 16 of Enemies with my Bestie’s Brother
My heart sinks when he doesn’t.
It’s better this way, I tell myself.
Maybe one day, that will stop sounding like a lie.
Chapter Seven
Grayson
“Idon’tseewhywe needed to meet at seven in the damn morning,” Landon says as he meets me outside my new apartment, a tray of coffees in his hand.
I nearly groan at the scent of fresh coffee as I unlock the door. “Please tell me that one of those is for me.”
“It was going to be, but then you decided that we needed to meet and work on business at the crack of dawn.”
I chuckle as I lead the way inside the apartment and toss the keys onto the kitchen counter. “I have a meeting at nine with Whitney.”
Landon’s eyebrows shoot high up on his forehead as he looks at me. “You’re going to be spending time with Whitney? Are you sure that’s a good idea after the last time the two of you were together?”
“You’re not supposed to bring that up,” I say, taking one of the coffees from the tray. I take a long sip, letting the caffeine run through my veins while my brother considers his next words.
“I don’t know if it’s the best idea for the two of you to be involved with each other like that. You have trust issues that need to be dealt with. Quite honestly, she doesn’t need that shit in her life.”
“You’re taking her side, even though I’m your brother?” I shake my head and take another sip of my coffee. “Traitor.”
I give him a smile so he knows I’m just teasing. While he is taking Whitney’s side, he’s not wrong. I have more baggage than I’ve even shared with my family.
As much as I love them, there are some things that I’m not willing to divulge yet.
Mainly, I want to avoid having to deal with those memories for as long as possible. In all honesty, if I never have to think about my ex or the things she did to me again, I would be happy.
“Penny pushed the issue.”
Landon nods, the corner of his mouth tilting upward. “Now it all makes sense, considering the fact that you haven’t seen Whitney since the wedding, right?”
There’s a hint of suspicion in his voice. He narrows his eyes like he’s studying an intricate painting and takes another sip of his coffee.
“No. That weekend was the last time I saw her.”
Landon nearly spits out his mouthful of coffee, swallowing at the last moment. “Weekend?”
Shit.
“I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”
Landon chuckles and leans against the counter, crossing one leg over the other at the ankles. “You better start talking. I thought that you two just snuck out of the wedding together. Now you’re saying it was an entire weekend.”
“Look,” I say setting my leather laptop bag on the counter and pulling out several files. “We don’t need to talk about it, ever. Right now, what we need to do is get through some of this shit before Whitney comes over to ask me about paint swatches.”
“You’re going to have to tell me what happened sooner or later,” Landon says as I make my way into the living room.
My steps echo slightly as I stroll toward the middle of the large, empty space and sit down on the hardwood. After crossing my legs, I spread the paperwork out in front of me.
“Do we really have to sit on the floor? We’re getting old.” Landon walks over and sits down across from me. He groans and makes a point of grabbing his hip. “Hear that crunch? I think I’m going to need a hip replacement.”
I roll my eyes and gesture to the business plan. “I’ll make sure that the office is one of the first things that she focuses on. For now, we have to make sure that our plan is solid.”
“We’ve been working on this since you started trying to sell the real estate company. We’ve torn it apart and put it back together a thousand times in the last year.”
