Page 62 of Enemies with my Bestie’s Brother
“Whitney?” Penny’s voice calls out, and my breath hitches in panic.
Oh god, what am I going to tell her? She’s going to hate me. I hear her pad softly down the hallway before stopping at my door. She knocks softly.
“Whitney, are you in here?”
I contemplate between being extremely quiet and not answering her so she doesn’t come in. After what feels like a lifetime, but is probably only a few seconds, I sigh.
“I’m in here,” I say, my voice hoarse and wavery from crying.
The door opens quietly and Penny peeks her head in.
“You’re still in your party gown,” she comments as she closes the door behind her.
I look down, realizing that I never did change out of it. I took off the mask, but didn’t think twice about the dress.
“I guess I am.” I smile at her.
She picks up my clothes and deposits them onto the dresser pushed against the wall before sitting down on the bed. She pats the spot next to her, indicating for me to join her. I oblige, sitting close to her.
“Whitney, I need you to tell me what’s been going on with Grayson,” Penny says, looking at me with a serious expression.
I nod.
“We’ve been together for a while now. I don’t know exactly how long. We first hooked up at your wedding. I was so embarrassed afterward, but Grayson is so attractive that I couldn’t resist him.”
Penny makes a face as I continue.
“After that, we decided we needed to spend a weekend together. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other — it was like we were a match made in heaven. After that, I went back to Keene, and we basically didn’t talk again until I came back here.”
“Is that why you were trying so hard to avoid him?” Penny asks suddenly.
I nod, confirming her thoughts.
“Yeah. I was so anxious to see him again, and you kept pushing us together. No matter how much I tried to avoid him, he was there. And then you asked me to do the job decorating his apartment, no matter how many times I tried to say no, you wouldn’t give up. Eventually, I gave in, and while decorating Grayson’s place, we were constantly around each other. I couldn’t help myself. Over time, I fell in love with him. He told me he loved me a couple of weeks ago. I nearly cried happy tears.” A tear falls down my cheek at the memory.
“So, when you went on a date the other day…” Penny trails off, waiting for my answer.
“Yes, it was with Grayson.”
“I can’t believe the two of you have been sneaking around behind my back,” Penny says, turning to me.
There’s an odd look on her face, almost like she’s amused.
“So, what happened at the party then? I only caught the tail end of the whole drama after Grayson punched Preston.”
“Grayson punched Preston?” I shoot up in bed, looking at her in alarm.
That clearly happened after I left. Penny blinks at me, surprised that I didn’t know.
“Yeah, he said it was for kissing you. I thought that you already knew about that.”
“No way!” I shake my head. “That must have happened after I left. That’s weird, because he barely seemed to care when he broke up with me.”
“So you did kiss Preston?” she asks, her eyes bulging. “I wanted you with one of my brothers, not both of them!”
“It was an accident! They’re twins! I thought I was kissing Grayson. Preston pulled away immediately and I realized who it was when I saw the absence of a scar on his chin. But it was too late — Grayson had already seen us. Except that he wasn’t mad about the kiss when he confronted me. He was mad because he thought I was using him to social climb. He said that some journalist for a home decorating magazine I’ve never even heard of came to his door looking for me, planning to do an article on the remodeling of his penthouse. I still don’t even know how that happened.”
I shake my head and pull my knees against my chest before tucking my chin onto them. Penny smiles sheepishly.
