Page 102 of Tangled Kisses
“Sabine, stop with your bullshit,” I hiss. “I know how you are. You love stirring the pot.”
She tilts her head in mock innocence. “Believe what you want. But I heard them talking about it. Loud enough for half the diner to hear, honestly. Maybe they should take their business elsewhere if they don’t want people to know.”
“You’re lying.”
She shrugs, popping a grape into her mouth like this is her morning entertainment. “Am I? Then go ask your sister.”
With that, she walks away, leaving unease as my new breakfast companion.
I carry my plate to a table, determined not to let her ruin my mood. That’s what Sabine does. She takes the shine off everything.
But as I stir cream into my coffee, a memory careens into focus, making my stomach twist. That night at the bar, when Piper announced that I’d never been laid properly and then told Griffin he was the man for the job.
Stop it, Reese. Don’t spiral. You’ll talk to Piper, and she’ll tell you it’s nothing. Just Sabine’s jealousy at play. Griffin is a good man. He’d never hurt you like this, and you know that.
But then a tiny voice hums in the corner of my mind.What if you’re wrong? Again?
I scrape the rest of my untouched breakfast into the trash and storm down the hall toward my sister’s room. Since Piper didn’t have a client last night, I know exactly where she’ll be.
Time to sort this problem, so I can continue basking in the glow of several orgasms, courtesy of my handsome cowboy.
Sure enough, when I knock, there’s a muffled, “What?”
“Open the door, Piper.”
A moment later, it creaks open. She’s standing there with a sleep mask shoved up over one eye, hair a mess, Chowder draped across her arm like he belongs to her. “What the hell time is it?”
“Seven.”
She groans. “Why are you bothering me? Why aren’t you in bed with Griffin?”
My chest twists, but I don’t take the bait. “What exactly did you and Griffin agree to that day at the diner?”
Her brows pinch. “Huh? What are you talking about?”
“That day you were discussing my sex life—mylackof a sex life.” My voice shakes, but I push through it. “What agreement did you two reach?”
She blinks, too slow, too groggy. No slick deflection, no witty dodge. Just a little tell—her lips part, close again. “Oh…”
“Piper,” I snap. “Don’t bother lying. I already know when you’re about to feed me a line of bullshit.”
Her shoulders sag against the doorframe. “Fine. We talked about it. I said I felt bad for you.”
The words punch through me. Wrong thing. Instantly wrong. And we both know it.
“You feltbadfor me?” My voice rises, sharp. “What the fuck does that mean?”
Her eyes widen. “Reese, that’s not what I meant?—”
“Because Vander was an asshole? Because he cheated? So what, your grand solution was to buy me a fucking orgasm? Buy me a man for the night?” Fury and humiliation twist together until my throat feels raw. “Is that how you see me? Some pathetic charity case?”
Piper shakes her head quickly, panicked. “No! That’s not?—”
“Don’t,” I cut in, my voice breaking. “Don’t youdare.”
The words taste like acid, burning up my tongue. In the space of a heartbeat, it all comes crashing down.
Not only did Piper think I was some frigid loser, but Griffin must have too. That must be why he tried so hard to wring every ounce of pleasure out of me—poor little Reese, can’t get herself off, better make sure she sees God at least once in her life.
