Page 49 of The Lies You Love
“Hey,” he says. “I didn’t think you’d make it.”
“I had to ride an elevator up a few floors. There wasn’t much effort involved.”
He eyes me up and down, backing away one step to get a better look. “I’d say there was quite an effort. You look beautiful.”
Locking my hands in front of me, I look down. “Thanks,” I say. “What’s your name? I probably should know, but I stay to myself a lot.”
“I’m Peter. I think I’m one floor under you.” His smile makes me uneasy because I know he’s interested, and I’m not. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Auden,” I say, reminding myself I need to try. Swallowing hard, I raise the glass to my lips. Try, Auden. “What do you do, Peter?”
Ah, his smile brightens, and in response, I offer a small one. “I work in finance. Private Equity.”
One of those guys. “Oh, nice. I own the pet store on fifth,” I say. “You from here?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Only here because my job is here. California is home for me.”
“Auden,” Ramsey says, grabbing my elbow.
I spin, frightened by the tone of her voice. “Griffin’s here. He wants to say hi.”
Furrowing my brow, I shoot my friend a look. “This is Peter.” To Peter, I say, “This is my friend Ramsey.”
“Oh, good to meet you, I have to borrow her for a second.” She pulls me away so hard and fast that wine splashes from my cup.
“What the hell is going on?” I hiss at her when we’ve rounded the building. She pins my back against a vine-covered trellis. “Ramsey, speak.”
Griffin walks up. “Who was that?” he asks.
“Both of you, what the hell is wrong? I was just talking to my neighbor!”
Griffin pulls out his phone and is texting.
“Who are you texting?” I ask, my face heating. Lunging, I grab the phone from him and as suspected, it’s Beck. “Are you kidding me?” He sent a message that said just a neighbor.
“Is he here?” My heart flutters, and my stomach plummets at the thought. I look around, craning my neck to see past Ramsey who looks annoyed. I hand him his phone back.
“He didn’t tell me why I needed to get you away from the guy, just that it was important,” Ramsey says, throwing a dagger gaze at Griffin. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize he was doing his scum bag friend’s bidding. My bad.”
“I don’t know if he’s here,” Griffin says, and I believe him. He’s looking around curiously. “When I told him I was in his neck of the woods he asked if I was at your building. When I said I was meeting Ramsey here, he told me to, and I quote, get you away from the man.”
My blood is boiling, but logic takes over. “You’re not in his neck of the woods. He doesn’t live here.” His apartment is nowhere close to here, and I know I’ve touched on something I’m not supposed to know because Griffin looks scared.
He presses his lips together. “No, no it’s not. He works over here though.” Thinking back to when we first started talking, he mentioned being in this part of town for meetings and I didn’t think anything of it. Griffin’s eyes flick across the expanse of the rooftop, over to where I was standing with Peter. “Over there.”
“No, you’re confused,” Ramsey butts in. “That’s my building.”
Griffin nods and looks away quickly. “Don’t shoot the messenger.” He readjusts the collar of his shirt. “Dude looked like a douche anyway.”
Gritting my teeth, I resist the urge to punch him in the face. “So, Beck saw me talking to a man and got jealous? Please, break this down for me because I don’t see how it’s any of his business.”
Ramsey pours more wine into my glass. “Men are jealous by nature. Don’t let this ruin your night. Go back over there and find Peter. In fact, take him to your apartment and really give the asshole something to be jealous about. How dare he try to control you after he broke up with you!” Ramsey stamps a foot, her accent thickening because she’s angry.
“I don’t want to fuck anyone,” I say under my breath. Except Beckett.
“Good,” Griffin interrupts.
We both narrow our eyes at him. “What does that mean?” Ramsey asks first.
