Page 53 of Wright Together

West nodded. “Basically. Look, we know that you subscribe to the hot-and-crazy model of a perfect girlfriend. Eve acts like she fits that mold, but she actually seems really down-to-earth and chill.”

“Wait,” Harley said, holding her hand up. “Why exactly does she seem that way?”

“Yeah, West, why does she seem that way?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“I…I,” he stammered, as if realizing he’d put his foot in it. “Look, she has a rep, all right?”

“Explain,” Harley insisted.

“She was seeing Santi from the band for a little while,” West said with a sigh. “He mentioned she’d dated a dude that could have been her dad. You remember Chase Sinclair?”

Harley swallowed hard. “Uh-huh. We met at the wedding.”

I arched an eyebrow at her, and she purposely didn’t look at me. What exactly had happened that night?

“She dated his dad, and then rebounded with Santi. He just…said she was wild.” West cleared his throat and looked down. “In bed.”

“Wow,” Harley said. “Men aredisgusting. He hadnoright telling you that. And then you bring it up in conversation when Whitt is interested in this girl.”

West held his hands up. “Hold the feminism. I’m just repeating what was said.”

“News flash: she’s allowed to sleep with whoever she wants,” Harley argued vehemently, as if it was a personal offense. “Just because she hooked up with these men doesn’t mean anything. God, when did y’all start slut-shaming?”

“I didn’t say anything,” I reminded her.

“Right!” Harley said, pointing at West. “You need to get your act together. LA is ruining you.”

West stammered out an apology, but I couldn’t stop smiling. Leave it to my sister to defend Eve to her last breath.

I’d heard the same rumors that West had stated. Eve had bad reputation written on her forehead. Maneater. Homewrecker. Starfucker. All that bullshit that centered around a woman for seeing multiple men. If I’d done the same, no one would have even blinked. Hell, I’d guess rockstars slept with more people than that in a weekend. I knew about her reputation and didn’t give a fuck. She was just Eve with me.

“When do I get tomeet her, meet her?” Harley said. She put her chin on her fist and looked at me with wide, excited eyes.

“Uh, she’ll be at the fundraiser for Jensen this weekend.”

“Oh, yeah. Jordan sent me an invite,” she said. “And she’s your date?”

“Not…exactly.”

“You keep saying you’re not dating, and I’m starting to wonder if you’ve asked her,” Harley said. “Because if I find out you’re fucking around with her emotions, we will have words, Whitton Wright. Situationships suck, bro.”

“Hold up. She was the one who wanted it to be casual.”

“So, somethingishappening,” Harley said with satisfaction.

I blew out a breath. “Damn, you’re going to make a good lawyer.”

“I know.” She made a face that saidobviously. “So, you’re asking her out then?”

“I’m not going to be bullied into this.”

Even though I wanted nothing more than for Eve to go to this thing with me. I’d wanted it all from the start.

And spending time with her like we had the other night made me want a relationship. I’d never seen Eve vulnerable. Never seen her cry. I could have held her all night if she had let me. We didn’t even have to kiss. I loved the other stuff, but holding her and comforting her were on the same level. I just needed to convince her of that.

“Tell me more about Seattle,” I said instead.

Harley huffed and then dived back in.

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