“I am, actually.”
“Great. I want one of your designs.”
“I’m only on for the morning shift,” I warned, sipping more of my vodka. “Someone else is doing the noon one.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Okay. Be right back.” Setting my glass on the wooden table, I pushed to my feet and made my way to the ladies’ room.
As I left the restroom, I stumbled to a halt at the model-tall woman in stilettos waiting to enter. God, not again.
The past came rushing back. Pain and betrayal tore through me, remembering—seeing—this woman splayed on the desk, Devyn between her thighs while his ring was on my finger…
“Well, well, if it isn’t Millbrae’s little princess come back home,” Simi drawled, her red lips gleaming in a little smile.
Teeth clamped, I walked past—or tried to—but she stepped in my way. She liked using her height to intimidate. Dark eyes set in a dusky-brown face studied me coolly. “I’d say I’m sorry about what happened, but that would be a lie. He was never yours, you know.”
I didn’t care about Devyn. The words burst free. “How could you, Simi? We’re family!”
“Our mothers may be sisters, but that doesn’t make us friends. And, how could I?” A sneer entered her tone. “Easy. I’ve always wanted him. When he came to the bar so often all alone, looking so sad, I saw my chance. And why not? You didn’t have time for him anymore.”
“Because Mom…my family needed me.”
“Oh, right, your perfect little family. Sean, Maya, Ila, and Ray.” The civil veneer dropped, and anger darkened her sharp features. “Your mother got sick, boo-fucking-hoo. The world didn’t come to a standstill. Others had lives, too, and couldn’t wait for you to realize that and fit them in. My mother died when I was ten. You didn’t see me making a big deal out of it. Shit happens. Deal with it, move on—”
“By sleeping with someone else’s fiancé?” I snapped. Despite wanting to slap her perfect face so badly for the callous comments about my mother, I wasn’t a violent person. I fisted my fingers instead.
Simi had always had a thing for Devyn, and she’d never seemed to like me. Why? I had no clue. But to extend her bizarre hatred to my family, too?Herfamily. I hadn’t realized just how awful a person my so-called cousin truly was.
“If he really loved you, he wouldn’t have strayed. I saw my chance and took it.” A sly smile curved her mouth. “It wasn’t just that day we fucked. We’d been doing it for six months until you caught us. God, I’m so glad you did. I was fed up with being the bit on the side.”
As old wounds started to bleed again. Feeling as if my lungs were shutting down, I shoved away from her and rushed to the front of the bar. I pushed through the crowd entering and sprinted out into the cool night, stopping only when I found myself near Max’s Jeep. Bracing a palm on the door, I gulped in harsh breaths of air.
“Logan?”
No—not now. I couldn’t face him with old pain strumming through me.
“Logan.” At the low, resolute tone, I squeezed my eyes shut. He must have been watching out for me. “What’s wrong?”
I turned to Max, wanting him to hold me, just hold me until the roiling inside me stopped, but Ray was sprinting toward us. “Ila? You okay? Damn Simi! We just had to run into that bitch cousin of ours!”
“Did you know he was banging her for six months while engaged to me?” I asked Ray dully, struggling to push this new betrayal aside.
“Believe me, had I known, I would have punched her daylights out,” Ray growled. “I’m sorry, sis. You didn’t need her drama this evening.” She gave me a one-arm squeeze, glaring at the pub. “Bitch was always jealous of you.”
“Why? I did nothing to her.”
“Because you’re amazing, and nearly every guy in school wanted you. But you were oblivious to them, interested only in your art. Besides, most were scared to mess with a black belt Tae Kwon Do expert’s daughter, at least from what I heard later.”
The latter, I could believe. The former? I wasn’t so sure. I’d been painfully shy. It’s why I sought refuge in my books and painting…until Devyn. But then Ray was family, biased, and protective.
Max shifted closer behind me. His warmth seeped through my clothes, but it was his arms around me I desperately craved. He stroked a hand down my back as if knowing what I needed. Just his touch and it steadied me, sweeping away the hurt—the horrible moment.
He moved to my side. His expression appeared calm, but his eyes held an icy edge. I realized he was angry for me. “You want to leave?” he asked quietly, instead.
I ran once. Not again.
“No. It’s our night out, I won’t let her ruin it. I just needed some air.” My spine straightened with resolve, I walked back inside with Ray bristling at my side. Then she hurried on, leaving me with Max. She pit-stopped near Simi, who was refreshing her lipstick. And said something to her.
