Chapter 29 London #3
Grace and Leo come through the door, noise from the crowd blaring and fading out once they're fully inside.
They're smiling, and I'm almost convinced they like each other, but they're both biding their time until something better comes along.
There's nothing wrong with having some fun while it lasts, though.
Something I wish Archer and I would have spent more time doing instead of the push and pull we did for the month leading up to getting together.
I bite the inside of my lip, punishing myself for thinking about him at all. Tonight is about Grace and the work she's done for this charity, not Archer and our temporary fling that meant nothing.
"Ms. McCallister, it's a pleasure to see you." The woman greets her with an even bigger smile than she gave me.
"Tori, hey. How are things going?" Grace comes up beside her, glancing at the tablet as Tori points to a few things.
"Everything has kicked off without a hitch. There was a minor hiccup with catering, but it was dealt with. I assure you a flawless evening."
"Perfect." Grace glances at me and Leo who are standing in wait. "Let's get in there."
Leo holds both of his elbows out to us. "Come on, help a man out by walking in with the two most beautiful women here tonight."
Grace is the first to latch onto Leo, taking a look back at me. "What the hell. Come on, London."
I grin at her and hold on to Leo as he escorts us through the main double doors and into the stunning hall filled with tons of other people. Music is playing softly and chatter fills the space.
"Drinks?" Leo says, shifting his attention to both of us.
"Please," I'm the first to respond. "Stronger the better."
Grace nods and he kisses her cheek before leaving us to head toward the bar. I gravitate toward Grace and consider how mad she'd be at me for dipping out of here when she's distracted.
"Don't even think about it," she says as if she can read my mind.
"What?" I ask her.
"You're about to pull an Irish goodbye."
"Am not," I lie.
Grace slips her arm through mine and glares at me. "I know you better than that, London Smith."
A lot has changed in the last few weeks.
Not only am I improving at the bakery and learning how to better budget my money, but my friendship with Grace has deepened to the point that I've confided my true identity to her.
I hadn't planned on telling anyone, but with the way things went down with Archer, I couldn't afford to lose Grace, too, and I trusted that she'd keep my secret safe.
I've never had a friend like her before, I couldn't gamble with fate that it would last if I couldn't be honest with her.
It was hard, at first, to find the right way to tell her things, but once I started, I word-vomited my history with my father, the events that transpired, and even the fact that I'm the reason why Madison, Archer's old love, is dead.
I spared no details, giving Grace the ability to ask questions, answering them as best I could without shutting down from having to relive those torturous moments of my past. It was strange being able to finally talk about what happened with someone, like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders at not having to bear it all myself.
Grace didn't judge me and wasn’t all that shocked, which didn't surprise me one bit, considering how well she handled Archer's family and the fact that they're notorious criminals.
I'm honored to have her as a friend, and I can only hope to support her the way she's supported me, getting me through a time when I felt incredibly alone.
I hadn't realized how much having Archer around helped me through the transition of losing everything and starting over until he wasn't there anymore.
I wasn't just losing a lover; I was losing a friend, a confidant, too.
Leo returns a moment later, three glasses in his grasp. "Tequila old-fashioned," he tells us.
We each take one, clinking them together before giving them a taste. I swallow mine in one go, the liquid warming a path down my chest.
"Okay, then." Leo takes my glass from me and points to the bar. "Do we want another one or would you like to hold off on embarrassing yourself just yet?"
"I'm not going to embarrass myself," I spit back, the two of us developing this sort of brother-and-sister banter throughout Grace and him dating. He's like the annoying older brother I never had and despite him being Archer's brother, I do enjoy being around him.
"Oh, twelve o'clock, hot dude alert," he says, catching me off guard. "Play it cool, champ."
I narrow my gaze at him and as nonchalantly as possible, turn in the direction he implied, a very attractive man in a black suit shaking hands with an older man. We watch a woman approach, wrap her arm around his, and kiss his cheek.
"Oops." Leo winces like I might slap him, and I do, but teasingly. "I'll try to make sure the next one is single."
"You two be okay if I go mingle?" Grace asks us, focusing on me. "Don't let this one leave."
"I'll make sure to say goodbye if I do." I wink at her.
"We're golden, babe." Leo takes her hand and presses his lips to her fingers before releasing her to go do her job.
"You two are cute," I tell him and steal his glass to drink the contents of his drink, too.
He sighs. "That was mine."
"You'll survive." I nudge him with my elbow. "Don't ignore what I said, though."
Leo scans the crowd, nodding at a man who waves at him. "It's nothing serious."
"Do you want it to be?"
He tilts his head at me. "I don't do serious."
"I mean, that could change. Don't you want to be in a relationship? Know that you're coming home every night to the same person?"
"That sounds like my worst nightmare." He drops our glasses onto a tray a server walking by is holding. "Sex with one person for the rest of your life."
"It doesn't have to be forever. You can commit to one person without it meaning marriage. Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
"I've had plenty of girlfriends."
"Girlfriends, Leo. Not hookups. Not people you're dating just to fuck. I mean people who you've introduced to your family. People who know something deeper than surface level about you."
"Grace has met the family."
"That doesn't count. She met the family before you guys started sleeping together."
Leo stops his scan of the crowd. "Grace and I haven't slept together."
"What?"
"She didn't tell you?"
I search until I find her, my sights settling on my best friend, who never mentioned to me that she and Leo weren't fucking. I feel like that's important information that could have been brought up at some point.
"Huh. That's interesting." Leo adjusts his suit jacket.
"Yeah, we aren't. Not for lack of trying.
At first, our schedules didn't allow for it.
Now we've just sort of become friends who attend events with each other.
Don't get me wrong, Grace is wicked sexy.
I'd have sex with her right now if she wanted to go fuck in a coat closet. "
I fold my arms over my chest, my bracelet almost catching on my dress. "And you're okay with this?"
Leo shrugs. "We've talked about it. We aren't exclusive. We can see other people."
"How very mature of you." I never would have assumed Leo would be the communicable type. He's an arrogant asshole, and somehow the most mature out of all the Sin brothers.
Leo raises his brows at me. "I mean, if you want to upgrade brothers, let me know. I'm sure Grace wouldn't mind."
I shove him again, this time a bit harder than before. "Shut up. You're disgusting."
He brushes off where I hit him.
"You aren't the brother I'd trade for, anyway," I tease him, knowing damn well I wouldn't mess with any of the others.
Seven is crazy, and August and Ivy have an unspoken thing going on that I'm not sure if either of them is aware of.
They're supposedly siblings but they have chemistry like they're secret lovers.
Leo gasps and holds his hand to his chest. "You hurt me, London." He presses his finger to his chin. "Let me guess, August. You have a daddy kink, don't you?"
"Please. He's, like, thirty-something."
"I believe big brother is thirty-six. And you're what, twenty?"
"Twenty-four, get it right."
"That's a pretty big age gap."
"Aren't you two the same age?" I ask him, despite being well aware that Leo is a few years younger. I just like giving him shit and doing anything I can to injure his ego.
"That's fucked up, London. I'm thirty-two. Arch is barely two years younger. You’re hurting my ego." He pauses and continues. "Wait a minute, you're telling me you'd go for Seven over me?"
"What can I say, I have a thing for bad boys, and for the record, I think your ego will be just fine." I survey the crowd, attempting to find someone to distract me from thinking about Archer. I'm having a good time chatting with Leo, but he's still his brother and that will never go away.
"Archer is a bad boy…Seven, he's a psycho." Leo sighs like he's holding back something he isn't willing to say.
"What's with that? Has he always been that way?"
Leo nods. "Yeah. It's gotten worse over time, though.
" He clears his throat. "Enough about my family.
Let's dance." He holds out his hand to me and starts walking backward to the dance floor where only a few people are dancing.
He wiggles his finger upward to entice me and I shake my head at him.
"Aw, come on. Don't leave a guy hanging. "
Reluctantly, I go after him, because what other choice do I have? Sure, I could get another drink from the bar and drown my sorrows until I forget about Archer, but there's no telling if the alcohol would make things worse.
Leo latches onto my hand, spinning me into his chest. I slam against him with a thud and we both laugh.
"One dance, then another drink, deal?" I say to him, intending to get a drink regardless of what he has to say.