Chapter 4
four
. . .
HONOR
It was nearly impossible to bite my tongue when I was forced to spend hours with Reyna and Kelly the next day.
Not that I minded hanging out with Kelly. She was amazing company, and, in any other circumstances, I knew without a doubt I’d want us to be friends.
It was the she-devil who tagged along with her that I could do without.
I couldn’t look at Reyna without thinking about what she’d done to Blake, the position she’d put Hudson in, or how she’d betrayed her best friend.
Kelly deserved to know, but telling her was a line I couldn’t cross. That didn’t stop me staring daggers at Reyna every time her back was turned.
We’d started the day with facials and full body massages at the spa. My masseuse kept saying how much tension I was carrying in my shoulders, but how could I not? I was lying beside a snake who’d betrayed her own fiancée to chase her best friend’s boyfriend. If Hudson had been a lesser man, things could have ended up twice as messy.
After facials, we moved onto mud baths, followed by a shower and soak in the most luxurious hot tub I’d ever set foot in.
Now, the three of us, along with Blake’s mom and their aunt who had arrived this morning, were perched in a beach cabana drinking cocktails and living like we didn’t have a care in the world.
“Tell me, dear,” Blake’s aunt, Paula, said to me. “How did you and Blake meet?”
I took a long suck on my frozen margarita before smiling back at her. “We met at the gym.”
Reyna huffed an unimpressed laugh I ignored.
“He was struggling to do a chest fly so I slid in there and showed him how it’s done.”
I’d need to fill Blake in on that little detail later because it definitely wasn’t the story we’d agreed upon, but I was adding a little spice. Sue me.
Reyna smirked. “The gym is the only place Blake can meet women because it’s the only place he goes, other than the office.”
Why was she so bitter? She was the one who had blown up their engagement, not the other way around. Was she really that desperate to get him back?
“That just proves how hard he works,” Kelly said, giving me a reassuring smile.
I gave her a grateful one in return, taking another long suck on my drink. I was going to need at least seven more of these if I was going to survive the entire afternoon with Reyna.
Blake’s mom and his aunt excused themselves to visit the boutiques off the lobby and Reyna shifted forward in her seat, placing her drink on the table. Her gaze was trained on me like a hyena assessing a meal.
“Tell me something, Honor...” Her eyes glinted with challenge. “Does Blake still groan like a wild caveman every time he comes? Or was that just a special reaction only I could get out of him?”
I stared back at her, my jaw tightening. Was this woman for real? She thought I was going to share intimate details of my fake sex life with my fake boyfriend/her ex to win some petty pissing contest with her? Not only were they details I didn’t have, but even if I did, I’d never betray Blake like that. Some things were meant to be kept within the confines of a relationship. Clearly a sentiment Reyna didn’t share.
“Can’t say I’ve ever heard him like that, but maybe he’s just too busy with his face between my legs.”
Reyna’s lip curled and she sat back in her chair, obviously dissatisfied with her inability to get a reaction out of me.
This wasn’t my first time dealing with a disgruntled ex. All too often men hired me to make someone jealous or so they didn’t have to turn up to an event and face a former flame alone. Sometimes the exes were overly polite, happy to pretend like we hadn’t dated the same person. Sometimes they refused to acknowledge me at all. …But sometimes, just like Reyna, they were still desperately clinging to the past and were determined to assert their authority over anyone who dared to claim what they still felt was rightfully theirs.
Although I’d promised myself I wouldn’t get involved, she was making it personal. Maybe Blake was happy to entertain her because a part of him was still in love with her, but I wasn’t interested in tiptoeing around her feelings. She was the villain in her own story. And the saddest part was she couldn’t even see it.
Kelly glanced between us, smiling awkwardly at the tense silence that descended.
“Should we hit the pool deck?” she asked brightly.
Reyna sighed. “I’m done for the day, Kel. Too much sun for me. You two have your fun, it might be your last chance. God knows how long Blake will manage to keep this one around.”
I bit down on my scowl, forcing my expression to remain serene. She wanted me to react, which only steeled my resolve to give her nothing.
She leaned over to hug Kelly goodbye, disappearing up the beach.
“Sorry about that. Reyna can be... difficult ,” Kelly said, grimacing.
I gave her a tight smile. “You don’t need to apologize for her. I’m dating her ex, I get it.”
Kelly blew out a breath. “It’s not like she has a right to be mad. She’s the one who blew it with Blake and pushed him away.”
“Was it bad between them?”
Kelly shrugged. “It was intense. Reyna is all drama, and she ran circles around Blake most of the time. When she could steal his attention away from work, that is. She loved that he was rich, but hated that she wasn’t the center of his world when he left to earn the money she enjoyed spending so much.” Kelly stared out at the water. “He was in love with her, so he tried to give her what she wanted, but it was never going to be enough, you know?”
I thought of Blake, his closed off attitude and dedication to his career. I’d assumed he’d always been that way and maybe that was true. Or maybe Reyna’s betrayal had pushed him deeper into it, giving him a reason to shut people out or keep them at a distance.
“Blake is such a good man, Honor. He deserves to be happy after everything with Rey. Hudson and I are so glad he’s opened up enough to let you in.”
I shifted in my seat, forcing out a smile. I hated that I was another person who was lying to her, not just about her friend’s betrayal, but about my relationship with Blake too.
And what exactly did she think had gone down between Reyna and Blake that had ended things? What story had Reyna spun in place of the truth?
I lifted my drink to my lips, taking a sip. “Why did Blake and Reyna break up?”
Kelly looked at me in surprise. “Blake didn't tell you?”
“No, he did.” I placed my drink back on the table. “But there are always two sides to a breakup. I'm interested to hear what Reyna’s was.”
Kelly leaned in closer like Reyna might hear her from wherever she'd gone.
“Rey told me it was because he was cheating on her with someone at work.”
My eyes widened at the blatant fabrication. Reyna really was something else. She tried to cheat on Blake with his brother and then made up a garbage story about him betraying her. Behavioral psychologists would have a field day with that woman.
“I told Hudson, and he denied it, said there was no way Blake would ever do that and encouraged me to talk to her about it again. I have to say I agree, it doesn't seem like Blake at all. But Reyna was adamant. Said she found women's clothing at the apartment and text messages on his phone.”
“Wow, that's… a whole lot.”
It was official. Reyna was a snake in a string bikini. I'd already known she was someone who couldn't be trusted. Kelly had confirmed it.
Did Blake know she was spreading those kinds of lies about him?
Blake had a right to know that his awful ex was painting him as a cheater.
And Kelly had a right to know who her best friend really was.
The truth was on the tip of my tongue, desperate to come out, but Blake’s words sounded in my head.
“I’m paying you to play a part. That doesn’t include inciting drama or ruining my brother’s wedding, no matter how just your cause might be.”
I reached for my drink, downing the rest of it before flagging down the waiter. “Enough with the deep chat. You’re getting married in two weeks, which means we need to live it up while you still can.”
Kelly grinned back at me. “You don’t need to tell me twice.”