Chapter 58 – Remington
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
Big fucking problem
Remington
I glance down at the speedometer and notice I’m speeding. Again. Letting up on the accelerator, I regulate my speed. But two minutes later, I’m pushing the McLaren again.
Fuck, I’m so anxious to get home and see Mindy after not seeing her since Friday. I even cut our golf game to nine holes today instead of the usual eighteen, a fact Phoenix teased me about mercilessly. Like he has room to talk. He’s just as nuts about his wife as I am about Mindy.
When I finally pull into the parking garage of my apartment building, I use my fob to unlock the private section on the second floor that’s reserved just for me, pulling in when the door slides up. I need to remember to get a fob made for Mindy so she can park here too.
Zipping past a limo, two SUVs, a towncar, and three other sports cars, I whip the McLaren into its usual spot and hop out of the low-slung vehicle before the engine even fully dies.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Hale,” a woman with her dark hair pulled into a messy ponytail says, wiping her hands on a rag.
“Afternoon, Angela,” I say, tossing her the keys.
“How did the McLaren run today?” she asks, deftly catching them. “I tuned it up a bit this week.”
“Smooth as silk,” I reply on my way to the elevator. “Thanks for doing that.”
My private garage has an attendant on duty twenty-four hours a day. All of them are also crack mechanics, but Angela is the only one I trust with the sports cars.
Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I whistle as the elevator rises to the top floor. I’m positively giddy to see Mindy.
Would it always be like this? This overwhelming desire to be with her all the damn time? I’m happy she got the opportunity to have a fun weekend with her friends, but I missed her like crazy.
I enter the penthouse quietly so I don’t wake up my sleeping beauty, and I’m a little disappointed to find her sitting on the couch, fully awake. Damn. I’d planned to wake her up with my mouth between her legs.
“Hey, babe,” I say, toeing off my shoes and tossing my wallet on the antique table beside the door. “That was a quick nap.”
She turns her head to look at me. “I didn’t take a nap.” Something about the monotone way she says it raises my hackles.
“Are you upset because I played golf? I thought you said—”
“I’m not upset you played golf,” she interrupts as she stands, walking at an eerily slow pace toward me, not breaking eye contact for even a second. She stops in front of me and thrusts something into my chest. “I’m mad about this.”
My hands rise to keep the item from falling, and I finally pull my gaze from her blazing one to look down. What I see only confuses me.
“You’re mad because you put your panties in a Ziploc bag?”
She smiles but not in a good way. No, this smile is creepy as fuck.
“What actually angers me, Remington,” she drawls, using my full first name, “is where I found these panties. Would you like to know where that was?” Her voice is deceptively sweet, and I have the bizarre sensation that my life may soon end.
“Sure,” I say tentatively.
“I found them in your bed.”
I’m not sure why that’s a big deal. More than once, one of us had been unable to find our underwear after our nocturnal activities because they got lost in the tangled sheets.
But what Mindy says next stops my heart. She rises onto her tiptoes until she’s almost eye-level with me and whispers right in my face, “And. They’re. Not. My. Panties.”
“Whoa,” I practically shout, dropping the bag and holding my hands up like someone is holding me at gunpoint. Panic assails me, pulsing in every cell of my body. “No, no, no. Mindy, you have to know I would never cheat on you.” My head is shaking back and forth so rapidly her image is blurred.
My brain scrambles for something—anything—I can say to convince her.
“I didn’t even sleep here last night. I swear to god, I spent the night at Helix and Nicolette’s.
” My words are practically falling all over one another in their rush to exit my mouth.
“Nicholas hasn’t been sleeping well this week, and they were both exhausted, so I went over to give them some relief. ”
“I know,” Mindy says, her voice quiet and her expression unreadable. “Nicolette sent me a picture of you sleeping in the rocking recliner in the nursery because she thought it was cute.”
I’m slightly relieved to hear her say that. “I spent the entire night there. I have no idea whose panties those are,” I say, glancing down but only for a second because I have no desire to see any woman’s undergarments other than Mindy’s.
“You have no idea?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest. “You can’t think of a single panty-wearing person who’s been living in this apartment?”
It hits me. “Serena?” I ask incredulously.
“Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner,” Mindy calls out with false cheeriness.
“We never… Serena and I… it’s not like that with us,” I stammer because this looks bad. Really bad. My brain scrambles to process how this could have happened. “They must have gotten mixed up with the sheets in the wash or something.”
Mindy’s look could crush glass. “They were not clean,” she says, enunciating every syllable, and I almost puke. “Also, there was a damp stain on the sheets, and the pillow smelled like her perfume.”
My nose wrinkles in disgust. “You think she fucked someone in my bed?”
Her head tilts side to side. “It’s possible, but I think it’s more likely she set this up to make me think you and her had something going on.
Otherwise, if she had male company, she would have slept with them in her guest room.
” Mindy presses her palm against her forehead like she’s trying to keep her brain from exploding out of her skull.
I know how she feels. “I’ve been going over and over it in my head.
Serena knew I’d come over since we’ve been apart all weekend.
And you always play golf on Sundays, so it was likely I would be the one to find that whole little scene. ”
I lift my hands and then let them fall to my sides. “But why in the hell would she do that?”
Mindy gives me a flat stare. “Use your brain, Remington. Why would a woman want another woman to think her boyfriend is cheating on her?” Then she crosses her arms and looks away from me for the first time.
“I’ve been apprehensive about Serena since she did a complete one-eighty that day in your office.
One second she hates me, and the next, she wants to be my best friend? That screamed fake to me.”
“Because I told her to cut the shit if she wants to stay in my life. I thought you two could be friends.”
Her gaze returns to mine. “And I appreciate you doing that. But when someone has to be forced to act decently, they’re not actually a friend.”
“That’s just how Serena is. She gets all dramatic about stuff but—”
Mindy holds up a hand. “Please don’t. ‘That’s just how she is’ is not valid. That’s something people say to excuse bad behavior because they don’t want to deal with it.”
I rub a hand over the top of my head because she’s right. I’ve said that to Phoenix and Helix numerous times when they would ask why I hang out with Serena. It’s not an explanation; it’s an excuse.
“You’re right, and I’m sorry. It’s a bad habit I’ve gotten into without realizing it.”
She nods with her lips pressed hard together before bending to pick up the plastic bag.
“You need to deal with this or I will,” she says, shoving the bagged panties into my hands.
I readjust so I’m only pinching the corner of the bag with one finger and thumb.
Holding another woman’s panties isn’t something I ever want to do again.
“I’ll fix it,” I say, though I have no idea how.
Mindy nods and turns away. “Thank you. I’m going upstairs to fumigate your bed.”
I reach out and snag her wrist before she can get away.
“Don’t.” The fire is still in her eyes when she swings around, but it’s duller, like she’s weary of talking about this.
“Don’t bother with the bed. We can stay at your place tonight, and I’ll have a new one delivered here tomorrow, along with all new bedding.
If that’s not good enough, I’ll sell this place and find somewhere else to live. ”
Mindy’s gorgeous face registers her surprise, and she searches my eyes before nodding. “Just the bed stuff is fine. And for the record, I didn’t think for a second you were cheating on me. Maybe that makes me an idiot, but I don’t believe you’re that kind of man.”
“I’m not. And I love you too, too much to even think about another woman.”
“I love you too. I think it’s healthy that we both have friends, and I don’t even care that Serena is a woman.
Where I draw the line is when a friend affects our relationship as a couple.
” Her eyes grow suspiciously wet but she doesn’t allow any tears to fall.
“It hurt my feelings to know it didn’t bother you at all to have someone move into your place for an entire month.
Someone who had almost every meal with us and was with us constantly unless we were in the bedroom. ”
I take a step closer, still holding her wrist. “It did bother me, sweetheart. It bothered me a lot, and I was dumb for tolerating it for way too long.” I dip my head so she can see my eyes more clearly.
“That’s why I told Serena last night that she had overstayed her welcome and needed to make other arrangements. ”
Mindy’s eyebrows dip low over her hazel eyes. “You did?”
“I did. She pitched a hissy fit, of course, and that’s another reason I went to Helix’s house.
I didn’t want to deal with her attitude.
” I stroke my hand up Mindy’s arm and cup her face.
“I was sick of Serena being here every damn night when all I wanted to do was cuddle up on the couch with you while we watched movies. Alone.”
A tiny smile cracks through on her face.
“That sounds divine, actually,” she dips her head forward, resting it on my chest, and I breathe out a sigh of relief.
This is the first contact she’s initiated, and I take advantage, tossing the offensive panty bag on the couch so I can wrap my girl fully in my arms.
“I love you,” I tell her, pressing my face into the top of her hair. I want to say more, but I’m getting choked up. I could have lost her because of this little stunt.
“I love you too,” comes her muffled reply. After a few minutes, she looks up at me with serious eyes. “I’ve already been in one relationship that was way too crowded. I refuse to play the third wheel in another one.”
Yikes, I’m being compared to Twatface? I guess I can see where she’s coming from. I moved someone into my house—even though I thought it was only going to be for a few days—without even discussing it with my partner. Yep, definitely a Twatface move.
I hold her eyes with my own and speak from my heart.
“I assure you that you will always be my first priority, and I’m sorry I put you in a position where you would doubt that.
I should have consulted with you before allowing Serena to stay here.
” Mindy looks away, but I gently pull her face back to mine. “What’s wrong?”
She exhales. “I’m feeling a little bit ridiculous. This is your apartment, and you shouldn’t have to ask me if your friend can stay, but it felt good when you said that.”
I tilt up Mindy’s chin and kiss her lips tenderly. “It may be my apartment—for now—but when it affects our life, we should both have a say in it.”
Her smile is the brightest light in my soul. “That’s exactly what I needed to hear. I don’t want to be bossy or say who you can or can’t be friends with. I just want some goddamn respect.”
“You have every bit of my respect. I’m not going to say I’ll never make a mistake, but if I do, I know I have you to yank me back in line.” I offer her a crooked smile. “Actually, I love when you stand up for yourself. It’s kinda hot.”
“I love you so much, Remi.”
I’m just happy she’s back to calling me Remi.
Taking her lips in a soft kiss, I slide a hand around to the back of her head.
When she presses the length of her body against me, the kiss deepens, and I tilt her head where I want it.
Before we can get too riled up, I pull back, releasing her lips with a soft suction.
“I love you too, baby, and I’d like nothing more than to bury myself inside you for the rest of the day.” I give her one last peck before snatching up the stupid white panties, my anger at Serena growing by the second. “But I’ve got to go deal with a big fucking problem.”