Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
SAM
Shanghai, China – October
Shanghai Open
“What is going on with you and my sister?” Wyatt asked the question like he’d been holding it in for a while and couldn’t any longer.
We were both on our last legs after a long day and had been eating in silence for the last five minutes because, honestly, we had nothing else to say to each other at this point. We just needed to be fed and then go to bed.
I swallowed my mouthful. “Nothing as far as I know?”
Ever since that almost kiss, not much had changed between us.
We still went to the practice courts together, and when I could, I watched her matches.
We didn’t acknowledge what had happened, and that was fine.
I didn’t really feel like there was anything we needed to talk about with that amount of urgency. Nothing seemed that awkward between us.
He sighed. “That’s my point. Why is nothing going on?
I’m sure I saw the two of you having a little moment after the mixed final.
And then I spent two weeks watching you both be sort of weird around each other, and if I thought the sexual tension between you was bad before, it was nothing compared to those two weeks.
I know you’ve had a rough summer, but that still doesn’t explain everything. ”
I frowned. I couldn’t deny I had, at moments, flirted with Naomi, but not recently. Or at least, I thought I hadn’t. I didn’t think there was anything between us post-almost kiss. Everything had been about tennis, and then Naomi went back home.
In fact, we’d hardly spoken in the last few weeks other than the odd message here and there.
I hadn’t realised how much we were in each other’s lives until we’d reached this period of silence.
Although deep down, I knew it made sense.
Naomi had a life in London; she had no reason to keep in touch with me.
“Wyatt, she has a boyfriend. Why would anything ever be going on between us?”
In an incredible display of control, Wyatt perfectly arched his right eyebrow. “Does she?”
If my frown could get deeper, then I’m sure it did.
“Yes?”
He leaned back in his chair. “Sam, I’ve literally lived with Naomi my entire life, and she’s had a boyfriend for about four months of them.
Fifteen years ago. My sisters don’t date.
They rarely acknowledge that men exist in a romantic capacity.
Honestly, the weirdest thing about all of this has been watching Mimi actively flirt with someone. ”
A weird, cold feeling spread through me as I fell back into my chair and suddenly thought about the last few weeks, and months, all over again.
“What about Isaac?” I asked slowly.
Recognition flashed across his face.
“He’s never been anything but a very good friend to Mimi.
He was in Australia until recently. What you saw in New York was them seeing each other in person for the first time in well over a year.
I can see why that would’ve made you think it was something more.
But no, not her boyfriend. Isaac has his own thing going on. ”
“But she talks to him when she’s getting into match mode. And out of it,” I spluttered.
A smile broke out. “She talks to Lois, too. And you. And neither of them, so far, has ever been able to sit next to Leesh and me.”
“You told me to come.”
“Because I knew she wouldn’t care, and I knew you weren’t going to do anything to upset the balance.
I knew the moment you insisted that you had to be the one to withdraw from Wimbledon.
There has been exactly one person I’ve had that much faith in to not mess up what Naomi wants and needs when she’s playing.
So, I ask again: what is going on with you and my sister? ” He trailed off into a laugh.
I ran a hand over my face. “The answer is still nothing because, as you’ve just learned, I thought she had a boyfriend, so I’ve been trying not to lead her on.”
“I can’t figure out which emotion to settle on here. Am I annoyed that you thought Mimi would cheat on her boyfriend, or am I amused that you thought she wasn’t interested when she clearly made a move?”
I buried my face in my hands. “Both is probably good.”
Now that I really thought about it, I felt incredibly stupid that I’d even dared to think Naomi would do something like cheat. And Wyatt made a solid point. Isaac wasn’t the only person she spoke to when she was in her bubble.
“Did it somehow slip your notice that Isaac was staying somewhere else? A place that Naomi didn’t once visit. She was literally at home every single morning that week.” Wyatt’s voice was a little teasing, and I groaned because it was a good point.
“I didn’t think about it, I guess?”
He laughed. “Clearly. What are you gonna do with this new information that Mimi is very single and, if Leesh is to be believed, still interested?”
I was inclined to believe that we could take Alisha at her word. Which meant Naomi and I needed to have a conversation.
“We’re in Asia. She’s in London. There isn’t much I can do. This conversation deserves more than a text, and I’m not gonna randomly text her out of the blue and ask her to meet me somewhere in Europe when she’s chosen to get off the conveyor belt until next season.
Wyatt nodded slowly. “Well, firstly, start messaging again. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, because I think you might think it’s normal, but you’ve been back to being a robot since we left New York.
I’m not inclined to pin that all on her, because it’s not; that’s just years of conditioning.
You don’t have a lot of friends, and you could use them.
” A smile broke out on his face. “Leave the rest to me.”