Chapter 23
Reina
I'd never been so angry in my entire life. How dare they discuss me like I wasn't standing there and couldn't take care of myself?
The problem was that I was still driving a Sterling truck, and I didn't have a place to live. I could call any one of my friends, but most of them already lived with someone.
I texted the group chat.
Reina: I need a place to stay until my apartment's ready.
Clara: You can stay with me. I have plenty of room. Texting you the address.
From what I could recall, she'd inherited her grandmother's house and lived there.
I waited for her text to come through. She was only a few minutes outside of town so I headed in that direction.
I only knew a few things about Clara. She'd inherited her shop from her grandmother, recently got out of a long-term relationship, and she was my new roommate.
My stomach churned. I couldn't believe the two most important men in my life could be such idiots. Talking about me as if I wasn't in the room. Declaring me a thing to be protected. It was infuriating.
I'd just had sex with Morgan. I could still smell him on my skin, and for him to stand there and look so guilty about it a few minutes later hurt.
I wanted him to support me, to rally around us, and tell my brother what he felt for me. Maybe that he didn't care what Tom thought about our relationship. We were adults who didn't need to answer to my brother.
Instead, Morgan had chosen his friendship with my brother over me. He'd spent his time trying to convince Tom that he hadn't meant to give in to temptation. As if that was all I was to him. Not a woman he was falling in love with but someone he had to resist.
Logically, I knew that wasn't exactly what he was saying. But I couldn't seem to process what had just happened. How much it hurt, and how much I wanted to punch both of them.
Clara lived in an older neighborhood with large trees. I parked in the driveway of her ranch-style house and got out.
I couldn't believe how much my life had changed in a short time.
I thought our relationship was getting stronger, that we were on the cusp of admitting how much we liked each other, maybe even loved each other.
But instead, Tom walked in, and everything fell apart.
Maybe it wasn't as strong of a relationship as I thought.
I couldn't see Morgan standing up to Tom and telling him our relationship was none of his business. Tom saw me as his little sister who made impulsive decisions.
Now I wished I'd insisted on getting my own place after the fire. Why had I gone home with Morgan that first night? Because of a misguided sense of safety because he'd been the one to rescue me from the fire?
It was ridiculous, and I almost wished I could take everything back.
The light on the porch came on, and the front door opened.
I got out and grabbed my suitcase from the back.
Clara met me at the trunk. "Is everything okay?"
I couldn't stop the onslaught of tears.
Clara wrapped an arm around my shoulders and guided me toward the house. "Let's get you inside."
I couldn't seem to stop crying. Everything felt like it was too much. Our relationship. What happened with Tom. Why I thought Tom would never find out about us. Or that if he did, Morgan would tell him that we were the real deal.
My relationship with Morgan wasn't what I thought it was. We weren't moving toward something but away from it. It was better if I realized that now.
Inside, Clara walked into the kitchen. "Would you like a matcha? I just figured out how to make them at home."
"Sure." I didn't really care what I drank or where I was staying. Nothing mattered anymore. "You live here alone?"
Clara nodded. "It was my grandmother's place. I haven't gotten rid of her stuff yet."
There was a porcelain cookie jar on top of the refrigerator that was a cat. Little figurines on the windowsill and the counter. It didn't scream Clara's place. It was more like she was housesitting. But I wasn't sure how long ago her grandmother had died. "It's nice."
She smiled. "Thanks. One day I'll make it mine. I have visions of a renovated kitchen and a soaker tub in the bathroom." She filled a tea kettle with water and placed it on the stove.
"That sounds lovely." My lip wobbled.
"Maybe I'll hire a sexy contractor and have a fling with him." Clara scooped green powder from a tin into a glass with warm water, then used a handheld machine to mix it.
"I don't recommend that," I said over the sound of the blender, thinking of my own situation.
She turned off the hand mixer. "Tell me what happened."
I sighed. "You know I've been living with Morgan?"
"Yeah, are you two a thing now?" Clara asked with no judgment in her tone.
I laughed without any humor. "I don't really know how to answer that. We were having a good time and pretending everything was going to work out just fine. But Morgan's best friends with my brother and has some stupid pact with him to protect and take care of me."
Clara paused and looked at me. "Oh, that sounds kind of hot."
I shot her a disbelieving look. "You think a grown man thinking I need to be watched over is hot?"
Her cheeks heated. "I can take care of myself, but I wouldn't mind if a man decided he wanted to protect me or maybe rescue me from a fire."
I waved her off, because I wasn't ready to acknowledge that I liked the caveman act a little. "The problem is my brother. He shouldn't have any say in my relationship."
"Is Tom saying he does?"
"Morgan fell all over himself trying to apologize. That he hadn't meant for it to happen; it just did. Like we're teenagers who aren't allowed to date or something."
Her nose wrinkled. "I don't like the sound of that. You're grown adults."
I threw my hands in the air. "Exactly."
"Why don't you have a seat? I have cookies." She opened a tin and passed it to me. "They probably aren't as good as what you make."
I picked up an oatmeal raisin and bit into it. "I want to stuff myself with sugar that I didn't have to bake myself."
Clara smiled. "I made way too many of them. They're my grandmother's recipe."
"They're delicious. Thank you." It would be nice to market a recipe called grandma's cookies. I'd have to tuck that idea away for later.
Clara filled a glass with ice and then poured almond milk into it. Then she poured the matcha into the iced glass and added a tiny bit of syrup. Then she pushed it across the counter toward me. "I'm still working on making the perfect blend. Tell me if it's good."
I sipped the iced green mixture. "I love how frothy it is."
She smiled, clapping her hands together. "I read that you can blend strawberries and add them to the mix. I want to try that next."
It was refreshing and surprisingly sweet with only a hint of green tea, but I couldn't process much of anything beyond my personal drama. "Do you think that Morgan's an idiot?"
She poured more matcha powder into another glass. "Aren't they all? My ex thought it would be easier to just move on with another woman and not tell me."
My mouth dropped open. "He cheated on you."
She nodded. "And I found out the hard way. I went to his house to surprise him, and his new girlfriend answered the door. I'm not sure which one of us was more shocked.”
"You broke up with him."
She smiled. "I just wish he'd had the decency to break things off with me before he put me through that."
I sighed. "Tom walked in on us."
She raised a brow. "While you were having sex? Why didn't you lead with that?"
I shook my head. "Not during, but it was still awkward. I hadn't wanted him to find out, and it was not how I imagined it would happen. I thought we'd be in a committed relationship by then, or we would have broken up."
"Don't you usually get notice when Tom is coming home?"
"The only time we wouldn't know was if he was injured—" That made me pause, because I hadn't noticed if he was. "I was so focused on Tom's reaction that I didn't notice if he was injured or not."
"So Tom came home unannounced and was surprised to find his best friend sleeping with his sister."
I winced. "That sounds awful when you put it like that."
She sipped her drink with a straw. "That's how Tom sees it. You betrayed his trust."
"So you think we were wrong to act on our attraction?"
Clara shook her head. "I didn't mean it like that. I was just seeing it from Tom's perspective. He was caught off guard. You surprised him."
"So you're saying that I should give him a few days and then talk to him?"
"Yeah, it wouldn't hurt."
I wasn't ready to talk about Morgan yet. "Are you sure you're okay with me staying here?"
She smiled. "I have more than enough room, and it gets lonely living here by myself."
"Then you have yourself a roommate for two more weeks." I lifted my glass to clink against hers.
"Why two weeks?" She stood across from me, sipping her drink.
I nodded. "The apartment above the bakery should be renovated by then."
Her brow furrowed. "Are you planning to move back?"
"It's my home. Why wouldn't I move back?"
Her eyes flared. "Because you were rescued from a fire while you were sleeping."
I pursed my lips. "I've been thinking about that a lot. But Morgan said everything will be up to code, and they added the best fire safety features. I should be safe."
"It doesn't matter how many safety features you install or precautions you take, you might still feel scared, and that's okay."
I blew out a breath. "I can't live with Morgan."
"That doesn't mean that you don't have options. You can stay here as long as you need."
"Thanks, Clara. You're a life saver." I was friends with Meg, but she wasn't the most sympathetic when it came to men. She'd say it was a mistake to get involved with a guy.
"I got you," Clara said with a smile, and I relaxed for the first time since Tom burst through the door.
No matter what happened, I'd be okay. I had friends and a successful business to fall back on.