Page 68 of The Secret Heir Next Door

First, lying to his parents, and now this.

What in the hell did I get myself into?

As soon as I’m out of the driveway and leaving the wealthy subdivision, I dial my sister’s number.

“Hey, Serena,” she says into the phone. “How was the party?”

“It was incredible. It went great.”

“How was Logan’s family? The giant assholes of the world?”

“More than that,” I hiss.

“Uh oh,” she laughs. “I’m at home, do you want to come over, and we can drink some wine and order pizza?”

“Ooof, that would be heavenly. I’ll be there in twenty.”

I hang up the phone and drive toward my sister’s house. Unloading all of this and dropping off the rental car can wait until the morning.

I pull into Emily’s driveway, the familiar sight of her cozy little house bringing an immediate sense of comfort. I can already see the glow of the kitchen lights spilling out onto the lawn, a warm invitation on this chilly evening.

As I walk up the steps and push open the door, I’m greeted by the sight of Emily standing in the kitchen, her back to me as she pours a second glass of wine. The pizza box is already on the counter, the lid propped open, revealing a large pepperoni and mushroom pizza.

"That was fast," I laugh, kicking off my shoes and dropping my bag on the floor.

Emily turns around, glass in hand, a grin on her face. "It’s been one of those days," she says, sliding the glass across the counter to me.

I take the wine and lean against the counter, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? You want to go first, or should I?"

She waves a hand, her smile softening with concern. "You go first. I need a good story to distract me."

I take a deep breath and a long sip of wine, the cool liquid helping to steady the swirling thoughts in my head.

"Well, I had an interesting encounter with Logan’s mom today," I start, setting my glass down on the counter.

Emily’s eyebrows hike up. "This already sounds like it's going to be good. What happened?"

I roll my eyes."She pulled me aside at the party and basically told me I wasn’t good enough to ‘fraternize’ with her son and that I should steer clear of him because he’s already engaged."

Her eyes nearly pop out of her head, and she lets out a bark of laughter. "Fraternize with her son? What does that even mean? You planned his niece’s party; it’s not like the two of you are hooking up."

I take another long drink of my wine, and Emily’s laughter dies off as she studies me more closely. Her mouth drops open, and she gasps, leaning forward. "Serena, you didn’t... Oh my God, spill it!"

"We’ve decided to start dating," I admit, trying to keep my voice casual, but hiding the mixture of excitement and anxiety underneath is impossible.

Emily’s expression shifts from shock to something more serious. "Is that really a good idea? I mean, his family... they’re some of the biggest jerks in the world."

I shake my head, remembering the awful things they said to Logan. "That’s the thing, Em. They were being total assholes to him, and I overheard Logan telling them we were engaged."

Emily gasps again, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Say again?"

"That’s what I thought, too," I laugh, but it’s tinged with frustration. "It’s like... I don’t know, now Logan’s just using me to piss off his family, and I’m not about that life. I won’t be a pawn in his game—not when I already stand to lose so much."

She sets down her wine glass and looks at me with that big-sister wisdom she’s always had. "You know, it might be a beneficial partnership if you can keep your feelings closed off. Use the situation to your advantage, maybe?"

I shake my head. "That’s not possible, Em. I can’t just turn off my feelings, especially not now." I let out a sigh. "And anyway, he didn’t hold up his end of the bargain when I told him I’d do the party. Now, the building owner is working to evict me sooner than expected."

She reaches over and squeezes my hand, her eyes soft with understanding. "We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen, Serena. You’re not in this alone."

---