Page 36 of Secret Match
This needed to end. Kiwi brushed her hand on her neckline, wishing she had her bird pendant. Gio was so tense and this was his home. She forced a smile and scanned the table. “Anything on the news that’s interesting enough to change this topic?”
Caro instantly picked up her phone and scrolled through. “Let me see if I can find something funny. I love sharing memes.”
“Caro, you’re sweet.” In the office, Caro often broke the uncomfortable silences with something funny.
Caro’s face drained of color. “Whoa.”
Kiwi leaned next to her friend and asked, “What’s happening?”
Caro tugged her phone back and shook her head, not looked at Kiwi. “Nothing. Let me find something else.”
“Caro, what?” Something inside her skin itched that whatever Caro saw was about her. Kiwi picked up her own phone and saw in full color Gio’s sexy muscular body on a bed with Piper Lacey and the headline:Cocky and Ready. The news continued with discussing how his manhood was bigger than the average porn star. Kiwi’s face heated. “Oh my God.”
Gio narrowed his eyes as he gazed at her. “What’s going on?”
Trust. Her heart raced. She never wanted to be part of a scandal or have to explain to her daughter what sex was for years and years from now. Her eyes watered as she tossed her napkin on the plate and shook her head. “How could you?”
“What?” Gio blinked and stared at her blankly.
She forced herself to be clear. “Yesterday you filmed a sex tape with Piper Lacey?”
“What?” He stood in confusion.
His brother and everyone at the table took out their cell phones.
Goodness. She didn’t need to be a part of this. The House of Morgan was for other people, not her. Her mother had always said men were temporary and not to believe they stayed. She pressed her lips together, tempted to run. Anthony tapped his brother’s shoulder. “Gio, is that you?”
Gio took the phone and paled beneath his olive skin as he watched a small video feed. His gaze flickered to Kiwi as he took a step toward her. “Yes, but-”
“I can’t.” She raised her palm. This was too much. She’d never wanted to be the other woman. Gio, rich and gorgeous, clearly had some feelings for the blonde Piper Lacey. Some things you couldn’t fake. She took a step back and turned on her heel. “I have to go.”
“Kiwi, wait.” Gio called after her, but she heard his family stop him from following.
She made it inside and instantly ran toward the bedroom. She’d pack what little she had, grab her pocketbook with her credit cards and get out fast.
She slammed her feet against each step on her climb.
The stupid clogs she’d designed were way too noisy for a sneaky escape.
If she still had a job, she’d design quieter ones.
For now she flung open the door and threw open the closet to find her things.
The bedroom door opened behind her. Kiwi looked up as she grabbed her things and saw the kind blue eyes of her best friend. In the drawer with her wallet was the diamond ring.
Kiwi took her pocketbook but left the diamond. “Serenity, I’m so stupid.”
Serenity hugged her. “Don’t. You ran inside before he said that was last year, not yesterday.”
Kiwi believed that. She’d thought it instantly, but it really didn’t matter. She didn’t belong here. The tape only proved how different she was. She never would film herself or let anyone take pictures of her while being intimate with someone. As the hug ended, she whispered, “Serenity, I don’t want to be here. Gio and I are from different worlds.”
Serenity motioned toward the bed and for them to sit. As she was her friend, Kiwi followed and folded her hands in front of her. Serenity said, “He challenges you. I like that about him.”
What? He wasn’t a challenge. He was a headache half the time. She swallowed and looked out the window toward the vineyard as she said, “Serenity, you’re my friend—not his champion.”
Tears poured down her face. Once the first tear dropped off her cheek and dripped onto her shirt, more and more small tears grew until she was gushing like a water fountain.
Serenity stood and went to the adjoined bathroom, flipping on the light.
