Page 127 of Sins (The Sins Trilogy 1)
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Iris
When I return, Julie’s at home, barefoot in a pink T-shirt and gym shorts. She jumps off the couch the moment I step inside. The Sound of Music is playing on the TV. “Holy shit, tell me you didn’t spend the entire weekend with Anthony Blackwood!”
Since I can’t tell her that, I say nothing. She’s so biased against him, and I need to find a way to fix it. Maybe a dinner together and hanging out at his club afterward. Julie’s the only really close girlfriend I have. I want her to like Tony.
She looks at me. “Oh my fucking God. Is that one of his shirts?”
I nod. At least I have my underwear, so I’m not totally indecent. But the way Julie’s reacting, I might as well be buck-naked.
“Damn,” she says, her gaze sweeping me up and down as though she’s seeing me for the first time.
Which is irritating. In the background, Maria is teaching the kids how to sing “Do-Re-Mi.” Does Julie think I should be virginal like that? “What is it?”
“Haven’t you seen that video? It went viral.”
“What, Byron’s video?”
She shakes her head. “You and Audrey Duff.” She gasps as though she just remembered something. “Ryder Reed was there, too, wasn’t he? Is he as hot in real life as in the movies?”
“Hotter,” I say automatically, since that’s the easiest part to answer, and I’m not following her very well at the moment. “What happened?”
“I tried calling you, but everything went to voice mail.”
“Sorry. I forgot to charge my phone.” I was too busy, immersed in those lovely private hours with Tony.
“Okay.” Julie rakes her hair. “Well, somebody at the restaurant filmed it. Actually, more than one person. And they uploaded the videos on Facebook and YouTube.”
I run a hand across my forehead. “Great,” I mutter. “Just what I need right before I’m about to start my first job. A viral fight video.” And with someone like Elizabeth as my boss. She seemed so elegant and saintly in our interview. I bet she doesn’t have a scandalous video.
“Don’t worry. Your boss won’t blame you for it. Did you forget her brother is Ryder Reed?”
“I don’t know if that’s going to make it better. There’s a difference between your brother and your brand-new employee starring in a fight video.”
Julie rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. It wasn’t like you threw that wine. But seriously, what the hell was Audrey Duff thinking?”
“She just…lost it when she saw me with Tony.” I tell Julie what happened, blow by blow, since she won’t shut up about it until I do.
“Hey, karma’s a bitch.” Julie lifts her arm straight up in the air in a victory pose. “So Audrey was trying to push you two apart, and it only made you screw like minks over the weekend.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say minks…”
She leans forward. “Was he good?”
My cheeks heat. “Very.”
“Are you going to do it again?”
“Uh-huh.” I sigh. “I really like him, Julie. I’ve never felt this way about a guy before.”
“Hey, if he makes you happy, I’m totally on your side here. But it’s probably better if you don’t let Byron know.”
“I wasn’t planning on advertising how I feel about Tony, but I’m not going to hide it either.” And frankly, I don’t see why Byron would care, even if Tony is convinced Byron wants to sleep with me. There’s never been any spark between us.
“I’m not saying you should hide it. I’m saying you shouldn’t let Byron know. See the difference?”
“Uh…not really.”
