Page 34 of From West, With Regret (NYC Billionaires #2)

“I get that.” I nod, playing with a single flower on display near the register.

“I saw Grandma the other day.” Selene’s mouth dips into a frown. “She misses you.”

“I want to see her.” I didn’t realize until now how I’ve put everyone at a distance, caught up with my own problems. “Next time you go, I’ll come with you.”

Selene reaches out and squeezes my hand, her mouth tilting into a smile.

“She’ll love that. Okay…” She thrums her fingers on the counter.

“It’s been entirely too long since we’ve talked.

” She lifts her hands in surrender. “I know you aren’t exactly an open book, so if you don’t want to tell me everything, you don’t have to. I don’t want to push you.”

“No.” I straighten my back. “I want to.” I stare blankly at the single flower again.

“It’s hard to explain, but I think only living with half my memories, and with my marriage to Heath, it’s held me back from being myself.

Living here in the city with you and making friends with Charleigh and Julianna has helped.

Working on these pieces for West’s bars has done. ..”

“Oh, yeah.” Selene dips her head, pulling for my attention. “About that.”

“About what?” I crack a smile.

“West.” Her shaped eyebrows rise. “I may have been a bit drunk last night, but the girls told me about how West beat the shit out of some guy before the both of you left. What happened? ”

Biting back the feeling I had last night when the man was at my back, or the vision of his blood spurting across the club dancer’s legs, I think about all the good parts. How West protected me without hesitation. How he confessed his feelings for me, leading the way for me to confess mine.

I fill Selene in on every detail. How I wanted to get away from him because I couldn’t breathe and how I melted when he told me he’d kill for me as if it’s something completely normal to say.

Telling her about that moment leads me to tell her about the night before in my makeshift studio closet, too.

By the time I’m done telling her everything, up until the second I walked in here with our triple espressos, her jaw is practically on the floor.

“Holy shit, London.” She clamps her mouth shut and swallows before breathing out. “I don’t know whether to be excited or angry with you.”

“Angry with me?”

“Yeah.” She scoffs. “This is insane, and I can’t believe all of this has been going on without you telling me any of it.”

“You haven’t exactly been open with me, either,” I argue back. Then I remember her note. “Your note. You said in your note we were talking men. Plural. So, this isn’t just about West, is it?”

The only response I get from my sister is a coy smile.

“Who?” I ask her. God, it feels like it’s been forever since Selene and I talked about men. “Is it Holt?” I whisper, glancing around as though Julianna or Holt might overhear.

Selene’s eyes spread wide, then she frowns, shaking her head.

“No, it isn’t Holt. I met someone through a book blogging account.

He’s also a writer and editor. We met for coffee one time but that’s it.

” She shrugs. “I think I like him. I don’t know yet.

I kind of want to keep this to myself. For now. ”

I can’t help but smile, thankful my sister is no longer in the writing cave like she has been over the past several months.

“Anyway.” She lifts her shoulders and blows out a dramatic breath. “That’s all I’m going to say about it right now because it’s not nearly as serious as everything you’re telling me.”

“Well.” I breathe deeply, the heaviness of the conversation quickly shifting back to me. “It isn’t everything.”

“What?” She chuckles sarcastically. “How could there possibly be more?”

I nervously play with my tongue piercing. “I can’t explain it, but I think some of my memories are starting to come back.”

“Oh, my God.” Selene gasps, covering her mouth. Her pink-glossed lips disappear, and her eyes spread wide again. Then she’s shuffling around the counter to meet me. She clips the edge, and it hits her gut, but it doesn’t faze her. She stops in front of me. “How do you know?”

I wrap my hand around the base of my neck. “They’ve been coming back to me really since Heath’s death. More so since I’ve been living here and working with West.”

“Are you okay?” Selene grabs my arm. I don’t miss the worried expression etched into her gorgeous face. She’s worried about me because she knows the ones I had before always sent me spiraling into a panic attack.

“I’m fine,” I tell her, dropping my gaze, knowing I’m not ready to share how dark some of them are.

“I just haven’t made sense of them yet. I know they’re ones I’ve never remembered before or seen until recently.

I’m also having these dreams…” I lift my gaze back to hers.

“But I swear they aren’t dreams. They feel too real to be. ”

“Dreams about what?”

“West.”

Selene cocks her head to the side, her brows pinching. “West? ”

“Yeah. Maybe it’s because I’ve been around him a lot lately. Maybe it’s because I’ve developed these feelings for him. Right?”

She considers answering me, but I can tell she isn’t positive about her response. “Maybe.” My sister lifts her hand and lovingly tucks my hair behind my ear.

“I need to apologize to you.”

“For what?” she asks.

“For being distant. For not letting you in.”

“Don’t be sorry.” She wraps her arms around me, and she smells just like the shop as she rests her chin on my shoulder. “We’re both guilty.”

“Oh, yeah.” I gape, ripping her away from my arms. “What happened with you last night?”

Selene’s eyes shoot up and over my shoulder. Following what’s caught her attention, I look over my shoulder to see Julianna enter Charleigh’s shop. She’s gorgeous, even in her leggings and off-the-shoulder, oversized T-shirt.

“Hey, girls.” Julianna’s grin stretches from ear to ear. “What’s going on?”

“Selene was just about to tell me what happened last night after I left.” I grin, anticipating my sister’s story.

“Oh.” Julianna moves closer. “You mean after West beat the shit out of that guy, and you two split?”

My face falls. Is Julianna mad that we ruined her night?

“Because that was fucking awesome.” She laughs.

“What?” I ask, giggling.

“The thought of Rome being pissed that West started a fight in the middle of his brand-new club only places the cherry on top of the mountain of icing on this cake.” Her cheeks redden with her enthusiastic grin.

“Because trust me, nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing Rome’s reputation get tarnished.

The man needs a good smack on the beautiful ass every now and then. ”

Selene snorts, covering her mouth and nose to stifle it. I laugh, catching onto her unintentional joke. Does she realize what she’s saying right now? Probably too many glasses of champagne still floating around in that beautiful brain of hers.

Julianna’s phone rings in her pocket. She ignores it and stares at Selene and me, her attention drifting between us.

“Um.” Selene clears her throat. “Are you going to get that?”

“No,” she clips, still smiling. “What happened to you last night, London? Was West okay after beating that guy up? Some people in the club were saying that guy just came up behind you and started touching you, and that West looked like he was going to kill him.”

The ringing stops.

“Yeah.” I lean against the counter, resting my elbow on the wooden top. “The guy was a total creep. I’m glad West was there. When we got back to his place, his hand didn’t look too bad.”

“His place, huh?” Julianna wags her eyebrows and clicks her tongue with delight.

I nod, heat spreading in my cheeks.

Her phone rings again. She still doesn’t answer. Selene looks at Julianna with piqued curiosity, and I do the same.

“What is going on?” she asks, drawing her words out.

Julianna tugs her phone from her pocket and groans, rolling her eyes. She stuffs it back inside. “Remember how Rome was a complete dick last night at the club?”

Neither Selene nor I answer her.

“Well…” She clears her throat and grins, bouncing on her heels. “I signed him up for an erectile dysfunction support group newsletter last night after he left. I think he fi gured out it was me.” She scrunches her nose, holding her breath for our reactions.

The three of us burst into laughter.

“Julianna.” Selene gapes.

She shrugs, unable to wipe the smug grin of satisfaction on her face when she turns her attention back to me, arching a single eyebrow. “Enough about me.”

“About last night.” I sigh and avoid her gaze as I’m pulling the dress she let me borrow out of the bag. I frown as I hand it to her. “I’m so sorry the dress got ruined, Jules.”

Julianna takes it, turning it over in her hands, finding the damage done to the back. “Was this from the creep at the club or from West?”

Embarrassment and shame overtake me. I know my friends won’t judge me for being with West, but I don’t like feeling like my whole life is on display.

My private life, at least. That, and I feel guilty for ruining a dress that isn’t even mine.

Especially when that dress is probably worth more than a month’s worth of art sales for me.

I slowly look up at Julianna. “He said he would pay you back whatever the dress was worth.”

“I’m just glad you chose West and not my brother.” Julianna cracks a devious, knowing grin. “Because this… this is hot.”

Selene’s is slower to start, but it’s there.

I find myself smiling, too. My cheeks grow sore, and I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy. At least not that I can remember. Though Julianna’s words echo in my mind.

I didn’t choose West, and he didn’t choose me.

Our connection was already mapped out in the stars.