Page 12 of Rival Hearts

“You should have been open from the start.”

“You didn’t ask!”

I wanted to counter,Ididask, but I couldn’t say anything.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said.

I shook my head. Was he sorry about the best sex I’d ever had? Or the chemistry? Or the feeling that we’d done this before, somehow, in a different life?

Maybe that had all been an act, too, a way to hide who—and what—he really was. God, I wished I could go back andnothelp him with Candice. Then I wouldn’t have had the best night, and the best sex ever, and such a rude awakening.

“I have to go.”

“I can have a car drop you off—”

“No, thank you,” I said tightly. “Let’s just leave it here, okay?”

I opened the door and walked out before he could say anything else, shutting it firmly behind me.

I hammered on the elevator button, hoping it would come before Alex opened the door to say something else, but he didn’t.

I covered my face with my hands.

What had just happened?

3

CHARLOTTE

“Hey,” I said to Maya when I arrived at the beach. “Sorry, I’m late.” I was the one who was supposed to run point on this campaign and now, on my first day, I was late.

Maya narrowed her eyes at me. “What happened?”

“Gabe is hungover after his party, so I took the bus instead of him dropping me and I missed the first bus.”

I hoped she would buy that. Maya studied me for a second before she smiled.

“It’s all good. I started setting up in your absence.”

“You’re a saint.”

“I know, right?” Maya smirked at me before she returned to her laptop screen, her eyes narrowed as she read.

Her short wispy hair was colored in pink and green stripes this time, and she wore a black punk-rock shirt and cargo pants.

She always did something crazy—that was what I loved about her. Maya was just herself. There was nothing pretentious about her, nothing you didn’t know about the moment you met her.She was loud and in your face, but she was also kind and caring and she was the best friend I could ever ask for.

Around us, a few other activists were already working, too. Maya had probably delegated some work.

My campaign was against yacht owners and manufacturers who caused harm to ocean life. It was so damn ironic that I’d just spent the night with one of—if notthe—biggest yacht manufacturers in the country.

Why the hell did Alex Blackwood have to be so incredible? Because the night with him had been unforgettable. Not just the sex, which had beenwow.

Everything—kind and caring and attentive… but it had all been an act, right? Or even if it hadn’t, he’d lied to me about who he was.

And then there was the fact he was Gabe’s best friend.

Yeah, that was one of the big reasons it would have been nice if Alex had told me who he really was. I wouldneverhave slept with him if I’d known. Sleeping with my brother’s best friend?