Page 40 of Rival Hearts

“Youwhat?”

“That’s why I was late after Gabe’s party. I came from his place, so I had to go home and get dressed first.”

“You slept withhim? Alexander Blackwood? Holy. Shit.”

She moved so I could take out the wine, and I pulled out two bottles—yeah, it was going to be that kind of afternoon if I was going to have to admit to any of this.

I took out two glasses, and we walked to the open-plan living room.

“You have to tell meeverything.” Maya kicked off her shoes and pulled her legs onto the couch, settling in with her glass of wine. She watched me with her eyes filled with excitement.

I groaned. “He’s Gabe’s best friend.”

“Oh,he’sGabe’s friend? Shit. How does Gabe move in circles likethat?”

“Beats me,” I said. “I didn’t ask how they knew each other because by the time I found out, it was the morning after.”

I glanced at Maya, who looked about as surprised as I’d thought she would.

I sighed, took a few gulps of wine, and told her about what had happened.

While I talked, Maya listened intently, squealing and gushing and swooning in all the right places but never interrupting me. When I was done, she sat back and sighed.

“This is like a movie, you know that?”

I shook my head. “It’s not.”

“Of course it is. He’s amazing, by the sounds of it, and you’reperfecttogether.”

“No, we’re not,” I said pointedly. “We’re theoppositeof perfect together. He’s a Blackwood, Maya. He’s the CEO of the company that we’re directly pitted against in the campaign. Not to mention the fact that he’s Gabe’s friend, and Gabe can’t know about any of this.”

Maya shook her head. “So, you’re just going to leave whatever happened between you two?”

“There’s nothing between us.” That was a lie. There was alotbetween us. I’d felt it that night, and I’d felt it today.

“You can’t just forget that kind of chemistry, you know,” Maya said.

“You’re not helping.” I groaned and drank more of my wine. I was hot and bothered again just thinking about Alex and the night we’d had together. And the conversation we’d had today…

Of course, I’d told Maya all about how pissed he was and that we’d argued. I hadn’t told her about the moment all that anger had melted away, and I’d wanted to stand on my toes and kiss him again.

I hadn’t told her about the way he’d touch me, demanding, controlling, but there had been something gentle in there, too.

“You can’t tell Gabe,” I said.

“I wasn’t going to tell Gabe,” Maya pointed out.

“I know, but I mean… he just can’t find out. I can’t be that sister, you know? The one who sleeps with his friend themoment I come to the city. I’m so pissed at Alex for not telling me who he was until after.” I bristled when I thought about it.

“I don’t blame him, you know,” Maya said.

I stared at her. “What?”

“Women must use him all the time for his name and his money. This place has an elite society that you know nothing about—circles with people who only care about what others think of them, about money and fame, and I can just imagine any of those women wanting to sink their claws into a man like Alex Blackwood. Rich, hot, and he has that whole brooding thing going on. I would probably not have said who I was either.”

“How can you take his side?” I cried out.

“I’m not. He should have told you, I get it. But I get where he might have been coming from, too. You haven’t been out and about in this city yet, Lot. You don’t know what it can be like out there.”