I go over and grab the clip I tossed—I should probably be more careful about throwing all her shit when I’m undressing her—then follow her downstairs. When I get down there, she’s tugging her shirt down. She may have clothes on, but her hair is still all mussed, her clothing askew—far from the composed appearance she had when I got here.
She slides her hands down her hips one more hopeless time as she approaches the door. She knows she’s still not put together, but she opens the door anyhow.
My coat is still in a heap on the floor, so I pick it up and hang it on the coat tree before walking over to see who is at the door.
13
Moira
I have no idea what to say or do as I stand in the open front door. I know I look just like what I am—someone who had afternoon sex, then had to sloppily pull on clothes and run downstairs to open the door.
“Oh, hi,” I say a bit haltingly.
My sister Gwen looks back at me, eyebrows rising. She bites back a smirk, looking away from me to the baby girl she’s lightly bouncing on her hip. “I take it Sebastian came home for lunch today.”
Before I can summon a single word, Griff must come into view behind me because Gwen’s gaze catches and then her face loses color. All amusement has fled and her gaze jumps back to me.
I hold up a steady hand, as if that can stop her from jumping to conclusions. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”
She mouths ‘holy fucking shit,’ shaking her head and refusing to look at me. “I can’t even… Are you nuts?”
“Come inside,” I tell her, taking a step back. “It’s cold out.”
She looks past me at Griff to give him a dirty look, but she steps inside anyway. As soon as I shut the door behind her, I turn around to explain, but I’m not entirely sure how. Sebastian said he didn’t want people to know about this until Griff’s divorce was official, but Gwen isn’t really people, she’s my sister. Bes
ides, given what she just walked in on, it’s either explain, or it looks like I’m cheating on Sebastian.
“Okay,” I say, glancing from Griff to Gwen. “Um, Griff, this is my sister Gwen. Remember I told you about her?”
Gwen gapes at me and ignores Griff. “You told him about me? What the hell is going on here? What happened to Sebastian?”
“Nothing,” I tell her. “This is Sebastian’s best friend, Griff.”
Her eyes widen. “His best friend? Seriously?”
Griff smirks to himself, raking a hand through his hair. “The pleasure’s all mine,” he remarks, dryly.
“You’re damn right it is,” she snaps. “I would tell you she’s married, but you clearly already know that, you son of a bitch. You’re both horrible.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I say. “Gwen, relax. We’re not having an affair.”
Gwen rolls her eyes. “Oh, sure. You guys were just moving furniture, right?”
“No, we were doing what you think we were doing,” I say vaguely, glancing at the baby. She can’t talk yet so it’s not like she can repeat anything, but I still can’t say sex in front of a baby. “But it’s not an affair. Sebastian and I are still together, nothing happened. We’ve just… started doing something different. I’m seeing Griff, too. Sebastian knows. It was his idea.”
Now her face goes blank. “What?”
“It’s hard to explain,” I tell her. “The gist of it is, everything is above board. There’s no reason to hate us. No one is getting hurt.”
Now Gwen looks back at Griff, but with less hostility and more curiosity. Now that she doesn’t want to kill him for being a cheating bastard, I’m sure she’s a little more impressed by the sexy, muscular, well-dressed man before her. Even if he is a little mussed, he’s more put together than I am.
“We can start over,” he offers, along with his hand. “Griffin Halliwell, Sebastian’s best friend and business partner. Please don’t vandalize my car.”
“Not gonna shake your hand since you were just feeling up my sister, but pending Sebastian’s confirmation on all this, I will not vandalize your car.” Her gaze swings back to me. “Also, you told him about that? How long has this been going on? How could you not tell me? How is Sebastian okay with this? I am so confused.”
I nod my head sympathetically. “It’s a lot to take in. Come sit down, I’ll make some tea or hot cocoa. I haven’t even had a chance to say hello to my adorable niece.”
“I was going to ask if you could watch her while I run a few errands, but I didn’t expect you to have naked company.”