Bad Liar (The Reed Rivers Trilogy 1)

Alessandra pops a bite of cake into her mouth. “Don’t sell yourself short, Georgie. You have a way of making people feel something. It’s your gift. The gift of genuine, and often instant, connection.”

I shake my head. “Not this time. If you met Reed, you’d understand. He’s unapologetically on the prowl. He flat-out said he didn’t want to ‘date’ me, only ‘seduce’ me.” And tie me to his bed posts.

“He actually used the word ‘seduce’?” Alessandra asks.

“He sure did.”

She chuckles. “Wow. Was he wearing a suit with a skinny tie and holding a gimlet when he said it?”

We both giggle at the old-school imagery. But, if I’m being honest, my laughter is tinged with wistfulness. Regret. Yearning. Because, damn, Reed rocked that old-school, sexy word—seduce—like nobody’s business.

“The crazy part is,” I say, “Reed didn’t sound like he was doing a Madmen parody when he said it. Somehow, it came across as nothing but hot.” I bite my lip. “Actually, after being subjected to so many drunk fuckboys and their fumbling attempts at hitting on me, it was thrilling to have such a suave older man come on to me like some kind of old-school movie star.” I sigh at the sudden flood of memories wracking my brain. The cocky look on Reed’s face when he said he didn’t plan to date me. The way he called me Cinderella. And, of course, our amazing kisses... Oh. I suddenly realize Alessandra is staring at me, her eyebrow arched. “What?”

My stepsister flashes me a snarky look. “If you could see your face right now... Georgie, you don’t hate Reed. You still totally want to screw him!”

“No, I hate him with the fiery passion of an erupting volcano... and I still totally want to screw him.”

We both burst out laughing.

“But don’t mistake hate-lust for genuine feelings,” I add. “Not on my end, and certainly not on his. He flat-out said he’s ‘non-committal’ about relationships. Which, by the way, is a lovely way of saying he’s a commitment-phobe. Which is great with me, of course. I told him, ‘Hey, you’re non-committal? Cool, dude, because so am I.’”

“That you are.” She takes another bite of cake and snickers. “Sounds like you two are exactly each other’s types, huh? Or, at least, Reed is yours: emotionally unavailable and smoking hot.”

Sighing, I pick up a fork and steal a bite of cake off Alessandra’s plate. Because, really, what can I say to that accusation? Reed is, indeed, precisely my type. The most perfect example of it I’ve ever encountered. A glittering paragon of suave, cocky, unattainable male perfection, with a side of assholery, like nothing I’ve encountered before. “I’m sorry, Ally. I can’t believe I screwed things up so badly for both of us. I wish I’d handled things differently that night. For both our sakes.”

“It’s that Italian temper of yours,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Getting you into trouble, once again.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I’m kidding. You have nothing to apologize for, especially not to me. If Reed was rude and disrespectful to you, then I’m thrilled you told him off. Never think you have to take shit from any man, even a rich and powerful one, especially not to help me. My time to shine will come soon enough, baby girl. I know it. And when it does, I won’t take crap from anyone. And I certainly won’t prostitute out my beloved sister-from-another-mister to get ahead.”

Oh, my heart. If I didn’t already love this beautiful girl, I would have fallen head over heels in love with her now.

I look out the window of my father’s small kitchen at the cloudless blue sky, trying to gather my thoughts. Ever since I got home from Reed’s the other night, I’ve felt a powerful ache growing inside me. An overwhelming sense of regret gathering steam. And now, I can’t help wishing I could rewind the clock and do things differently that night. “The thing is... ” I say. “It’s not like, before Reed implied I was a whore, I’d thought he was my Prince Charming. It’s not like the horrible things he said to me outside his house shattered my illusions about him.”

I look down at my hands, feeling my cheeks redden with shame. I’m not proud of myself for wishing I could rewind the clock and follow Reed into his house that night—where I’d then let him tie me up and fuck me like an animal for four hours straight, in exchange for him listening to Alessandra’s demo. But, if I’m being honest, that’s exactly what I’ve been wishing these past few days, now that I’ve had some time to reflect.

“What are you saying?” Alessandra asks, her eyebrow arched.

“I’m saying... Reed already had a horrible opinion of me that I wasn’t going to shake, no matter what I said or did. So, in that case, why did I even bother trying to convince him my intentions were pure? I should have kept my eye on the prize and done exactly what he expected of me—fucked him as payment for him listening to the demo. At least, that way, we both would have gotten what we wanted out of him.”