Sitting in the lobby of Kilyn’s office, my knee bounced as I waited for Claire. When she cleared her throat, I jumped up.
“Claire, it’s good seeing you again.”
She lifted one eyebrow and managed to narrow her other eye. I don’t think I’d ever seen anyone pull that off before. It for sure made her scary looking as hell.
“I wish I could say the same thing, but seeing as you made my best friend take off for a week and not tell a soul where she was going, I think I’ll pass on the friendly gestures.”
Kicking at nothing on the floor, I nodded. “I deserve that. I was wondering if I could talk to you, though. Please.”
Glancing over to Kasey, she said, “Send my calls to voicemail unless it’s Kilyn and don’t tell her the ass . . . I mean . . . don’t tell her Thano is here.”
Ouch. I was starting to second-guess me coming to talk to Claire.
I followed her into a meeting room where she shut the door and motioned for me to have a seat.
I did and waited for her to sit. When she didn’t, I dragged in a deep breath and decided to get right to it.
“Who is Peter?”
Her face turned white as a ghost.
“I’m sorry. What?”
“Peter. Who is Peter?”
Swallowing hard, Claire sank into a chair and covered her mouth. The tears in her eyes caused my heart to start racing.
Shit. Now I really wanted to find this guy and beat the hell out of him.
Opening her mouth to speak, her voice cracked a few times before she was able to talk. “Why are you asking?”
I moved about in my seat for a second. “When Kilyn and I were up in the cabin, we um . . . we made love.”
She pinched her brows together. “Yes, I know. I also know you acted like you had made a mistake after you fucked her and then you called her by someone else’s name.”
My heart physically ached thinking that Kilyn thought I regretted being with her. I had no damn excuse as to why I called her Savannah except for maybe having just said her name earlier.
Cracking my neck, I tried not to let my anger show. If Kilyn had only given me a chance to talk to her, none of this bullshit would be necessary.
Standing, I looked directly at Claire. “First off, I do not regret making love to Kilyn. That’s what we did. Made love. I didn’t fuck her, as you saw fit to say. We made love. It was amazing. She was amazing. She is amazing. I have . . . issues I’ve been trying to work through.”
Claire let out a gruff laugh. “You don’t say. Well, newsflash, Thano. Kilyn has issues too, but she wouldn’t lead you on and then drop you.”
Scrubbing my hands down my face, I let out a frustrated sigh. “That’s something for me to talk to Kilyn about. Not you. Sorry, Claire.”
She glanced over my shoulder and smirked. “Well then, here’s your chance.”
Turning around, my breath caught at the sight of Kilyn standing there.
“Kilyn,” I whispered.
With a soft smile, she looked from me over to Claire. “Sorry I left without telling you where I was going. I needed some time to clear my head.”
Claire stood and made her way over to Kilyn. “It’s totally not okay, but I’m glad you’re back. Where did you go?”
“My parents’ summer place.”
With a knowing nod, Claire kissed Kilyn on the cheek. “Want me to stay?”
When her eyes met mine, I saw something in them. Something that gave me hope I hadn’t fucked things up too badly.
“No. It’s okay.”
Peeking over her shoulder at me, Claire used her two fingers and motioned that she was watching me. I couldn’t help but chuckle. I loved seeing how close the two of them were.
When Claire shut the office door behind her, Kilyn made her way to the very opposite side of the room and sat down at the end of the table. I slowly sat and we were both soon lost in one another’s eyes.
Kilyn finally broke the silence. “Why are you here?”
I knew what I was about to do might push her away from me, but I was ready to take that chance.
“Who is Peter?”
Her face turned white like Claire’s had.
When her breathing picked up I had to force myself not to jump up and take her into my arms.
Glancing down to the table, she swallowed hard and then cleared her throat. “Peter is Claire’s brother. When my parents died, I went to . . . um . . . I went to live with Claire and her family. I had no other family. My father’s parents died years ago and my mother was estranged from her family.”
My heart ached inside my chest. I wanted to comfort her but I knew she needed her space as she retold her story. She played with a spot on the table as she continued to speak.