Page 22 of Love is Grand

I had no clue what all this meant, and I didn’t care.

“Sorry you got all wet on our account,” I said to Cal. “Thanks for helping Louise.”

I didn’t want to use her nickname in front of Sophia. I didn’t want this woman anywhere near me, my child, or my feelings.

The only problem was ... somehow I had to tell her boyfriend over the next few days that I was pregnant with his baby.

Cal

“Thanks, Theodora,” my brother said to a gorgeous redheaded bartender who rolled her eyes at him.

Last year, I’d have asked her for her number, but now I was officially fucked in the head. Seriously fucked.

With two tumblers of Scotch in front of us, Adam said, “Cheers. I think that’s what you’re supposed to be wishing me. I’m the one getting married at the end of the week.”

I took a swig of my beverage, needing to feel the burn down my throat. Once the Scotch had done its thing, I growled out, “Mazel tov,” deciding to go with a mix of sarcasm and Jewish sentiment.

My brother eyed me, his blue eyes inspecting my brown ones, looking for some insight into my grumpy mood. Admittedly, it was unfair of me to act this way, but Adam and I were born of the same womb, so I took liberties when it came to him.

“Mom is arriving in the morning,” he said. “Is that what has your boxers in a bunch? Rylan better not catch wind of you acting like an ass. This is her week, and I don’t want anyone or anything to upset her. She’s had enough of that with her parents, who aren’t coming to the wedding and don’t deserve her second thought.”

We sat in the lobby bar of the Grand, a place I’d come to think of as my home away from home, probably due more to one particular island inhabitant. And here I was thinking of Shell, rather than my wedding date, who was showering and getting ready in my villa at this very moment.

Like I said, I was fucked in the head.

I was obsessed with a woman who lived on Grand Cayman. A single mom who lived a simple life, and I was a hard-charging, hard-partying New York lawyer. To say we were opposites was an understatement, which was why I bit when Sophia said she wanted to come to the wedding. Sophia was the type of woman I should be with.

“Mom is fine. She’ll be carrying on about my date, saying I should marry a nice young Jewish girl in New York and have a family, move to the burbs, buy a dog, go to temple,” I said to my brother, stating the obvious.

“Jewish girl,” Adam said. “You know she won’t care when it comes to finally settling down.”

“Please. You get to have the woman of your dreams, and me, I have to live out Mom’s dreams.”

Adam took another swig of his drink. “Is that why you brought Sophia, to make a point to Mom? To let her know you’re not going to play by her rules? I thought you and Sophia were done around Christmas, and you’ve been back here since to see Shell.”

“Quiet,” I growled low. “This place has ears, I swear.”

I eyed the redhead. She was friends with Rylan, so I assumed she knew Shell, and I didn’t need Shell’s name even breathed at the bar.

“Look, Adam, I’ve seen Sophia a few times—as friends and trying to shake her off—since being back home. It’s not serious, but she saw the invite and said she was there when you two met and insisted I bring her. She was convincing, and I figured some companionship would be good because I can’t keep coming to see you-know-who. It’s not going to work.”

Adam set down his drink, taking a moment before speaking. “Cal, I’m just going to say this. It’s time to stop sleeping with two women at the same time, even if they live in different countries. You can’t play games like that.”

This made me laugh. “You’re kidding, right, lecturing me? Well, I’ll have you know the boundaries have been set with Sophia. At first, she didn’t want to sleep with me after the holiday fiasco and my turning down her offer to meet her family. I let her have that because I don’t want to sleep with her. I don’t even know if”—I lowered my voice—“I could get it up with her.”

Sitting back in my chair, I stared at the dumbfounded look on my brother’s face.

“Why, you ask?” I said, not giving him a chance to speak. “Because I’m fucked in the head. Now, I told her I want to slow things down. Sophia, I mean. She suspects something’s up, but at the end of the day, all she cares about is saying she’s with me. This is less effort.”

“Cal, Cal,” my brother murmured, shaking his head in disapproval.

When we both finished our Scotch, Adam motioned to the bartender for another round.

Glancing at me, he said, “I need it after that little monologue from you. Shit. You need help.”

I didn’t have time to respond because the redhead decided to interrupt in this moment.

“Heard you jumped in the pool today fully clothed,” she said conversationally like we were besties. I’d seen her at the hotel before but hadn’t chatted much with her.