Page 20 of The Mastermind
Leave me alone, Kevin.
But I miss you.
Shit.It is him.
I rolled my eyes and blocked the number. All exes should be blocked. Not making that mistake anymore.
Brushing off the annoyance, I grabbed the jewelry box from the counter and tucked it into my shoulder bag. I slung the shoulder bag over my light jacket and headed out to my car, parked in the garage beside the apartment.
I had chosen this apartment because I didn’t want to fight for off-street parking or have to shovel snow from my spot. There were other ways of exercising that didn’t give me back pain.
The energy of the city bombarded me. I loved the noise and the activities. I didn’t mind the suburbs or the quietness of the rural towns. There were times I craved those settings, but I thrived from the energy of city life. One day, when I was ready to have my own home, I’d like it close enough to the city but not in the middle of it. A big yard with a pleasant view of the ocean or within walking distance would be exceptional. Not as extravagant as Grayson’s home though. I’d probably need two house cleaners to keep that spotless. I was the more practical sibling.
Perhaps I’d take Grayson up on his house offer, but would only want his expertise in the design. He’d probably want to gift me a house. That was one of his weaknesses. To those he loved, he gave freely. I supposed that wasn’t a weakness, but I feared women would take advantage of him and not appreciate the gem of a person he was. He’d kill me if I referred to him as any kind of gem.
Don’t get me wrong, Grayson was a genius, just like Remington. Grayson went to Harvard to study architecture. Regardless, even brilliant men weren’t impervious to manipulative women when it came to relationships.
Finding off-street parking in front of the Krazee Tavern, I got out and fed the meter. I entered the restaurant, which had a cozy and artsy flair, and maneuvered around the afternoon crowd, searching for my friends. They sat at a table by the window.
Michelle waved me over. The golden highlights in her curly brown hair glistened from the sunlight streaming through the window. I’d met her during my last year at Boston University, where she majored in journalism.
“Am I late?” I asked, offering each of my friends a one-arm hug.
“Nope. I was in the area to drop off some photographs to a client.” Kiera flaunted a gorgeous tan, and her auburn hair had a shine to it. “Nice weather means this place is going to be packed, so I grabbed a table for us.”
“You got some sun. Looks good.” Sitting down, I felt more relaxed than I had been in days.
“Miami was beautiful, as always,” Kiera said.
“You have any images you want me to advertise? I’m scheduling a few blog posts for the coming months.” Michelle was a successful blogger who started off blogging about her travels around the world. After gaining a huge following, she expanded to blogging about anything that interested her.
“Sure, I’ll email you later.” Kiera sipped a chai latte. “I’m starving! Let’s order some food, then you can tell us about you and Remi. I can’t believe he’s back and looking hotter than ever.”
“What’s there to tell?” I flicked a confused look at her, even though I was curious about where she’d gotten that idea. “There’s nothing between us.” I opened the menu and tried to focus on what I wanted for lunch.
“I don’t believe that,” Kiera said with a smirk.
“Neither do I.” Michelle’s brown eyes gleamed with mischief.
I placed the menu down, crossed my arms, and narrowed my eyes at them. “What’s going on here? Spill it.”
Why were my friends ganging up on me? Did they know something I didn’t?
Michelle placed her cup of iced tea down. “He can’t seem to keep his eyes off of you. The last few times he came back to visit your brother, I noticed it, but never said anything. You were dating Josh, and then there was the jerk, Kevin.”
“Josh was a long time ago. Kevin was . . . two years ago? I don’t remember.” I waved a hand, keeping my gaze on the menu that was open to a chicken wrap or the turkey club, but my mind was anywhere but food.
If Michelle had mentioned something back then, would I have admitted anything? Maybe. Remington had lingered in my mind since I was a teenager. I thought my brain would have purged all thoughts of him, but apparently, my body seemed to react to him now more than ever. Even just talking about him heated my skin. In fact, I sensed tingles running up and down my back as though he was in the restaurant staring at me.
Back in college, I’d mentioned nothing about him to my friends. It wasn’t anything serious, just an infatuation with a private man who didn’t smile much. I guess I was curious about what I didn’t understand. This was the same approach to my jewelry design. I gathered things that didn’t make sense and created something from them.
“We’re referring toright now,” Michelle said.
“What are you silly geese talking about? I didn’t realize we were discussing my non-existent personal life. We’re supposed to be talking about Kiera’s recent model.”
“We will, butthisis more important,” Kiera replied.
Michelle hadn’t attended Grayson’s housewarming party, so she couldn’t have known about my disastrous karaoke rendition. She leaned in and gestured her head to my left.