“We. Didn’t. Know,” I say between clenched teeth.
“Okay, you didn’t know. I believe you that this was one big coincidence. But now what? Are you going to keep seeing her?” she asks, pausing and watching me.
I hesitate. “I don’t know. She doesn’t really want anything to do with me anymore, so probably not.”
“Probably not? Wrong answer,” she grumbles, shaking her head. “It should be a definite no.”
I scrub my hand down my face. “I don’t know. Damn it, Clo, I like her. But I don’t want to hurt Cara, and I don’t want all this drama.”
And like I said, Con couldn’t get out of my presence any faster if she tried. I’m never bringing a woman to the clubhouse again before doing a full background check and family tree.
Clover sighs and touches my shoulder. “This all needs to die down. You’re right, I have had my guard up and I’m being a little more judgmental than usual with Con, because I didn’t want her trying to take advantage of Cara. But now that I know she just wants to get to know her sister, I can admit I’ve been unfair to her.”
“She isn’t her father,” I say gently. “And she really does care about Cara. You should have seen how horrified she was when she found out. She was almost in tears. She said that she didn’t want to give you a reason to hate her, and now without even trying she did.”
Clover’s eyes flash with melancholy. I know she’s not a bad person, and she wouldn’t want to hurt anyone. She’s just extremely loyal to Cara, and if she sees a threat, she will do anything to eliminate it. “I’m sure Cara and Con will sort it out. They are sisters after all.”
“I hope so,” I reply, opening my arms out to her. “Now, are you going to keep being cold to me? Or are you going to show me just a little bit of the love you show Cara?”
Her lips twitch as she steps into my arms, hugging me tightly. “You know I do love you, Rhett. You’ve just been making some terrible choices and it’s hard to be on your side because of them.”
“I know.” I sigh, kissing the top of her head. “Trust me, I know. One day I’ll tell you everything. But the whole Con thing? That must be my karma because I didn’t see it coming. And you know what? I actually did like her. She’s the first... Never mind.”
“First what?” she presses.
“She’s the first woman I’ve slept with sober since Cara. The first one I’ve actually taken on a date. I like spending time with her, and I like the way I feel when I’m with her,” I admit, shrugging.
“Are you sure it wasn’t a replacement for Cara? Since they’re so similar?”
“I honestly don’t think they’re similar at all. Sure, now that I know they’re sisters, I can see some resemblance, but Con and I actually have a lot in common.”
And a whole different connection. The two can’t be compared.
“There are plenty of other women out there. The right one will come along,” she says softly.
But what if Con was the right one?
I guess we may never find out.
Chapter Eleven
Con
I leave the hotel and drive home as soon as the sun comes up. When I arrive at my house, I jump straight into bed and just lie there, still processing everything that happened last night.
I sent Cara a text message last night but she didn’t reply, so I try to call her but she doesn’t pick up. I feel like shit and I need to speak to her so I can make it better. I know she probably needs some time. She and Rhett were obviously once very close, from what I can understand, and their families also all know each other well. I remember her telling me that she had only had one long-term boyfriend before Decker, her childhood love, and now I know that person was Rhett.
Shit.
We might not have grown up together, but apparently we do have the same taste in men.
And ain’t that a bitch.
The whole thing is one giant misunderstanding, but it makes me look so bad, and the things that Clover and Natty said to me were so hurtful. Cruel even. I know they were angry and surprised in the moment, but you can’t take words back, and I will always think of what they said when I see them.
I’m hurt.
Especially because I’m not that kind of woman. I’d never go against girl code, and I like to think of myself as someone who can be trusted. I’ve only just gotten Cara into my life and I would never do anything to jeopardize that. I don’t think that she knows how truly important she is to me.
I didn’t reply to Rhett’s text. It wasn’t his fault what happened—he didn’t know who I was either—but clearly the two of us could have communicated better and if we had, we could have figured this whole thing out before it got to this.
It also means that Cara hasn’t really opened up to me much or I’d have known more information about Rhett from her. I guess because I came into her life during her Decker stage, that’s all I know and hear about. Rhett was a different chapter for her, and one that I wasn’t a part of.
I felt so much happier with Rhett in my life, getting to know him, but now I feel worse than before I met Cara. I’m all the way back at the start, which hurts after making so much progress. Will I lose my job now? Maybe when they hear about what happened, they won’t want me there; Cara got me the job after all. I could deal with losing the job, but I couldn’t deal with losing her.
All I need is five minutes of her time to explain.
I decide to give her a few days to cool down and then I’ll show up at her house and make her listen to me. I don’t know how one says sorry for sleeping with an ex, but I’m going to try.
It’s all that I can do.
Monday rolls around and I’m looking forward to going to work as a distraction. Rhett doesn’t text or call me again, and I think it’s because he’s realized the same thing I have—we aren’t going to work out. It’s just not possible, unless Cara is okay with it, and I doubt she’s ever going to be.
I do care about him, but Cara comes first. If I had to choose between them, I’d choose my sister every time.
“Good morning,” Bronte says to me, smiling as I step into the garage. She acts normal, which makes me think they haven’t heard about any of the drama from the weekend. I don’t think Cara would ever do that to me, but you never know. I don’t know where I stand right now or what she’s thinking, and it’s making me feel very anxious and on edge. She can take away all that she has given me if she feels like it.
“Good morning.” I rest my handbag on my desk and tidy the files there. “Victoria off today?” I ask, referring to the other receptionist that works here.