“I knew my sister had horrible taste in men, but you’re a new low. You’re judgmental, cruel, heartless—”
Gray took a step closer until her back pressed against the bathroom door. Dimly she realized they were both breathing hard, and the sound of their panting in the tiny room felt entirely too erotic given that she did not like this man.
“I find it difficult to believe that you can be related to someone like Brynn,” he said, his eyes moving over her once more.
“Why, because she’s so proper and I’m so slutty?”
Gray growled. “No, it’s just…Look, I obviously made a mistake about the prostitute thing, and I’m sorry. But we can’t just fake our way through the evening. Is there any excuse you can give to leave?”
She pushed at his shoulders in outrage, but he didn’t budge. “You want me to weasel out of my own family’s dinner so you’re more comfortable? You’re the interloper. You leave!”
“I’m a guest; that would be rude.”
Sophie gave an indelicate snort. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time.”
Gray’s eyes closed briefly, and for a minute he looked almost weary. “This is what I get for agreeing to come to a woman’s house who I barely know.”
Something twisted in Sophie’s stomach. “So you and my sister aren’t serious?”
She didn’t know why she asked. Or why the answer was somehow important.
His eyes opened and they locked with hers before drifting to her mouth. “No. A couple of casual dates. More companionship than romance.”
“Oh,” Sophie said, licking her dry lips. “I don’t like you,” she blurted out, feeling very much like a fourth grader. But she’d had to say something. He was just so close.
“I don’t like you much either,” he said.
But the way their bodies leaned toward each other made liars out of both of them.
What is this? Sophie thought with panic. This man is everything you despise.
And yet, she wanted…
Brynn’s voice calling Gray’s name had them both jerking back. Unfortunately for Sophie, jerking back meant slamming her head against the back of the door.
“Ouch,” she yelped.
His expression turned almost gentle as he reached out a hand toward the spot she was rubbing, but again, Brynn’s voice had him pulling back.
“Gray? Did you get lost?” Brynn called.
“Shit,” he muttered.
“Shit,” Sophie echoed.
“You go,” she whispered. “I’ll stay here and follow in a minute. I’ll pretend I was upstairs or something.”
He hesitated for the briefest of moments. “Maybe we shouldn’t mention…”
“Oh, please,” Sophie interrupted. “As if I want my family to know about our little history.”
Gray gave one last nod before opening the bathroom door and slipping out. Sophie leaned back against the door as she heard Gray greet her sister. “Sorry about that. I took a few wrong turns before finding the bathroom.”
Brynn laughed softly. “That’s what you get for asking Sophie for directions.”
Sophie rolled her eyes, although the light insult didn’t really sting. Brynn could be uptight and condescending at times, but she wasn’t as difficult as their parents. Most of the time she and Sophie got along pretty well, which was saying something for sisters who’d grown up fighting over car keys, prom dates, and too-tight sweaters.
Sophie stayed in the bathroom for several minutes trying to gather her thoughts. In all the time she’d spent replaying the Las Vegas incident in her head, she’d never once imagined having to see Gray again.