“Who the hell was that sex on legs the other day? Where have you been hiding him? Are you and Rory over?” Amanda fired the questions in one breath.
“Rory and I are most definitely not over. That’s just some guy I met.” Lana nibbled her lower lip to stop the flutters between her thighs from exploding.
Amanda’s fiery red curls bounced like tight springs as she shook her head. “Some fuckin’ guy, Lan? Really? It looked like you were going to jump each other’s bones. I felt like a right gooseberry. You better watch yourself, girl. It never ends well when infidelity seeps out of the woodwork.”
Lana lowered her lashes and stood. She knew exactly why Amanda was angry. Her parents divorced when she was fifteen, putting her in the middle of an ugly war.
They argued over money more than custody. It was a very traumatic time for her, consequently resulting in her non-committal, blasé attitude towards relationships.
Lana rubbed her friend’s forearm and smiled. “I don’t want to get into it right now. Rory and I are fine. We’ve got ourselves into something and I don’t know if I can get out of it,” she lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m really confused.”
“Tell me it’s not drugs, Lan, please,” Amanda grabbed Lana’s and squeezed.
Lana shook her head and held up her hands. “Hell no, of course not. Drugs are for losers and all that, I’m not an eejit.”
If she was forced to think about her predicament, she would probably reconsider her response. Sexual attraction was an intoxicating drug.
Marcus was a drug, and she was addicted, even though she didn’t know him. There was something about him that sucked her in, made her feel alive and left her wanting more of whatever wickedness he had to offer.
Amanda rested her hands on her hips. “That guy reeks of heartbreak, girl. Please be careful. He looks familiar though, where did you meet him?”
Lana pushed in her chair and walked to the stairwell, with Amanda hot on her heels. “He owns a few hotels. He’s called Marcus McGrath.” Her heartbeat fluttered when she said his name out loud, like she was accepting him into her life.
Slapping her hands together, Amanda gasped then pressed a fanned palm to her breastbone. “McGrath? Like, thee McGrath, multimillionaire business man? The biggest playboy north of the border—any border.”
“That’s the one.” Lana nodded, her gaze drifting upwards to stop herself from grinning.
“Oh shit, Lana, you fancy him, don’t you?”
“I’m with Rory.” The words stuck in her throat.
Amanda pursed her lips and crossed her arms over her chest like a mother waiting on the truth from her child. “That’s not what I asked, Lana. Do you like McGrath?”
Exhaling a slow deep breath, Lana shunted open the stairwell door with her shoulder. “I barely know him.” She swallowed hard. “But I’m inexplicably drawn to him. When I’m near the guy, I can’t even think straight.”
Shoving her foot between the closing door and the frame, Amanda poked her nose through the slim gap. “You need to be honest with yourself, Lan, then you need to be honest with Rory.” Her expression was stern yet kindness lurked behind her searching eyes.
“I love Rory,” Lana protested.
“But are you in love with him?”
There was no easy answer to that question. Before meeting Marcus she wouldn’t have hesitated in her response, but now, having met another man, she had no idea if it was true love or the easy comfort of being with someone.
Did she really love Rory?