“Why do I get the feeling the two of you are enjoying the turmoil in my love life as if you’re watching a show on your favorite streaming service?”
“Because we were in your shoes not so long ago. Payback’s a bitch.”
“I stand by my PITA setting in my phone,” I muttered but narrowed my gaze as the two women passed glances as if sharing an unspoken message. “Just say it.”
“Since you opened the floor up for discussion—” Jayna smirked.
“I have a feeling I’m going to regret this.”
Danika folded her feet on the couch as if settling in for a debate. “Let’s discuss the will.”
I leaned back in my chair, knowing sleep wouldn’t come for a while yet, and prepared for two of the most intelligent women I knew to give their reasons for taking everything from Shah.
“I’ll listen, but I make no promises.”
“At least that’s more than we’ve gotten in years.” Jayna stood as if she were about to present a case in court. However, the dick pajamas made it impossible to take her seriously.
“Well, let’s start with legacies since you brought it up.” Jayna glared at me and cocked a hand on her hip. “And stop laughing at my clothes. I have good points to make.”
“Well, Jay. We do look kind of ridiculous with penises and vaginas on our PJs. Maybe we should take him to your place, and you can make breakfast. This way, food will distract him away from the multicolor dicks.”
God, I loved these women. The world could fall apart, and somehow they’d find a way to make the shittiest situation better with their ridiculousness.
11
Devani
Two weeksafter the night with Sam, I made my way toward the kitchen of the Joshi mansion. It was a little before six-thirty in the morning, and I hoped to avoid everyone but the household staff preparing breakfast for the multitude of guests in the house.
These dinners and house parties were getting on my nerves. At least Neil’s thirteen-year-old sister, Mia, was here this weekend. Having Mia around had given me someone interesting to chat with during the boring-as-hell dinner last night.
A minimum of three cups of coffee were in order to keep me from yawning all day long. Four hours of sleep was just not enough to power me anymore. My body seemed determined to wreak havoc on me lately.
Technically, I should blame Neil for my lack of rest. I’d spent the hours from midnight to two placing surveillance microchips in all the little nooks and crannies throughout the Joshi mega-mansion. Lucky me, the room Neil had assigned me for my stay had a hidden opening that led into the house’s secret hallways.
The asshole could have taken care of this task long ago if he wasn’t so paranoid about bugs and shit.
Now I was dealing with exhaustion, a backache from tossing and turning, and a major bout of queasiness for some weird reason.
Maybe I just needed to eat.
Man, even to myself, I sounded bitchy.
Yep, priority number one.
Coffee.
“Good morning,” Mia said in a way-too-excited voice for this early in the morning, a few seconds before she engulfed me in a hug. “I’m so happy you’re up.”
“What are you doing up?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I hate this house. It gives me the creeps.” She glanced around the room. “It always feels like people are watching me.”
Well, that wasn’t something I expected anyone to say to me first thing in the morning. Especially not coming from Neil’s sister. Which meant she had to suspect, if not know, some of the things her father had his hands in.
Neil kept details about his mother and sister very close to his chest. In such an extreme way, I took it to meandon’t ask. It wouldn’t have taken me long to learn the information if I wanted to dig, but I respected Neil too much to invade his privacy. He was my brother, as Danika was my sister, in all things but blood.
He let me keep my secrets, and I’d do the same for him. If he wanted me to know, he’d tell me. No matter what, we’d have each other’s back.