Perfect for You (21 page)

She snorted.

"But not even you can deny that we were good together. Together we
worked
," he said with feeling. "We worked so well you were happy and creative."

"Is this what you sound like when you're in front of a jury?" she asked dispassionately.

"I'm a divorce lawyer. There is no jury. And don't use my job to put space between us." He pulled her closer. "Say what you want, but you know I'm not like the greedy lawyer your father had."

"But that's exactly what you are. You'll do anything to get what you want, regardless of the consequences for other people. You're ruthless and cruel."

"Is that what you really think?"

She had to look away from the raw hurt in his eyes.

"Don't tell me that in all the time we've spent together, getting to know each other, that you haven't noticed how I feel about you," he said in a low rasp.

"What you felt was the need to win."

He withdrew, his expression cool. "That's seriously what you think of me? After all this time we've spent together?"

"What am I supposed to think?" She threw her hands in the air. "All I know is that you got Connor to misrepresent himself. He could have been better for me, but we'll never know, will we?"

"If Connor was The One, he wouldn't have listened to what anyone else said about you. He would have bothered to figure it out for himself."

"He didn't get a chance to."

"He didn't deserve a chance." Greg made a disgusted face. "He thought you were
nice
."

She frowned. "What's wrong with being nice?"

"Darling, you are
anything
but nice."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You are stunning, electrifying, incandescent, and even infuriating, but Ônice' is too bland a word to apply to you."

Freya didn't know what to say to that, so she went back to her previous argument. "So you judged Connor, found him lacking, and sabotaged him?"

He shook his head. "
I
didn't sabotage him."

"You let him sabotage himself."

"You're missing the point here."

"What point?"

He took a deep breath, visibly trying to get a grip on his temper. After exhaling slowly, he carefully replied, "I know this looks bad, but I love you."

"This isn't the way to show it." She pulled away from him and stomped down the stairs.

He followed on her heels. "Freya, listen—"

She waved him off. "Do not call me. Do not try to see me. I want
nothing
to do with you."

Fumbling with the lock on the door, and flew out the door and back into her own apartment. She restlessly moved from room to room, not wanting to sit down but also not sure what to do.

"Enough." She went into her bedroom and grabbed a small travel bag out of her closet. As she threw some clothes and other sundries into it, she picked up her phone and hit speed dial.

"Hello?"

"Eve," she sighed with relief. "I'm glad you're home. Are you up for a girls' night?"

The text from Greg woke Anna up. Granted, it was noon, but she was a student. Her hours were erratic.

Well—okay—last night she hadn't been able to sleep. She shouldn't have left Max the way she did, just because he cared enough to tell her the truth and encourage her to do what was right.

For a smart girl, she was sometimes so dumb. She shook her head as she zoomed across the bridge to see Greg.

He'd sent her two words:
Freya knows.

Anna wanted to believe she'd misunderstood his text, but she knew exactly what he meant. Freya had found out about Connor.

She'd tried calling her sister but it went directly to voicemail. It was just as well that she talk to Greg first anyway—she'd be able to do better damage control this way.

She double-parked, hazards on, and jogged up to the front doors. Pressing the doorbell, she waited impatiently for Greg to answer. Wasn't he home? He just texted her like half an hour ago.

But then she heard his footsteps come down the stairs. A moment later the door opened.

"I've upgraded you from
brat
to
demon spawn
." He stepped aside so she could enter.

"As long as you're still talking to me." She followed him upstairs to the living room. "What happened?"

"She found out."

"How?"

"She pieced it together, I think. Don't worry, you're safe." He sat on a couch and propped his feet on the table. "She accused me of leading Connor astray."

The bottom fell out of her stomach. "Did you tell her I was the one who did it?"

"Don't worry, you're safe. She wouldn't let me clear up the misunderstanding."

Anna cringed under his cold regard. "But—"

He gave her a flat look. "Do you really think I'd snitch on you?"

She shook her head, speechless.

"It's fitting that she blames me. I'm somewhat at fault here because I should have stopped you from meddling."

That word again. She winced. "I'll fix this."

Greg pointed straight at her, his gaze dead serious. "You will not."

She gaped at him as he sat there brooding. "But it's my mess."

"Yes, but the consequences are mine. I'll resolve it."

"How are—"

He reached into his pocket and held out a small black box.

Hesitantly she took it. She opened it and gasped. "Holy shit."

"I wanted something to tell the world she was mine."

"A billboard wouldn't have been more effective." She handed it back over and huddled in her seat. "So you aren't going to tell her what I did?"

"Anna, don't make me ground you."

"It's just that it's always been me and her, and if she finds out what I've done she'll hate me. She can't hate me, Greg. She's all I have."

"I won't tell her," he said finally, "if you promise me you'll tell her about law school."

Her stomach lurched at the thought, but she was getting off easy here. In the end, she couldn't hide it from Freya anyway. Swallowing thickly, she nodded. "Deal."

"Do it soon."

"I'm really sorry," she whispered wretchedly.

He nodded but didn't say anything.

She got up and, on impulse, hugged him. It was awkward, like a stranglehold on his neck, but he patted her back. "Don't worry, it's going to be fine," he said.

"How can you know?"

"You forgive the people you love, and she loves me."

The confident tone of his voice reassured her—a little. "Do you love her?"

"Enough to put up with her bratty sister." He gave her a small grin that was like his old self.

She hugged him again. "I'll let myself out."

Closing the door behind her, she checked Freya's apartment quickly. No sign of her sister.

Damn it.

Feeling defeated, she locked up and stood on the porch, helpless.

Behind her, a door opened. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. "Max, you were right," she said as she faced him. "I really screwed up."

He took her in his arms and kissed her softly. "Sit and tell me."

They sat down on the top step of the stoop, his arm around her, with her snuggled into his side. "My sister found out, only she thinks the man she loves manipulated her, and he went along with that because he didn't want her to be angry at me."

"He sounds like a good man."

"He is." She knew right then that whatever she promised Greg, she had to try to make this right. "I have to fix this."

Max nodded. "Your sister will be angry but nothing will ever change her love for you."

She nodded. "This is the part where you say ÔI told you so.'"

He rested his cheek on her head. "Why should I waste the words when you already know?"

Eyes narrowed, she looked up at him. "Don't think that you can get away with that, just because you're all cute and smiling."

His smile grew. "I'm cute?"

He was more than cute. Her heart stuttered when she looked at him. "Not as cute as me."

"No one is as cute as you." He kissed her, slowly and thoroughly. "Go take care of your sister, and then come back to me."

She kissed him again, sighing. "Wish me luck."

Max trailed his fingers along her cheek. "You don't need luck. You have love on your side."

It took three phone calls and seven texts to track Freya down. Though once her sister told her where she was, Anna figured she should have guessed.

Anna wove through the throngs of people on the spiral escalators at San Francisco Centre, apologizing as she accidentally bumped the shoppers on her way to the shoe salon in Nordstrom.

When she got to the right floor, the hushed environment made her pause. Maybe this wasn't the place to talk to Freya.

But then she saw her sister's tall form and flaming red hair. Taking a deep breath, she strode over to her.

Eve, holding out a shoe for Freya's inspection, saw Anna first. "Oh good, another woman for our shoe outing. What do you think of this?"

Anna frowned at the gold strappy heels Eve had in her hand. "Are you thinking of becoming a Vegas showgirl?"

Freya snorted. "There's your answer."

Pouting, Eve put them down. "I thought they were pretty. They screamed success."

"I'm not sure that's what it was screaming," her sister said, picking up another shoe, "but I do know if I wore those by the end of the day my feet would be screaming too."

This was so not the time to talk to Freya. Anna stuck her hands in her pocket. "What's the occasion?"

"We're looking for spectacular shoes for Freya's big presentation tomorrow. Plus shoes are therapy." Eve held up another pair.

"No." Freya shook her head, making a face. "Electric blue? Really, Eve? How long have you known me?"

"You're right." She replaced the shoes. "But rainbow snakeskin doesn't seem to be in this year."

Rolling her eyes, Freya ambled around another table of designer shoes.

Anna followed, feeling awkward. "What's the therapy for?"

"Exorcising bastard men," Freya mumbled as she checked out another pair. "I like these."

Eve's eyes widened as she looked at the pink shoes. "They're like lingerie for your feet, with that lacy garter-like strap across the toes. If you don't try them on, I will. I may try them on regardless."

Freya nodded at a lurking salesman and asked for their sizes before moving on to another table of shoes. "So what was so dire that you braved coming to a shopping center? You hate shopping, Anna."

"Nothing." She winced. "Well, something, but maybe I should wait until later."

"No, now's a good time." Her sister sat down on a couch and patted the space next to her. "It was obviously important enough that you came all this way to see me."

"Yeah, it is." She bit her lip and wondered what to do. Maybe this
was
the best place to tell her. Her sister wouldn't kill her in public. "Okay, so here's the thing—"

"Here you go." The sales guy set the shoes on the floor. "Can I help you with these or get you anything else?"

"This is fine for now, thanks." Freya took the shoes he offered and slipped them on her feet.

"Move over," Eve said, cramming onto the couch next to Anna. She gasped as she tried on her pair. "I may need these."

Freya stood and walked around. "They're more you. Maybe I'll try on the silver pair I saw first."

"Do it."

Freya asked for the other pair and then sat again. "So what were you saying, Anna?"

She didn't know what she was saying. Frustration rose in her. She should have timed this better. She should have asked to see Freya privately.

She should have thought about the consequences before messing with her sister's life.

She shook her head. "I'll just talk to you another time."

"I'm listening. Tell me what's wrong."

She stood up. "I'll call you later."

Freya grabbed her hand and pulled her back down. "Talk now."

"No—"

"Anna." Freya huffed in exasperation. "Just tell me."

"Fine. I want to be a lawyer."

The silence was deafening.

Her face went red as Freya and Eve gaped at her. Heaving a sigh, she went for it, because there was no going back now. "I want to be a lawyer so I applied to law school and got accepted."

"What?" Her sister frowned. "What about art?"

"Art doesn't call me the way it does you."

"But I thought you loved it."

"I do love it, but not as a career. I want to be a lawyer." She hurried on. "I know how you feel about lawyers, but I'm partly doing this because of what happened to Daddy. As a lawyer maybe I could make a tangible difference in someone's life. It'd be a way to give back for everything you've done for me."

"Does that make sense?" Freya asked Eve.

Eve nodded. "In a strange way."

Her sister turned to her. "How long have you been accepted to law school?"

"Not that long." At Freya's unyielding stare, she caved. "A couple weeks," she murmured.

"Hell."

The salesman came back with the other shoes. "These—"

Freya grabbed the box from him. "Go away now."

"Okay," he said meekly, blinking in surprise.

Her sister shoved the shoes on her feet. "How are you paying for law school?"

"You're acting like I said I wanted to go to clown college."

"Close." Freya scowled at her feet and extended her legs. "I'm not loving these either."

Anna exchanged a look with Eve, who wisely didn't say anything. Then she faced her sister. "I'll take care of law school. I don't expect you'll want to have anything to do with it. I can manage on my own. But that's not really what I came to talk to you about."

"Well, whatever it is, it can't be such a bombshell, can it?"

Anna grimaced. "ActuallyÉ"

"Uh-oh," Eve mumbled under her breath. She stood up and went over to a table to look at a pair of shoes like they suddenly caught her attention.

Freya faced her, her face stony and her arms crossed.

It killed Anna when her sister looked at her like that. Part of her withered under that disappointed glare.