Trade It All(10)
“No,” Lance lied. What he’d shared with Willa was none of Clay’s business. “Stop looking for something where there is nothing.”
“Good, I could have a go at someone like that.”
This time Lance couldn’t control his response. He grabbed the front of Clay’s shirt with one hand while fisting his other. “If you go anywhere near Willa—”
Clay pushed his hand off him and straightened his shirt. “Don’t wrinkle the Hugo Boss.”
Lance ran a hand through his hair, striving to regain control of himself. Some of his brothers were known for their short tempers, but he’d always been the more levelheaded one. He was also a strategist. To win against Mother Nature, an architect needed to imagine worst-case scenarios and plan accordingly. Neither anger nor love had ever made a building stronger. Careful, educated decisions executed with solid, quality materials always produced reliable results. It was how Lance designed buildings and how he lived his life.
He didn’t brawl with friends of the family. That was Asher’s style, not his.
Which didn’t change how much he wanted to punch the smug smile off Clay’s face. I don’t need this. Dax will have to find a new source of entertainment for his friend. “I’ve changed my mind about using you as a consultant on this project.” He looked around the grassy area in disgust. “Next time you want to congratulate someone—send a fucking fruit basket.” He turned and walked away.
Chapter Three
Rather than hailing a cab, Willa strode down the busy sidewalk, indifferent to her feet protesting the wrong shoes for a prolonged stomping away. She yanked her phone out of the pocket of her jean skirt and glared at a man whose eyebrows rose appreciatively as the act lifted one side of her skirt. She was so angry she wanted to scream, and her expression must have communicated that because the man quickly looked away. Without breaking her pace, Willa called Lexi. It rang through to her voice messages.
Did Lexi know? Had Clay told her?
I want to believe he didn’t.
She didn’t.
But I know Lexi.
Willa called right back. This time her sister answered.
“You knew.” Willa ground out, not wasting time greeting her sister.
“Knew what?” Lexi answered innocently. Too innocently.
While waiting for a light to change, Willa continued, not caring that the people near could hear. “That Lance was the person the flash mob was for. You humiliated me.”
Lexi’s silence was all the confession Willa required.
Willa crossed the street with the crowd when the light changed and waited for her sister to say something, anything that would make what she’d done okay.
In a subdued voice, Lexi said, “That wasn’t my intention.”
So, I was right. Where do we go from here? “It’s never your intention, but that doesn’t change the outcome. I am so angry with you. I don’t want to go back to our apartment. I can’t afford to go anywhere else, but that’s going to change. I think it’s time for you and me to get our own places.”
“You’re not serious. I thought—”
“No. You didn’t. You didn’t think about how I would feel, or you wouldn’t have done this to me.”
“So, what? You move out, hate me forever, and we’ll never talk again? Calm down, Willa; it’s not that big of a deal.”
“To you. It’s not that big of a deal to you.” Stopping at another street crossing, Willa brushed her hair impatiently out of her eyes and said, “Nothing ever is. I love you, but I remember this feeling. We’ve been here before. I don’t want to go back to thinking I can’t trust you. We’re almost thirty. Maybe it’s not healthy for us to live together anymore.”
“If you think we’re broke now, wait until each of us is paying our own rent.”
“I don’t care. I’ll make it work.”
“You wouldn’t be happy living on your own. You need more people in your life, not fewer.”
“Don’t tell me what I need.”
“Really? You can say that after recently passing judgment on every aspect of my life?”
The anger in Lexi’s tone struck a chord in Willa and deflated some of hers. “I only said what you needed to hear.”
“In your opinion,” Lexi said shortly. “You dismissed everything I’ve done because I deviated from your rule book. Do you know how it felt to hear how little you respect my choices?”
Willa paused mid-step. “So, you wanted to prove I’m more messed up than you? Is that why you set today up? Because you wanted to win?”
“No. Willa, how could you even ask that?” Lexi sounded more offended than apologetic.