A Summer to Remember(22)
“Do you really think he named the band after you? Your middle name is Wynter after all?”
“Oh, Christ on a cracker, Jerrica, God no! Besides, my mother must have been high when she decided to give me such an unconventional middle name. Why couldn’t she settle on Heather or Elizabeth?”
We both burst into giddy laughter as we heard the front door to the loft open. My heart began to beat a little faster and my breath came out in short small bursts until I heard female voices interspersed with Jude and Paul.
Neither Talia nor I bothered to move as Jude walked up the stairs followed by Paul and two identical looking ivory-skinned women. The only difference was the one who clung to Paul had long auburn-brown hair while the other had fiery red hair with blondish highlights interspersed throughout.
“Oh? Did we interrupt anything?” the ginger-haired chick inquired in a thick, upper-class Oxbridge accent.
“No, you didn’t because my sister isn’t a lesbian. Imogen, this is my sister, Jerrica, and her best friend, Talia. You two, this is Imogen, Ashley’s cousin from London.”
It was Ashley who moved out of Paul’s arms and walked over quickly. “Hello! We didn’t get a chance to meet the other night. I’m Ashley, Paul’s girlfriend, and Imogen is my cousin from jolly old England.”
I sat up before I stood and held out my hand. “Very nice to meet you. I’m Jude’s sister, Jerrica, and this is Talia—”
“Yes, I know. Talia and I met the other night.”
Ashley was absolutely perfect but I wasn’t convinced she didn’t have a fake bone in her body. She was a nice person with a warm smile and a beautiful disposition but something about her eyes made me feel like her attitude was forced and unnatural. It didn’t seem fair because I hated her on sight and from the way her eyes kept darting my way, I wasn’t entirely convinced she liked me either.
Perhaps I wanted her to be a stuck up, stick-up-her-ass bitch so I wouldn’t feel too bad about lusting after her boyfriend but she was so f*cking nice, I instantly felt guilty about everything. I couldn’t help the feeling I was projecting my own emotions onto her to make me feel better but instead, I only managed to make myself feel envious and petty because she had Paul and I didn’t.
Paul and I shouldn’t have shared that intimate kiss in the Hamptons. This young woman deserved better because she was probably an infinitely better human being than I could ever be and that pissed me off to a certain degree.
She didn’t deserve the way Paul had taken me out to lunch like we were old lovers instead of family friends. He didn’t speak to me in a way that friends did and it secretly pissed me off because he was taking this gorgeous young woman for a ride.
I knew why he was attracted to her and why she would be a perfect addition to their family. Everything about her was polished and she was just so damned sweet. She deserved a man better than Paul.
“It’s nice to finally meet you and put a name with a face,” I said in an awkward fashion. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to freshen up.”
I walked out of the sitting room and directly to my bedroom where I shut the door and began to pace back and forth.
I was completely and totally f*cked. No way would Paul give up that prime piece of ass for someone like me. It just didn’t happen and if I was being honest with myself, it shouldn’t happen. I didn’t deserve him—she did.
I was the classic manipulator and although I could never pull the wool over my brother’s eyes, my parents still thought I was their little angel. They didn’t realize what had happened to me at Vassar or that I was ruined goods. Mom and Dad still considered me a perfect candidate for the Social Register and knew I would be the one with the main story in The New York Times Sunday Wedding Announcements Section when I decided to tie the knot. They weren’t concerned about me in any way, shape or form because I was tough, I owned my own business and underneath all my bad ass persona, I could melt for a man as quickly as the next woman.
There was a light knock before door opened and Paul walked inside. He closed the door half way before he continued toward me.
“What are you doing here when you have that beautiful woman downstairs, Paul? What the hell is going on between us?”
“I know Ashley is perfect and you wouldn’t be surprised to know she’s like that in private too. But perfection does not equal love.”
I sat down on my bed and was surprised when he joined me and sat next to me. “What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”