Playing the Player: Falling for Best friend's sister. (The Hartford Brothers Book 2)

by JA Low

  “Hey, you know I don’t allow you to talk about yourself like that,” Rainn calls her out. “You are both at different stages of your lives and now isn’t the time for the two of you to be together,” Rainn explains.

  “A man like Stirling isn’t waiting around for me to get my shit together.” Audrey sighs, and I feel for her because finally she got her man and now her brother is going to pull them apart. I wish Stirling would stand up and tell Rhys to take a hike.

  “You realize all of those things on your list are achievable. They aren’t barriers,” I tell her.

  “But my brother is.”

  “Rhys will come around eventually.” Rainn tries to see the positive in the situation.

  “Enough about me.” Audrey changes the subject. “Have you spoken to Remi since you were away?”

  “No. He’s ghosted me. I don’t know what happened between us. I mean, he was over here playing a couple of exhibition games and I got nothing other than a hello as if I was a stranger. I haven’t heard from him at all.” I know I just lied to my friends, but I don’t want them to worry about me or make things awkward around Remi. Because as much as I hate it, he will still be in my life, especially if Stirling and Audrey get together.

  “I’m fine. Think it’s weird. But his loss, as I’m having so much fun with all these French guys. Their accents are so sexy. Everything they say drips with sex.” Not that I’ve been dating or anything. I’ve been focusing on work. “I better go. Love you two,” I tell them before hanging up. I lay back down on my bed and cry into my pillow. I’ve never felt more alone.

  My phone ringing pulls me from my sleep, I look down at the screen and it’s Portia.

  “Hey, babe, how are you?” I say, answering the phone.

  “Nell. I fucked up,” Portia cries down the phone. I sit up quickly as panic fills my body.

  “Portia, are you okay? What’s going on?”

  “Mom and Dad are going to kill him. Oh my god, Dom is going to kill him too.” Portia freaks out all over again and has a panic attack.

  “Babe, please, you’re scaring me. Tell me what’s going on so I can fix it.” Big sister protection mode kicks in.

  “I’m pregnant,” she confesses.

  Oh shit. This is bad. This is terrible. I didn’t even know she was dating. Why the hell did she not use protection? Calm down, Nell, you do not need to freak her out any more than she is. “I’m here for you. Okay. How far along are you?” I ask her softly, trying not to spook her.

  “I just found out I’m like ten weeks,” she mumbles. Holy shit.

  “And what about the father, does he know?” I ask gently.

  “Um. No, not yet. I just took a test a couple of minutes ago.”

  “I’m glad you called me, Portia. I wish I was closer so I could hug you and tell you everything is going to be okay.” I try to comfort her.

  “Do you have room in Paris for me?” she asks.

  “I would love you to come over, but you need to deal with this first,” I explain to her. “You need to book in with an OBGYN and make sure everything is okay with the baby.”

  “Do you think something is wrong with it?” she asks, panicked.

  “No, no, I’m sure everything is fine. It’s routine.” I think. I don’t know, I’ve never been knocked up before.

  “Okay, I can do that.”

  “I don’t mean to pry, but can I ask who the father is? Is he going to support you?” My question is met with silence. I knew I shouldn’t have asked her that. “Babe, it’s okay. You don’t need to tell me.”

  “I don’t want you to hate me,” she mumbles, and my stomach sinks. Why would I hate her? “I slept with Miles.” Huh.

  “Miles who?” And as soon as I finish my question, I realize exactly who she is talking about. Holy shit, this is bad.

  “Miles Hartford.”

  “He’s so much older than you.” The comment comes out before I can soften it.

  “I wasn’t thinking about that when I was sleeping with him, was I. All I thought about was he was hot, and he knew how to kiss, and I thought why not,” Portia adds. Fuck, my mind is blown.

  “When did it happen?” I ask, wondering what the hell has been happening since I left.

  “Um, well yeah, okay, this is where it gets weird. I kind of slept with him the night you gave me your ID when you were celebrating going to France. He called me Nell twice, but he was pretty wasted, and I thought he just got us confused because like you were there and then you were gone,” she explains.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  Then my stomach sinks again. No. There is no way in the world that Miles thinks he slept with me and not my sister.

  “Please don’t tell me you lost my ID at his apartment?” I question her. Portia told me she had a crazy night and had lost my ID. She couldn’t remember where she left it.

  “I may have,” she answers sheepishly.

  “Fuck.” I curse down the phone.

  “What. What did I do? Don’t tell me someone stole your identity and like murdered a heap of people and now you’re a wanted criminal?” Wait, what the hell?

  “No. Worse. I think Remi thinks I slept with Miles and that’s the reason he has iced me out.”

  “Oh. Is that all? I thought it was something bad.” She sighs.

  “Portia, it is. I love him, and he thinks I slept with his brother. No wonder he hates me!” I scream at her.

  “Oh shit. Yeah, that’s bad,” she says. No shit. Fuck. No wonder he thinks I’m the worst human in the world.

  “You need to tell Miles so we can sort all this out,” I tell her angrily.

  “What. No. I can’t do that. Everyone is going to hate me,” she whines.

  “Miles needs to know he’s going to be a dad. And you both need to decide together whether or not you are going to keep it.”

  “I’m keeping it. I’m not getting rid of my baby. No way in the world. And if Miles wants me to, he can go get fucked.”

  “Well then, seeing as you’re going to be a mommy soon, you better pull up your big girl pants and break the news to Miles that he’s going to be a dad.”

  “Fuck,” she grumbles. “You’re right. I promise I’ll sort it all out. And for the record, I’m sorry I messed everything up with Remi for you.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. You look after yourself and my niece or nephew,” I tell her.

  “Oh shit. That just got real.” She cries before hanging up.

  I fall back onto the bed, exhausted as I try to process the bombshell Portia dropped on me.

  Will Remi ever speak to me again when he finds out? Or has too much damage been done?

  37

  Remi

  My phone rings and I see that it’s Mom calling me.

  “Hey, Mom,” I answer.

  “Please don’t hang up, Remi,” Miles says quickly. My hand curls around my phone and I swear I hear the screen crack. “It’s important, Remi. Please.”

  I pinch the bridge of my nose, contemplating hanging up or not, but he’s calling from Mom’s phone so it might be serious.

  “I’m listening.”

  “Thank God.” He sighs into the phone. “I found out I’m going to be a dad today.” Oh shit. No way. That’s awesome news. “Not sure how to say this because I’m confused myself, but I knocked up Portia Garcia.”

  “You fucking did what?” I scream down the phone. “She’s like young. Really young.”

  “She’s legal. She’s twenty-one,” he answers, annoyed at my accusation. I don’t understand how this happened. Well, I know how it happened. Was he not content sleeping with Nell that he had to sleep with her sister too? Fuck, Miles, you’re a real asshole.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Here’s the bit you’re going to find funny,” he adds sarcastically. “Apparently it wasn’t Nell I brought home that night, it was Portia,” he confesses. I drop my phone as I take in his words. He slept with Portia, not Nell. “Rem? Remi, are you there?”
Miles calls out from the floor. “Did you hear what I said?” I pick up the phone and put it back to my ear.

  “Yeah, I heard. Congrats I guess, buddy.”

  “Thanks,” he answers awkwardly. “But are you understanding what I’m saying? I never slept with Nell.”

  “I understand,” I tell him, my voice void of emotions because I honestly don’t know how to take in this information. My brain doesn’t seem to process it.

  “Remi, I am so sorry I fucked things up between you and Nell. But if you still want her, then you need to tell her how you feel,” Miles exclaims.

  “Yeah. I don’t think she’s interested in anything I have to say,” I tell my brother.

  “What did you do?” he questions me.

  “Does it matter? Congrats, man, and I’m glad I’m on the other side of the world when you two break the news to Nacho. Next time I see you, you might be in a casket.” I chuckle darkly.

  “Fuck,” he curses before hanging up.

  I sit on the edge of my bed and hang my head in my hands. My brother just blew my life up a second time. There is no way in hell Nell is ever going to talk to me. Then the idea strikes me, and I pick up my phone and text my brother after unblocking him, of course.

  Remi: I need you to ask Portia for Nell’s address in Paris.

  Miles: Fuck, you’re not asking for much.

  Remi: This is all your fault. You owe me.

  Miles: Fine. Consider it done.

  Now I must work out how the hell I’m going to convince Nell to speak to me again.

  It took Miles a couple of days, but eventually he was able to get Nell’s address. In those days, I obsessively stalked her socials like a damn creeper to see where she was going so that I might run into her. I also checked that she wasn’t dating some French guy. Thankfully, she’s not, as per her sister. Portia, God love her, once she found out I was trying to win Nell back, she was all for it. I think she felt guilty over her pregnancy and that I thought it was her sister that was with Miles that night when it was her. But tonight, there is no way in the world I want there to be any miscommunication between Nell and me. I’m done with it all. I want us to start fresh from this moment forward. I’m hoping she feels the same.

  Somehow Portia got Nell’s boss involved, who asked Nell to meet her at the penthouse at the famous George V hotel. She wanted to check it out for a photoshoot.

  I feel like I’m going to be sick while I wait for Nell to come up to the room. I’ve tried to keep it a little simple because I don’t know if Nell will appreciate an over-the-top grand gesture, this feels like a good middle ground. Now I wait and pray that everything is going to work out.

  38

  Nell

  I’m so excited that Yvette has asked me to check out the penthouse at the George V for a photoshoot. She told me to dress nicely, which I have in a black jumper dress with red heels. I make my way through the opulent surroundings of the hotel and give my name at reception. The receptionist nods and hands me the key to the room and gives me instructions on how to get there. I head over to the elevators where a man in a suit holds the doors open for me; I swipe the button for the penthouse and head on up. I step out of the elevator into a long corridor, I see the penthouse door clearly marked and swipe my key across the switch, and it opens for me. I take a couple of steps into the opulent room and freeze. There spelled out in red rose petals is the word sorry. What on earth? I’m so confused. Then movement from the side catches my attention and I see Remi dressed in a tuxedo, looking as handsome as ever. Emotion wells in my eyes, seeing him as it’s been so long, and I don’t notice that I’m crying until I feel the first couple of drops on my cheeks. I swipe them away quickly.

  “Remi, what the hell are you doing here?” I ask, shaking my head.

  “I don’t think there are enough words in any language to express how sorry I am that I hurt you, Nell,” he explains to me. “A couple of months ago, I went to my brother’s home and saw your ID on the floor after finding out he brought someone home. My heart shattered into a million pieces thinking that my brother got to experience you. I was so angry that you chose him I couldn’t think straight. I hated you, Nell. I hated you didn’t understand how much I loved you. That you didn’t understand that you were buried so deep in my soul that there was never ever going to be anyone else for me. I’m sorry that I hid my true feelings, but I was so scared that you would pick him over me. How could I compete with Saint Miles? And knowing that you did. It killed me.”

  I can see the anguish on Remi’s face as he relives the betrayal he thought I had inflicted, and I can’t take it anymore. I’m done. I’m his. All his. For as long as he wants me. I’m done running because all it has done is give the two of us a shit ton of baggage when we could have been together with just carry on.

  Fuck it.

  I rush over to Remi and wrap my arms around his neck and kiss his lips. He hesitates for a couple of moments, unsure if this is really happening, but then I feel his arms wrap around me tightly and his lips open for me in a searing kiss. We eventually pull away from each other and I will never understand why I kept running from this man.

  “I love you, Remi,” I tell him through my tears of joy.

  “You do?” he asks cautiously. Then the first tear rolls down his cheek as he pulls me to him again. “I love you so much, Nell. I can’t believe how stupid I have been for running away from you.”

  “We both have been,” I tell him as I look up into his eyes. “But never again.”

  “You’re stuck with me for life, Nell. I mean it. I’m all in. Marriage. Kids. Domestic bliss. The whole hog. You and me. Can you deal with that?” he asks me sternly.

  “Yep. I think I can handle that.” I grin, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

  “But can you handle all this?” he asks, placing my hand on his hardening dick which makes me giggle as I shake my head at him.

  “Not sure if I remember how. You might have to jog my memory,” I tease.

  “Woman.” He growls before picking me up and throwing me onto the bed and jumping on top of me. Now everything feels right in the world as I wrap my legs around his waist and pull him close to me.

  “No need to be nervous,” I say to Remi as we drive up to my parents’ farm. “You’ve been here a million times before. You know them.

  “Yeah, but this time I’m going to be telling your family that I’m in love with you. Your dad has a shotgun by the mantle. Is it loaded? I’ve never checked over the years,” Remi asks.

  I don’t mean to laugh, but it’s adorable how freaked out he is over telling my parents about us. “Look, things could be worse. You could be Miles.”

  This makes Remi chuckle as he looks in the review mirror at the car behind us carrying Miles and Portia’s little bombshell.

  Miles and Portia decided we would go first to see how the family would react to us coming out as a couple, and if they were fine, then they would hit them with their news.

  “Miles should definitely be worried if the shotgun on the mantle is loaded.” We both have a laugh at our siblings’ expense.

  Mom and Dad are waiting for us as we drive up. We called a family meeting and I know they must be concerned about the reasons.

  “I’ve missed you, sweetheart,” Mom says, pulling me into a hug. We only got back from France a couple of days ago, and honestly, I want to go back. Weeks of us being together with no outside influences was amazing. Reconnecting in the city of love.

  “Remi, good to see you.” Dad greets Remi with a firm handshake as his eyes flick suspiciously between us.

  “Good to see you again, sir,” Remi says.

  “What’s going on? You and your sister are freaking out the entire family.” Dom steps out of the front door and greets us. But as soon as he sees Remi and I together, standing side by side, he groans. “You fucker. You promised.” Dom storms out over to Remi and pushes him up against the car which makes the entire family yell at him.

  “I love her,
” is all Remi says to him before my mom starts hyperventilating with delight. “And I’m sick of hiding it from you all.”

  “Oh my god, Nacho. They are in love. I told you it would happen one day. Oh my god, this is a blessing.” Mom carries on. “Dom, take your hands off Remi. He’s part of the family now.”

  Dom gives Remi one last brotherly glare before pulling him into a bro hug. “You break her heart, you’re dead,” he warns and walks away from Remi and up the front stairs.

  “Welcome to the family, son,” my dad says, giving Remi a smile and a nod. I can see the relief on Remi’s face. Don’t think he needs to worry about the shotgun anymore. He just got Dad’s seal of approval. I take Remi’s hand in mine and bring it to my lips.

  “You’re stuck with me, now,” I say, grinning wildly.

  “Wouldn’t have it any other way,” he says, staring at me hungrily.

  “Later,” I say, biting my lip.

  "Gee, that went well,” Portia says, following us inside. “Hope Mom and Dad are that happy when I tell them they are about to be grandparents.”

  I want to say that when we all sat down to finish our family meeting that everything worked out.

  But that’s my sister’s story to tell.

  THE END

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks for finishing this book.

  Really hope you enjoyed it.

  Why not check out my other books.

  Have a fantastic day !

  Don’t forget to leave a review.

  Xoxo

  Seducing the Doctor

  Seducing the Doctor

  He wasn’t supposed to be forever.

  One night of passion with Miles Hartford was all it took to turn my world upside down and change it forever. He was supposed to be nothing more than a good time and a great memory.