Damaged Love - Jaxson Kidman Page 0,67

shoulder.

“Who the hell is this beauty?” the man asked.

“She’s with us, Barry,” Noah said. “Plenty for you to look at elsewhere.”

“You can’t afford her,” the man said with a laugh.

“Come on, Barry, don’t cause a scene,” Easton said.

I turned my head and saw the look on Xavier’s face.

He stared at the man - Barry - like he wanted to kill him.

I inched closer to Xavier and pointed at his arm.

He looked down at me.

I smiled.

“Want to get a drink?” Xavier asked.

“Yeah, I think I do. Something tells me this thing is going to get crazier by the minute.”

Xavier nodded. “That’s exactly what’s going to happen, Winter.”

Crazy was a strange word.

There were moments when I walked around the tent and felt like I blended in. People looked at me, they smiled and nodded. I wasn’t as invisible as I thought. Some random women touched my wrists to stop me and tell me I looked beautiful.

There were also moments when I felt really out of place. Times when I caught myself alone, a few people looking at me with questionable eyes, probably wondering who I was and why I was there. Of course that could have just been paranoia, because whether I liked it or not, the truth was that Noah, Easton, and Xavier had tried to kill me, and on top of that, someone had been following me.

That I’m following you vibe hadn’t hit me since I arrived at the mansion with the guys, but that paranoia lingered like a bad cold.

I looked around for the guys and saw Noah standing with his parents.

His mother had a claw like grab on his arm as his father talked to two men. Noah looked ready to explode.

Not too far away from him I spotted Easton. He was sandwiched between two older men, both with gray and white hair, much shorter than Easton, talking, laughing, all the while Easton looked like he wanted to just die instead of being there.

As far as Xavier went… I couldn’t find him.

He was supposed to be nearby so I wasn’t sure what happened to him.

This was the whole purpose of the ball.

Drinks, food, music, and talking.

A lot of talking.

I wonder what kind of deals were being made right at that moment.

Everyone looked so perfect and elegant, yet I knew behind all of that there-

“Risky to be alone, my beautiful girl.”

Barry slid by me with a wink.

My cheeks turned red.

He looked back at me. “Coming with me for a drink?”

“No, thank you,” I said.

“See, I usually ask once, just to be nice,” he said. “Don’t make me command you in front of everyone. Okay?”

I lifted my right hand and showed Barry my fist. Then I lifted my middle finger.

I turned and hurried away from him.

I exited the tent and it was dark out.

I had forgotten just how much time had gone by. I stood near the tent and before I could have ten seconds to myself, Easton appeared.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “Just getting some air. I don’t know. It’s tense in there.”

“It’s all just money going to money,” Easton said.

“Who were you talking to?”

“Two old pricks that think I’m next in line to control the family money,” Easton said.

“Are you?”

“Of course I am,” he said with a grin.

“Hey, there you are,” Noah said as he hurried out of the tent. “Sorry about that. Had to do my part to keep the dream alive.”

“What dream is that?” I asked.

“I don’t even know anymore,” he said.

His words were already starting to slur.

“Did you guys see Xavier anywhere?” I asked.

“No,” they both said at the same time.

“He’s lingering,” Easton said.

“Or hiding,” Noah said.

“I’m going to get a drink,” I said. “Then what do we do?”

“We can dance,” Noah said. “Slow dance. They do that here. Turn the lights down a little. Set the mood. The wives and mistresses hate it.”

“Glad I’m neither of those,” I said with a smile.

Easton touched my back without Noah seeing. He leaned closer to me. “At some point we can bail out of here, Winter. Just you and me. I can’t stop picturing you in that bed…”

Heat flooded my cheeks and I stepped away.

“I’m going to get that drink,” I said.

I shook my head and exhaled a breath as I went back into the tent.

I found the closest person with a drink tray and took one.

I thanked the person but they didn’t say a word to me. They didn’t even look at me.

I started to turn when I felt a hand touch me.

Not my back.

But