in danger from me, Belle. If you ask me”—he pointed to his bandaged nose—“it’s the other way around.”
“Get out, Preston.” I snatched my things up and threw them on my bed. He could never know what I truly thought walking in here and finding someone waiting for me, but I held him responsible for that heart-stopping spike of terror. “We have nothing else to say to each other.”
“We haven’t said anything to each other,” he shot back. “You won’t listen to me.”
“I’ve had a lifetime of lies, Desai. Go pour them into another girl’s ear.”
“I didn’t lie to you about a single thing.”
“Want to tell that to your imaginary cousin?”
“I do have a cousin.” He stuffed his hand in his pocket. “Look.”
“Not interested.”
I sidestepped him, making for the door on the opposite side. All of a sudden, I was spun and sent shrieking onto the bed. Preston climbed on top of me, pinning me down.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!”
“You’ve got to be the most difficult, stubborn person I’ve ever met.” Preston secured my flailing arms with one hand and held the other before my face. My vision cleared on the photo. “This is my cousin, Darren Desai. Want to tell me you don’t see the resemblance?”
Two boys filled the screen. One smaller, smiling, and stuffed in a bow tie and suspenders. An older boy leaned against a tree next to him, glaring at something—or nothing—off-camera and dressed in simple jeans and a nice shirt. There was no doubt the younger boy was Preston. Just as there was no doubt he was related to the other kid. They had the same hair, nose, and heart-shaped face.
“He could be anybody,” I tried.
“You know who he is.” Preston rolled off me. “I didn’t lie to you, Belle.”
I twisted the other way, putting some distance between me and the unpredictable ambusher. “Then why did your fiancée say the guy didn’t exist.”
“Because she’s the one I lied to.”
I quieted—my retorts dying on my lips.
Preston took my silence as a cue to go on. “Everything I told you about him was true. The guy was a budding psychopath and he started early. Guys like that who can’t play well with others, get themselves in trouble eventually.
“Eventually came when Darren was thirteen. He got mouthy with a nanny and she spanked him. The twisted brat got his revenge by copying me.” Preston looked away. “But instead of ground peanuts in her food, it was pills. She overdosed on codeine, slipped into a coma, and almost died. Darren’s been locked away in a private facility ever since.”
Holding my knees to my chest, I leaned against my headboard, considering him. “How do I know you’re telling me the truth now?”
“We can drive to Shadow Grove for a visit, but he hasn’t gotten more pleasant with age.” Preston moved up and joined me. I let him. “I met Delilah after he went away. We don’t talk about Darren, Belle. He’s not so much as a secret as... a shame. We can’t help him. Make him anything other than what he is. Why talk about the family member we had to throw away?”
“You shouldn’t see it like that.” Despite myself, I was getting sucked in. “His parents did what they had to do to protect him and others. Sometimes your best has to be good enough.”
Preston placed his hand over mine. I shook him off.
“Slow down, Desai. You may not have lied about the cousin, but I’m still tempted to kick your ass for the fiancée and pretending you didn’t know who I was.”
“I didn’t know. What happened between you, Nathan, and Carter that you’d think they’d challenge me to sleep with you?”
I gave him a look. “What makes you think you deserve answers? You lied about Delilah!”
“You’re going to make me repeat myself all damn day, aren’t you?” The bold schmuck took my hand anyway, bringing it to his lips. He punctuated each word with a kiss on my knuckles. “Delilah. Is. Not. My. Fiancée.”
“Does she know that?”
Preston dropped his head on my shoulder and my hand on his lap. “Yes.”
“You’re making yourself comfortable,” I gritted.
“Yep. You’ll be forgiving me in five— maybe eight minutes, so why not settle in for an afternoon of make-up sex?”
“You’ve got some kind of balls.”
“You’d know. They were slapping against your ass three days ago.”
“Get out.”
Preston rolled over, trapping me underneath him again. “I’ll be honest, I’m supposed to propose to Delilah at the end of the summer. That’s the plan.