“Pretty sure they’re the same person.” Preston was still holding my hand. He pulled us both up, leading me out into the garden. “He made sure none of us had a way out. He’d have gotten everything he wanted—except he didn’t factor one thing into his plans.”
Preston and I walked the circular path weaving in and around the garden. It was fitting for I realized right then that there was nowhere for us to go. We were both where we belonged.
Both of us Cinderella.
“What was it?” I asked.
“August didn’t anticipate me not being a total shithead like him. He didn’t think I’d marry Delilah and let her have her freedom. We became friends over the last six years and I’m not about to force the unhappy life on her that he’s forcing on us.”
“Why is he forcing it? Why was it so important that Delilah be paired up at thirteen?”
Preston stopped and turned to me, taking my other hand and holding them between us. “There is a reason, but it’s not for me to say. It’s my choice to spill my family secrets, and it’s her choice to do the same.”
“I get that,” I agreed, “but not why she’s dumping drinks on me and revealing your sex tales.”
He laughed. “Fictional sex tales. That damn tutu is going to haunt me.”
I found myself smiling too. They say confession is good for the soul, and it definitely felt good to know the truth.
You should try it sometime, a voice taunted.
I pushed it and thoughts of Carter down.
“It’s simple,” he went on. “Our parents want us to put on a good show that we love and care about each other, so that no one looks into why we’re being shotgunned down the aisle. Not even my father knows the full story of what went on with Darren.
“Whoever we secretly hook up with on the side, stays on the side, and Delilah’s just as invested in playing the part. If our marriage falls through, her father would again make her choose between losing everything or marrying the man he picks out. And the next guy might not be as nice as me.”
“Oh.” Against my will, sympathy for Delilah crept in. “She’s trying to protect her future and thinks I’m in the way.”
“My fault for giving her that impression. I just can’t seem to stay away from you, Belle Adler. Those powers are strong.”
I smiled though I replied, “Don’t joke. Your future is at stake too. That beast wearing a skin suit can’t be allowed to control your company or your family with his knowledge of Darren. Why didn’t you just hit it and quit it when you had the chance?”
Preston gave me a long look. “Why do you think?”
I buried my face in his chest, hiding my silly grin. The alarms were sounding the retreat. Warning that sweet words were spinning their web and time was running out to get free. The last time the warnings went off, I met a boy on a pebbled beach who offered to teach me how to sail.
Nathan Prince was a tragically glorious accident that shredded me to pieces. It was a terrible idea to open myself up to another when I knew, and agreed, that we couldn’t last past the summer.
“Then let’s have the summer.” It slipped out as—like Preston—my need for him wrestled my self-preservation into a headlock. “If we have to keep it a secret, then that’s what we’ll do. Delilah doesn’t have to worry and you won’t have to choose between your family.”
“The summer,” he repeated. “What about after?”
I closed my eyes. “I don’t have to tell you that this can’t continue past your wedding, right?”
“No.” A warm hand rested on my hair. “You deserve more than being my mistress.”
I backed out of his hold, tugging him after me. “Projected time to make-up sex adjusted to eight minutes.”
PRESTON AND I LAY TANGLED in my sheets. I drowsed on my stomach, eyes closed as his fingers traced a path on my back.
“Thirteen,” he announced. “Thirteen little brown birthmarks on your legs, back, and two on your stomach.”
“I inherited them honestly,” I murmured. “Moles all over my mom too.”
“I inherited double-jointedness. Want me to show you again?”
“You’ve showed me twice,” I said, laughing. “We’ve got to sleep at some point.”
“That point doesn’t have to be now.”
He lay on top of me, pressing me into the pillows. I couldn’t name why I felt so at peace wrapped up with Preston Desai, but it was possible