“Oh ho. There it is.” He threw his arms out, moving back. “Belle Adler’s special blend of concern and disdain. Didn’t know you still cared, baby.” He pointed to his mouth. “Or that I could still curl those lips.”
My fists balled. “You have the same effect on me that I apparently have over you. Seems I can still get your blood boiling.”
“Like no one else.”
“What happened between us wasn’t my fault, Nathan.”
“You really believe that, don’t you?”
“You broke us!”
“You—!”
“Nathan?”
I ducked inside. An instinctive move more than anything.
Kelli had shed her matching outfit and sunglasses for her birthday suit. She looked around, missing me cloaked behind the drapes. “Were you talking to someone?”
“Myself.”
“Ooh,” she purred, draping her arms around his shoulders. “I can put that mouth to much better use.”
“You first.”
Nathan guided a giggling Kelli onto her knees.
“Right here? What if someone sees us?”
He looked me right in the eye. “I guarantee someone will.”
This wasn’t the deterrent I thought it would be. She got his dick out of his pants faster than I unwrapped a Twizzler. Kelli swallowed him whole, filling the night with moans that burrowed in my ears.
I slammed the door hard enough to make my point. Curling up on my bed, I reached for another distraction since my book was spending the night outside. I brushed my phone grabbing the remote, lighting up the screen and the notification from an unknown number.
Chapter Five
Carter
“Eggs with spinach and chorizo,” said Preston.
“Salmon eggs Benedict,” I threw in.
Nathan slumped in his seat, shades covering half his face. I wasn’t entirely sure the guy wasn’t sleeping.
Preston threw an orange at him. “Wake your ass up.”
“I’m awake,” he said easily. “Corn fritters with Canadian bacon and avocado, if you please, Dorothy. Throw in a plate of maple pancakes and I’ll marry you at the end of the summer.”
The chef’s assistant scurried off tittering.
The three of us were awaiting breakfast on the backyard terrace. The rest of them were inside eating from a prepared menu from the dining room. Naturally we weren’t expected to join them, but whoever left the possessive hickeys and scratches all over Nathan was likely craning her neck scanning for his arrival.
“You know why she told everyone that garbage, don’t you?” I twirled an apple on its stem. “Because she wins either way. If we say nothing, she’s the knocked-up mother of a toddler who had a run-in with the clap. But if we admit she’s a liar, then the guys will steer clear of the rumor-spreading nutcase.”
“She’s a beautiful, evil genius,” Preston said.
“Can you not admire the girl who told everyone you had chlamydia?” Nathan asked. “There’s got to be a limit to what you’ll take from her, or she’ll rip you to shreds.”
“Belle made it clear she doesn’t want marriage. She’s doing what she has to do to keep a stubborn fool off one knee.” He leaned back, adopting Nathan’s slouch. “And I’ll do what I have to do and let everyone know she’s a liar. It works for me too—having fewer guys circling her.”
“They aren’t the sharks in this scenario.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you two say until you stop dropping hints and tell me what happened between you and Belle. Anyone? Nathan?” He swung to me. “Carter?”
The apple broke from the stem, banging on the table.
“Thought so,” Preston finished. “I should be gearing up to eat my eggs off her right now. She refuses to believe you two didn’t tell me about her.”
“Stubbornness is one of the evil genius’s many wonderful traits,” Nathan said. “For the last time, stick with Delilah.”
“Nope.”
“It’s one of yours too,” he said under his breath.
Preston laughed.
I narrowed on that smile. “You’re in a good mood for a guy who doesn’t stand a chance. Did Adler give you some kind of hint that she’s thawing?”
“I was in her bed yesterday and she didn’t fuck me up. Taking that as a good sign.” Preston snatched up the apple and took a bite. Juice dotted his smirking lips. “Why? You got something to say now?”
“We’ve got your back, Preston. Always have. You’d think that would mean something.”
The grin faded. “The trust goes both ways. I’ve waited a long time to find this girl. If I’m meant to let Cinderella go, give me a reason.”
“I don’t have to.” I pushed back from the table. “She’ll do that on her own.”
BELLE
I tucked my phone in the top drawer. I wouldn’t need it until I