baritone, and a sudden longing struck me, a fissure in the patch I’d mended the chasm with. But I smoothed it, turning for the nursery and my solitude.
The baby’s room was shades of heather gray and white, marked by the occasional shot of coral in the way of the blanket hanging artfully on the crib wall or the throw pillow in the rocking chair. The velvet loveseat had been converted to a twin bed where I’d lay my head for a little while, and Dean had made it up, complete with sheets, two pillows, and a downy comforter that looked like a heaping pile of cloud fluff. Ivy had left a neat pile of clothes for me on top of the changing table, and on the pile sat a phone charger and a note.
Good riddance to bad lays.
Love you. Sleep tight.
-Ivy
I laughed as I picked up the charger and plugged it in. Brock really was a terrible lay, which I’d seen from a new, horrible perspective today. I’d settled in so many ways, convincing myself that he was perfect. A wealthy, beautiful doctor, charming and smooth. A man who had never had to work for a woman, present company included, which meant he’d never had to impress a woman in bed. He got what he wanted and never cared to learn the topography of a clitoris. Given that he had a medical degree, the oversight was as gratuitous as it was grievous.
Curse of the Adonis. Why would he be bothered to care? An endless supply of women was apparently at his beck and call.
I clicked off the lamp—a sweet, star-studded thing—and slid under the comforter, sighing the weight of the day into the comforting confines of the nursery. I’d have to find a way to be around Natasha, and there was only one plan: ignore her and pretend like nothing had happened. Business as usual, tally-ho, onward we went.
Of course, I also knew Natasha to be manipulative—the youngest of the Femmes had a penchant for drama that her sisters paled beneath—and wondered if she’d be trouble. I couldn’t imagine a reason for her to sleep with Brock unless she wanted to get to me. Maybe for the sake of their show and any excuse to spark a fight in front of the cameras. I tried to tell myself she’d probably never see him again. He was too old and established for her, as her taste leaned more to the latest breakout DJ, other celebrity offspring, and whoever was making the most trouble in the media. She didn’t want anything to do with Brock other than to humiliate me.
The best—and perhaps only—revenge would be to don my armor and show her just how unaffected I was. It would likely drive her insane, and if that was to be my only recourse, I’d wield it unflinchingly.
And with that happy thought clutched in my fist, I closed my eyes and sought sleep, though I never quite found it.
5
Labradoodle-dee-doo
KASH
I saw her the second I turned onto Fifth, standing at the foot of a flat-fronted onyx building.
There was no way to miss her.
She wore white again, stark against the glossy black wall she stood before. This time, she’d donned a tailored dress, the sleeves capping her shoulders and the hem brushing the top of her shins. Her profile was elongated, straight out of a fashion illustration from the fifties—hip cocked, chin high, that vivid red hair swept into a bun at the nape of her swan neck. With the phone pressed to her ear, her lips alternated between clipped words and a thin line, a slash of red against creamy skin.
Lila Parker was unhappy. I wondered if she existed in any other state.
Subsequently, I wondered if anyone had ever tried to make her happy.
With the hitch of my leather messenger bag, I picked up my pace just as she met my gaze. She stilled to unnerving stone as I approached. My brows notched—I’d dressed up as she’d asked, or implied. I’d worn a pair of navy slacks, for God’s sake, and ironed my pale blue button-down. I couldn’t be bothered with a tie, and I’d rolled the sleeves, unable to stomach the confines at my wrists. But I’d ironed. And if this wasn’t good enough for her, I didn’t know what was.
If I was to be the representative of Longbourne, I was going to show up for it in full.
Lila blinked, a flash of dark lashes and cool eyes, ending her call before I reached