His Princess - Stacy Gail Page 0,8
dude will never let you put him on a leash. I’m not even convinced he’s not rabid.”
“So he’s rough around the edges. I like that about him.” Joelle clicked onto another back issue of the newspaper and found yet another photo of Gus, with yet another woman. She sighed, and even to her ears it sounded grim. “Unfortunately, I’m not the only one.”
Alice’s head came up. “What do you mean?”
“When it comes to women, Augustus Bloch seems to like variety. Lots and lots of variety, though maybe variety’s not quite the right word. While he’s never photographed with the same woman twice, they all seem to be cut from the same cloth. So variety, yet no variety.”
“What kind of cloth are these women cut from?”
“The princess kind.” The mere word left a bad taste in her mouth. “It’s like a freaking roll call from my finishing school days—Vivienne Romilly, Mimi Weissman, Cordelia Coventry, and your favorite person from high school, Francesca Osterhaus.”
“That bitch?” In a heartbeat, Alice shot out of her chair and rocketed onto the couch to stare at Joelle’s screen. “I’ll never understand why your parents thought it was a good idea to send me to the same private school you and Felix went to. A chauffeur’s daughter, much less a murderous chauffeur’s daughter, was going to be an obvious target for any and every bully-minded kid out there. Francesca was merely the worst of them.”
“I think at that point, Mother and Daddy were just looking for the path of least resistance—all their kids in the same place meant less hassle.”
“For them, anyway. Oh my God, there she is—the dreaded Evil One, AKA Francesca-fucking-Osterhaus.” Alice peered closer. “Hm. I think she’s had some work done on that schnoz of hers. I wonder if I broke it all those years ago?”
“You just bloodied it, which was the least she deserved. She’s such a terrible human being, I have to wonder why Gus dated her in the first place.”
“Maybe he’s a bad judge of character.” Then she winced and slanted her an apologetic glance. “Sorry, Jo. That came out wrong. I doubt he’s even attracted to things like character. He just obviously has a type—princessy.”
“That’s not better, Al.” She sighed and slowly shut the laptop. She’d seen enough. “You know what that is? It’s shallow, just like the social-climbing Emerson what’s-his-name.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy him though, right?” Alice laid a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Besides, you’re nothing like any of those former debs he’s been seen with. They’re useless socialites who’ve never worked a day in their lives and think the greatest tragedy to ever befall them is breaking a nail. That’s not you. You’re so much deeper, and greater, and more real than any of those fluff-headed, trust fund fools. Maybe Gus can see that in you, and that’s why he’s pushing so hard to get together with you.”
Seriously, everyone needed an Alice in their lives. “And if he doesn’t see that in me? What if all he wants is the princess?”
“Then it’s good to know that about him right out of the gate,” came the shrugging reply. “At least you’ve got a heads-up about his princess fetish, so if he starts to get weird with you on that score—like wanting you to wear a tiara while sexing it up, or some kinky shit like that—you can hit the eject button. You’ve done that with other guys in the past with no harm done, so just keep that option open.”
That sounded great, except for one thing. She had the weirdest feeling Gus wasn’t like any of the other men she’d ever dated. “Do you think I should keep my date with him?”
“Oh no, you don’t.” Alice held up a hand. “I’m not about to tell you what you should do, because that never ends well for me. Besides, I know you’ve already made up your mind. You just want validation that your decision’s the right one.”
Joelle made a face at her. “It’s irritating, how well you know me.”
“We may not be blood-related, but I know you, sister.”
“We’ll see how well this afternoon goes with Gus, the serial princess-pursuer,” Jo decided, and opened up her laptop once more. “Which means I’ve got to get some work done before I head out. Are you sure you can’t model those new distressed jeans for my article?”
Alice groaned. “Jo…”
“Come on, you’ve got the leggiest legs on the planet, and I promise I won’t take any