The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play #1) - B.B. Reid Page 0,137
commented with a shake of his head.
I closed my eyes so I couldn’t see the disappointment in his. I knew Vaughn would have tried to talk me out of betraying Jamie any more than I already had, so I’d kept my decision to marry Barbie to myself. Bee’s parents had been waiting for me to pop the question since I entered the farce of a relationship four years ago.
“Are you and Bee really going to do this? You don’t love each other. Anyone with eyes can see that.”
“She doesn’t have a choice, and I—”
“You’re what?” Vaughn prodded.
I’m self-destructing. “I don’t know anymore.”
The Montgomerys were broke.
Using Barbette to increase the family’s wealth had always been Elliot’s plan from the moment her beauty was realized. Now that their ship was sinking, he was hell-bent on selling his daughter to the highest bidder. It didn’t matter if the suitor was decrepit or cruel as long as their offer pulled the Montgomerys out of the hole Elliot had dug them into and kept them wealthy. Believing I was firmly in his daughter’s snare had been what kept him from selling her to one of his golfing buddies.
Bee, Vaughn, and I had been thick as thieves for as long as I could remember. We had never known another girl who ran as fast, fought as hard, and challenged as fearlessly. She had been just another one of the boys until Jamie blew into town one summer and reminded us all that underneath the red ball cap and baggy clothes was still a girl.
The day she met Jameson Buchanan was the first time we’d ever seen her blush, and Jamie, despite his arrogance, couldn’t stay away. They were best friends by the end of the summer. I was there when Bee made Jamie promise to return the next summer. She even cried a little when my uncle drove away and threatened to break my nose if I told anyone.
The doorbell rang, so Vaughn got up and looked out the window. I sat up when he blew out a harsh curse. “Well, you better figure it out…Jamie’s here.”
I was hoping to get some rest before round two, but it wasn’t like my cousin to take the time to cool down. He’d much rather explode.
“I’m going to send him home.”
“Nah…let him in.” I took a look around the living room elegantly decorated with original paintings, crystal vases, and antiques. Mrs. Rees had spared no expense. “On second thought, how expensive is all this shit?”
“Very.”
I stood from the couch built for style rather than comfort and started for the door when Jamie rounded the corner. He looked worse than I did even though I was the one with the fucked-up nose and busted lip. His tie was gone, my blood still stained his knuckles, and his hair looked like he’d been tugging at it.
“Call it off.”
“Can’t.”
“I don’t give a shit what you think you’re protecting her from. She’s not yours to protect.”
“She’s my friend. That gives me just as much right. You’re too worried about if she’s spreading her legs for me to ask yourself why she doesn’t trust you with the truth.”
“There is nothing she could say that would make me understand why she betrayed me.”
“If that’s true, then you’ve already lost her.” Vaughn’s warning didn’t seem to penetrate. It only made Jamie more determined to have his way.
“Ever, if you do this, you’re dead to me.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.”
This time, when he charged me and swung, I ducked, barely missing the blow before delivering one of my own. He managed to counter with a powerful jab before we were pulled apart.
“What the hell is going on,” Franklin bellowed as he kept Jamie restrained.
“Just working through some issues, pops.”
Franklin grunted with a shake of his head.
Jamie bucked to free himself, so Franklin tightened his hold. “Cool it, kid. I don’t know what’s got you so fired up, but I won’t have you knuckleheads destroying my home. Show some respect.”
“Let me go. I’m good,” Jamie gruffly asserted.
Franklin gave us both a warning look before releasing him. Vaughn loosened his hold on me when Jamie started for the door, but a chuckling Franklin stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
“Come with me to my office, son. You look like you could use a drink.” He quickly pulled Jamie from the room.
I started to nip that shit in the bud, not trusting Franklin alone with my hotheaded cousin, but Vaughn blocked me from going after them. “Move.”