Page 82 of The Thug And His Doll

“That doesn’t sound like Drix,” I say, a little confused to be honest. I mean I know he’s protective of Daisy, he’s said as much, but I thought he had enough respect for her as a woman to be able to make her own decisions about who she chooses to be with.

“To be fair, Drix isn’t as bad as Dalton. The last guy I dated he was okay with. Kind of. I think he’s beginning to learn that I can look after myself now. Dalton, however, is still a dick. I don’t even like him as a person, so why the hell he thinks he can act like he’s my brother too, is beyond me. He has no right. What happened to me in college was shit, but that was years ago and I’m over it. I can look after myself.”

“What exactly happened in college?” I ask. “If you’re willing to share.”

“I went out with this guy, Jonathon. He was the captain of the college rugby team. You know the type, gorgeous, fit, a little arrogant. I thought he liked me. He was my first…”

“You lost your virginity to him?”

“Yep. Though Drix and Dalton don’t know that, not that they need to, but you know…”

“I get it,” I reply, waiting for her to continue.

“I fell for him hard. I thought he loved me, but it was all a lie. Apparently his friends dared him to ask me out, to see how far he could take it with me.” She lets out a shuddering breath at the memory. “He said all the right things, wined and dined me, made me feel special. Of course I fell for it. I gave him the most precious thing I could. Then he made a fool of me at the Summer Ball, dumped me in front of everyone. He was cruel with it. God, I can still remember their laughter.”

“Their laughter?”

“The people he hung out with. His rugby friends and their girlfriends. You know, the popular ones. They all thought it was hysterical. I still see them out and about occasionally now, and I get thrown back to that moment of humiliation all over again. Pretty sure Dalton’s fucked most of the girls too.”

Her head drops in defeat, and I get up, sitting down next to her. “What a bunch of arseholes,” I say, feeling anger rising inside of me as I put my arm around her shoulder.

“It took me a long time to recover from that,” she admits. “It cut me deep, Lia.”

“Of course it did. You trusted him. I’m so sorry.”

“I really like Lewis, but now he won’t answer my calls. I’m so over Dalton thinking he can interfere. Who does he think he is?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” I say, at a loss for words or an explanation for his appalling behaviour.

“Anyway, enough about dickface,” she says, wafting her hand in the air. “So, you and Drix…”

“What about us?” I ask, heat flooding my cheeks, hoping to God she hadn’t heard us last night.

A grin spreads across her face, and I know instantly that she must’ve. “Oh,” I mutter.

“Hey, don’t be embarrassed. I’m happy for you both. I couldn’t want a better person for my brother. You’re perfect together.”

“It’s all so new,” I say carefully.

“But you like him, right?”

I nod, unable to hold back my own grin. “Very much.”

“Good. It’s about time he settled down.”

My smile fades. “I’m still married, Daisy.”

“Only legally, right? Besides, what’s a bit of paper to get in the way of true love, eh?”

“I wish it were that simple.”

“It’ll work out. You’ll see,” she replies, giving me a hug that I return in kind.

“Daisy, it’s time for your massage,” a tall man with unruly black hair and a smile to match says as he steps into the pool room. We break apart, both of us eying him.

“Wow,” I whisper. Georgia was right, he is gorgeous.

“Wow indeed,” Daisy whispers back, her eyes twinkling as she climbs to her feet. “See you in the sauna room in an hour?”

---