Page 39 of Beauty Of Her

“Ready to go?” He smiled, holding out his palm.

My eyes dropped his hand that was just buried between my legs. “Aren’t you going to wash your hands?” A renewed blush crept across my face.

“Nope.” Brett smacked my ass, giving it one last squeeze. “I want to smell like you all night long.”

Whenever I shook a colleague’s hand from Julia’s world, my eyes shot to her face as she stared at the affected digits from our earlier playing. I almost got a kick from making Julia shift in her step whenever I touched someone’s skin. And it wasn’t because I wanted to make Julia uncomfortable. The expression that swept over her face made her so adorable. Whether it was the quick lip bite or the pop of her eyebrows at the sight, it just created new snapshots to be ingrained into my memory. I couldn’t recall having this much fun with a woman, and it wasn’t just because we were in Miami. Hell, I never went on vacation with anyone before, not even Libby. Some of me still felt guilty that I hadn’t told Julia about that one relationship from my past. Still, for whatever reason, it was like my mind wanted to erase that block of time from my life. Maybe it was because I had never felt so trapped and hopeless. And it led me to years of debauchery, bedding too many women to count, promising to call them when I had already tossed their numbers in the garbage. Yeah, I wasn’t the best guy, but how I acted around Julia and what I felt for her was genuine.

At a point, Julia broke away, leaving me at the bar to observe the packed room of industry elite from the advertising world. Julia had mentioned that her sector specialized in sports and apparel, which I thought was cool. I loved sports and buying team jerseys. The more I found out about Julia, I started to believe I was falling for this woman, but I wasn’t scared. I was excited.

As I watched Julia navigate through the crowd, her confidence and poise captivating everyone around her, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Pride how I was the one she chose to be with. It wasn't easy being with someone like Julia, who had been through so much and carried the weight of her past on her shoulders. But I was willing to face the challenge. I never took well to situations that came easily; maybe that was the problem with Libby. She was always available, willing to change herself completely to be the perfect piece to my puzzle. But I didn’t want that. I wanted someone who would enrich my life. At the end of the day, we’d come together and grow. Libby was always waiting for me. Ready to be the shape I needed. I didn’t want any of that. A partner was supposed to have their own life, goals, and obligations. Then, we would come together to form that inseparable unit of trust. Maybe I was single all this time and behaved the way I had because it was someone like Julia I was waiting for. Now, if only she’d start to break her walls down, I’d really be jumping up and down. But so far, I smelled progress on the horizon.

“Having fun?” asked a familiar male voice.

I turned my head, and it was the blond boy, Robert, from earlier, looking even more like a sparkling prick in a sharp navy suit, flawless white shirt, and a yellow Windsor knotted tie. What a jerk.

“Hi, Robert. Good to see you.” I extended the arousal-coated hand from Julia on purpose.

He shot my hand a glance and shrugged. “It’s only been a couple of hours.”

The prick snubbed me, and I dropped the gesture. “It was a good couple of hours, though, wasn’t it?”

Robert twisted his face and brought a tumbler of amber liquid to his lips. “So, are you in advertising?”

I smirked, unbothered by Robert's condescending tone. "No, actually. I'm in the food industry," I replied casually, sipping my forgotten drink. As the liquid burned its way down my throat, Robert’s gaze drilled into me. He was fishing for information, trying to find some crack in my armor to exploit. But I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction.

Robert raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "The food industry, huh? A chef? A waiter?" he scoffed. “Bus boy?”

I chuckled, amused by his audacity. "Actually, my family and I own a chain of supermarkets." I tugged my collar.

“Ah, so you work for your parents.” Robert tipped his glass in my direction, doing cheers to the air.

I raised an eyebrow, his snarky comment not going unnoticed. But, if he wanted to play, then I’d fucking play. “Yup, I’m their bitch boy. But it does come with its perks. I get to take off whenever I want to and be with Julia.” I pointed to her as she chatted up two men in power suits. Never had I seen so many fucking suits in my life. I thought advertising was supposed to be fun, wild, and looser than this stuffy cocktail dinner soirée. Julia caught me staring at her, and she did a double-take when Robert was inches from me, clearly sensing the tension growing thicker between us by the second.

Her eyes flickered from Robert to me, a look of concern etched across her face. I could see the confusion in her eyes, and I wanted nothing more than to reassure her that everything was fine. With a little wave and wink from me, Julia’s concerns melted, and the tension in her forehead disappeared. She returned to the chatty colleagues, leaving me with Robert again.

Robert leaned in closer; his tone dropped into a low whisper. “I’m unsure if Julia ever said anything to you, but she and I are pretty close.”

My stomach lurched at the thought of someone else captivating Julia’s attention, but I didn’t let it show. “Oh yeah? She’s never mentioned you.”

Robert gave a knowing nod. “That’s typical of Julia to play it close to the vest. You know, I knew her ex, Peter. He and I crossed paths a few times when Julia decided to go to work functions and brought him as her date. He was a funny guy. Really nice.”

I took another sip of my drink, letting the amber liquid numb my buzzing nerves. “Well, how nice could he have been?” I rolled my eyes, listening to this fucking guy run his mouth. If Robert thought Peter was nice, what kind of guy was Robert? Listening to Robert’s words, I raced with questions and doubts. Was he just trying to get under my skin? Or was there some truth behind his claims of being close to Julia’s ex? The thought of another man having a connection to Julia, especially one who seemed so condescending, boiled my blood.

“He was a fool to drop the ball with Julia. I mean, come on. Look at her ass.” Robert’s eyes drank in Julia’s form from across the room, and my jaw clenched. “I’ll admit, ever since she’s been on the market, I’ve developed a thing for her. She doesn’t know that I know she’s divorced. I just keep hoping she’ll come around to me.”

I clicked my jaw. Was Robert fucking serious right now? I was clearly with Julia, but did he not see that? Did anyone see it? Well, I wouldn’t remain some walking object in the background. It was time to make it known who I was to her.

With a scowl, I squared my shoulders and leaned closer to Robert. The air crackled between us, and it was time to set the record straight. “So, you have a crush on Jules?”

“Jules?” Robert repeated, cocking an eyebrow.

“Yeah. It’s my nickname for her. I have others, but those are private.” I smiled, finishing my drink. “And that crush you have for her will unfortunately have to stay a crush.”

“Is that so?” Robert chuckled, hiding behind the tumbler and touching his lips.

“Yup.” I slammed the glass onto the bar. “Julia’s with me.” I didn’t wait for Robert to respond. I pushed off the bar, heading straight toward Julia, who now conversed with a woman similar in age, wearing a red dress but paled compared to my girl.

As I approached Julia and the woman in the red dress, my heart pounded in my chest. I knew I had to clarify to everyone in the room that Julia was mine and mine only. With every step I took, the determination within me grew stronger.

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