Page 66 of The Trouble With Bad Boys

All at once the emotions swirling in my chest culminated, and my fury bubbled over. “Are you kidding me? You just took off after something, someone—hell, I don’t even know. And you were gone for damn near half an hour.”

I stabbed a finger in his direction. “I need to know right now what the hell’s going on. I knew something was wrong,” I continued, ire steaming in my veins.

“But I let you convince me everything was fine, that there was nothing to worry about. Even after I took you in, you continued to hide it from me. But whatever this is—whoever it is—has been here from the beginning, hasn’t he?”

His eyes changed then, deepening as a flicker of emotion crossed the dark depths. “You just didn’t want to risk me throwing you out. I never should have?—”

A loud beeping cut through the air, causing me to jump. I yanked my phone from my back pocket and sucked in a breath when I saw the time. “Damn it. We have to go.”

I shoved him in the direction of the van. “Everything’s ready, I just need to lock up.”

I closed up, then leaped into the van, cranking the engine and shifting into gear seamlessly. A tense silence filled the car as we drove up the mountain toward the lodge. Inwardly I still seethed, but at least we’d made progress. Later, once we were alone again, I would insist he explain everything.

Silently, we gathered the arrangements and made our way to the great room. I smiled at Jules, who flitted around the room, making sure everything was perfect. I set the box of arrangements on the table, then nodded for Smith to do the same. “Can you get the rest, please?”

I needed a moment to myself and though I could tell he didn’t like the idea of leaving me alone, he left to retrieve the rest of the flowers. Jules and I had spoken a few days ago, so I began to distribute the arrangements on the tables provided.

I’d just placed the last one near the window when a man sidled up next to me. “You do that?”

He pointed at the vase of Hyacinths, and I offered him a smile. “Yep.”

“Cool.” He nodded approvingly. “Those look nice.”

He didn’t look familiar, so I assumed he was a guest. “Thanks.”

He turned to face me and held out a hand. “I’m Preston.”

“Lily.” I returned the shake. When I tried to pull away, he held on a second too long. I finally managed to extract myself and pointed over my shoulder. “I’m sorry, I have to get back to work.”

The man leaned in just a little too close. “I’m in town for the next few days. Can I take you to dinner?”

Shock rolled through me. “I—I’m flattered, but… I can’t.”

“You can’t take a break to eat?”

The man grinned wolfishly at me, and my stomach flipped. It was the smile of a man who got exactly what he wanted, when he wanted it. He was handsome enough, but confident to the point of cocky, and I had no desire to be another conquest for him. “I appreciate the offer, but?—”

“A drink, then.”

A strong arm came around my waist, pulling me into a thick, hard body. “The lady said no.”

Surprise rippled through me, freezing me in place. Thoughts ping-ponged through my brain as I fought to identify the husky, slightly raspy masculine voice that floated over my shoulder.

And then it clicked. It had come from Smith.

As if that wasn’t enough of a shock, his next words stopped me cold.

“She’s with me.”

Fourteen

RODRIGO

This was not going at all the way I’d anticipated. Though, to be fair, my original plan had flown out the door days ago. Everything was a clusterfuck.

Lily stood stock-still, those pretty wide eyes trained on me like I’d just sprouted a second head. It wasn’t entirely unexpected. I just hoped she wouldn’t make a scene. I already suspected that Araña’s men had followed me to Pine Ridge. The last thing I needed was to draw more attention to us here.

I watched as, by increments, the fire in her eyes grew until I knew it was ready to explode. “Are you kidding me?” she hissed. “I can’t believe you!”

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