Page 45 of Seductive Hearts

“Yes, you did,” she confirmed in a flat voice.

It had to be something important, or she wouldn’t have me on the spot like this. “I…”

“Let me help you. You stuck your tongue down some socialite’s throat at one of the clubs you visited, you were caught on camera, and it was all over the place the next day. Hours after you gave me my first kiss. It was devastating,” she concluded after rattling off the series of events like she’d been through them countless times.

Her first kiss.

And I had no idea.

“You should’ve told me.”

She laughed softly. “Right. Because that would’ve been easy to admit. You had to know how much I liked you, though.”

“I got the feeling you had a crush. And I sort of liked you, but I tried to brush it off. You were younger. I could talk to you, and that meant a lot.” The memory made me smile fondly. Sitting with her in front of the bonfire. Talking on the balcony. The dozens of other times she’d been there to listen to what I didn’t have the balls to say to anybody else.

“Noah’s an asshole for throwing that in your face.”

She wasn’t wrong, but I couldn’t completely agree. “He knows me too well, and that’s my fault for being who I am. He’s not wrong, either. You deserve better than me.”

I hadn’t planned on saying that. She had a way of unlocking me, forcing me to open up. It was nerve-wracking.

“He’s still a prick,” she insisted, sighing before lifting her head to give me a wry grin. “Excuse me. We can continue this when I get back.” She wiggled her way out of my embrace and hurried into the bathroom. As I watched her bare ass retreat, it brought to mind a lot of things we could continue once she returned.

My head dropped to the pillow, and I stared at the ceiling. The light had changed, turning thin and weak, painting gray streaks overhead. We had spent most of the day in bed, and I wanted more.

Beyond tonight.

Tomorrow and the next day and next year.

It still wouldn’t be enough.

It was sheer reflex, reaching for the phone when it buzzed with an incoming text. Not until I got hold of it did I realize it was Rose’s cell buzzing, not mine. The new message was displayed on the screen—not Noah, as I would’ve expected, and not one of her parents.

Landon: It was good seeing you the other night.

Landon: We should get together again. One-on-one this time.

Landon: Name the time and the place. I’m yours.

My chest was tight enough to leave me struggling for air. I sat up, replaced the phone, and stared at the closed bathroom door. She was humming in there, unaware of the fact that Landon was more or less hers for the taking.

I should have thanked him. He woke me up and brought me back to reality. This was never supposed to be forever. She would always want the kind of life he could give her. The run-in with Noah was a perfect example of how I would only hurt her. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to know their sister, daughter, or friend was involved with somebody like him? Ari would never let the apple of his eye waste herself on a fuckup like me. Always looking for the next good time.

I’d be damned if I waited around for her to cut me loose. I didn’t wait around for any woman to decide she was done with me, not even Rose Goldsmith.

It was time for me to remember who I was.

By the time the bathroom door opened, I was buttoning my shirt with my pants hanging open at my waist. She blurted out a laugh. “What are you doing?”

“Getting dressed. I’ve got things to do. It’s Friday night, or it will be soon.” Her mouth fell open, the only part of her that moved as she stood naked in the doorway while I finished buckling my belt.

I jerked my chin toward the nightstand, where her phone waited. “Landon is as good as yours.”

“Wait. What?” That got her moving across the room, checking her phone.

“His texts came through while you were in the bathroom. Don’t worry, I didn’t open your app. But I saw them.” Glancing her way, I added, “Congratulations. You got what you wanted.”

Her face took on a sickly hue in the screen’s glow. “Hang on.”

---