Page 132 of The Sounds of Her

When the music gets started, I lead her out onto the floor. I’m still a shit dancer compared to Brooke, but she doesn’t seem to mind when I grab her and pull her against me. Nor do I, not when I get to run my hands over the silky skin of her bare back as we sway together.

I whisper filthy things in her ear about what I’m going to do to her when we get home. Her fingers play with the hair at the nape of my neck, which she knows drives me fucking crazy. When she stiffens in my arms, I’m instantly alert. I pull back to see her looking over my shoulder.

When I turn, my blood pressure spikes.

Her parents are here.

They’re smiling and shaking hands with two men in suits. Eloise is perfectly turned out in a modest but expensive black dress with what looks like diamonds around her neck. I’m pretty sure they’re fake.

Gerard has one hand on his stomach, the other holding a glass of alcohol. He looks uncomfortable as his eyes dart our way and quickly divert.

They’re really fucking good at looking like everything is okay. I’m not sure how they’ve kept quiet about it, but Brooke is well aware of what her parents have gone through since that night she last saw them.

Roman, of all people, has kept her up to date with what happened. I still don’t like that prick, but Brooke reminds me what he said that day in her office. Seeing her with me is what changed his mind. Fuck that guy, though. I’ll never get past the bullshit he said when this whole mess started.

Jason Campbell bailed them out, but only enough to regain what they lost on Penny’s business. It was nowhere near enough to pay off all the other debts they’d accumulated. Roman didn’t know the full story of where all the money went, but it came to light her dad developed a bad gambling habit.

They had to sell their house, but they made a whole deal about downsizing to save face. Brooke still can’t figure out why her mom stays with him. The affair, gambling all their money away, then losing everything to the child he fathered. Eloise is doing everything within her power to appear as if nothing has happened.

No one sees them out as much as they used to be. No charity events and galas.

Roman also said they’re not hiding as well as they like to think they are. People are talking. He said he may also have let it slip in a few social settings that things aren’t quite what they seem. That last part irritated Brooke.

Despite them being complete fucking assholes who deserve everything they’ve gotten, she doesn’t want to kick them when they’re down. She told Roman, in no uncertain terms, to quit spreading shit, that it isn’t helping and is pissing her off.

Showing up here, that’s fucking brazen, and I’d give anything to go over there and kick their asses out.

They know Brooke will be here. This is her company’s event. I almost ask if she wants to go sit down because our table is at the back in a far corner, but Brooke will never let them get to her like that. She may want to protect them from ridicule, without deserving it I might add, but she doesn’t want to talk to them. They were the ones who cast her out. She will never show anyone how much it still hurts.

Penny is a different story. It surprised me when she agreed to meet her a couple of months ago. Afterwards, she told me it was weird as hell, and obvious early on they have nothing in common. Penny admitted she fucked up with the company she tried to start, but refused to take any responsibility for what it did to their dad. Brooke agrees her dad made the mistake, not Penny.

She’s glad they met but concluded they will not be friends and may never see her again.

Her body relaxes when I turn back to her, and her eyes meet mine.

“Did you know they were coming?” I ask.

One shoulder lifts and falls. “They weren’t on the guest list I approved a few days ago.”

“How did they afford the tickets?” My brow lifts in amusement. “Are they crashing this party?”

“Mom will do anything to be seen, and tonight, this is the place to be seen. She’s scrambling to re-build her reputation.”

Realisation dawns on me. Why wouldn’t their daughter invite them to her firm’s party? So they show up here, using her as a way into the exclusive event. Those fuckers. I pull back, ready to go over there and give them hell, but Brooke doesn’t let me go.

“Don’t,” she strokes the back of my neck with her fingernails. “I will not cause a scene.”

“They’ve got some fucking nerve, Brooke. They can’t do this to you.”

“I don’t care,” she leans closer, her lips against my ear. “I know the truth. And as much as you want to be my knight in shining armour, hot by the way, promise me you’ll ignore them.”

“They shouldn’t be here.”

“True, but it will only make it worse if you confront them. Then I’ll not speak to you for a while, which means there will be no sex, and I don’t want that. I’m sure you don’t-”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Her brow arches in amusement.

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