Page 8 of Love is Grand

All I knew was that it couldn’t be me.

I didn’t do long-term commitments, especially with single moms. My jam was beautiful women who liked me for my money and status. They knew the score, yet I couldn’t get Shell out of my goddamn head.

I picked up my water, trying to cool my thoughts.

“Shell’s waiting tables five or six nights a week, plus helping her dad and raising Weez. It’s too much. Freaking Ricky.”

There was nothing worse than a deadbeat. My mom raised us triplets on her own, but she had a sizable inheritance to keep her afloat. Shell had nothing, I knew, but of course I didn’t share this with Rylan.

Nodding, I looked at my phone. “Look at that, my room is ready.”

“You want me to take you, or do you want to wait for Adam?”

Standing, I put my glass in the sink. “Do you mind?”

Putting a big smile on her face, Rylan shook her head, probably as happy to get rid of me as I was to be leaving. “I have my Jeep. First time I’ve owned a car in ... ever.”

Ignoring her excitement, I wondered why I’d thought this trip was a good idea. I’d told Adam I’d slipped down to the island for some R&R, but I knew it was more about her.

Shell.

The one woman I didn’t need to get involved with.

Now, as I stared at the beautiful bombshell, the rest of the room melted away.

Legs that seemed to go on forever were barely covered by her no-name jean skirt, and nothing but a skimpy green scrap of fabric hugged her breasts. As you’d expect, I’d dreamed about those breasts on lonely nights. I’m ashamed to admit that I’d longed for them on not-so-lonely nights too.

Yes, I was a dick of epic proportions. I had a great woman warming my bed in New York, but this woman standing in front of me, real and true, had stolen all my free thoughts.

Shell looked at me wide-eyed when I asked about her daughter, Weezie, as if she thought I’d forgotten she even had one. Shell’s devotion to her daughter was the best part about her ... and the worst. I had no business wading into this situation.

“Weez at home?” I asked again.

It was a trick question, and Shell would hate me for it. But not because I was a selfish man.

No, I wanted to hold her and cherish her body, make her forget she was a struggling single mom for one night. I’d give her pleasure until she couldn’t take any more and collapsed in my arms with a smile. More than anything, I wanted to see if she’d known I was here, and had possibly decided to spend the night with me.

“She’s with Mom and Dad. They like spoiling her.”

I nodded, unable to take my eyes off Shell.

I’d been in a tailspin since Rylan had dropped the news that Shell would be at the party. Rylan had been inspecting my room at the Grand as she talked, making sure it was clean and perfect, and didn’t notice that my world had tilted at her words. Rylan was like that, making sure everyone around her was comfortable and well taken care of, especially if they were staying at the Grand.

Still reeling a little, I told Shell, “Everyone deserves a little spoiling,” and noticed her glance down at her ankle. “It still looks beautiful on you.”

I made a mental note to stop at the jewelry store and see what else they had like that anklet.

“It wasn’t necessary.” Seeming nervous, she ran her palm over her arm, like a person searching for a lifeline.

Lowering my voice, I said, “I told you on my last visit, you deserved it. Let’s move on and agree you’re stunning, and you make that trinket sparkle more than it should.”

Shell looked down as if staring at the stone floor, the pulse in her neck fluttering too many beats per minute.

“So, let’s have a glass of wine and then I’ll take your car home, and my driver will rescue me.”

“Not your driver from the Grand.”

I felt a growl coming up my chest. “Fuck him. I don’t owe him an explanation.” I meant Tony, but she didn’t know that. “I hated having to do it, but my driver has been compensated to stay quiet.”

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