Page 33 of Bought and Broken

She gives me a playful shove, then grabs her glass.

“You can’t say it like that if you’ve never seen it.”

“I’ve seen plenty of sunrises, Devon. The sky turns pink and orange. Happens every single day. There’s nothing special about it.”

“You’re wrong,” she whispers against her glass, her eyes focused ahead. “You’re so wrong.”

Chapter Sixteen

Devon

Before I get drunk, I put my half-finished glass of wine on the table and go back to the pool. I’m not drunk by any means, but I feel the alcohol. Two glasses will do that to me. Being a lightweight isn’t something I’m proud of.

I’m more relaxed than I was before and there’s a smile on my face that won’t go away. Getting drunk around Tatum is a bad idea, which is why I need to slow down. I wanted to take the edge off because my head won’t stop, and it worked.

I don’t do much swimming this time, just float around, enjoying the warm water around me and the feeling of being weightless.

“Don’t you have any floaties?” I ask.

“What are you, five?” he calls back teasingly.

“I just like floating on the water without the worry of drowning.”

“I can have some brought up.”

Hm, do I want that? Normally I’d say no. Not to go through the trouble. But Tatum has been a pain in my ass for years, so maybe I’ll take advantage of his kindness while I can.

“Something big that I can lay on,” I call back.

“You got it, babe.”

My stomach does a little flip at him calling me babe, which I should be worried about. But… alcohol.

Tate disappears inside for a short time. When he comes back out, he has a box speaker that he sets down by the chairs. He fiddles with his phone and music plays through the speaker a minute later.

I recognize the song instantly as a Lynyrd Skynyrd song but can’t recall the name of it.

“Still listening to music older than you, I see,” I comment.

Tate smirks as he adjusts the speaker to a different spot on the patio, causing the music to sound better.

“I’ve been meaning to have speakers installed around the pool, but I don’t come here often enough to remember.”

Once he’s happy with the placement of the speaker, he stands straight up and pulls his shirt off.

Well, that’s not what I was expecting to happen…

He folds it before putting it on the chair he was sitting in. Next, he drops his pants. There isn’t a bathing suit under there, just a pair of black boxer briefs that fit him like a second skin. My cheeks heat and I look away.

When he speaks next, he’s right behind me.

How the hell did he get there so fast?

“Why do you always tease me about the music I listen to?” His voice is low and calm.

I swallow hard and spin to face him. I can be nice, but I won’t give in.

“Why not?” I ask.

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