Page 27 of Surprisingly Us

I stare at the photo on the screen. It’s me and Lettie leaving the wedding. It must have been taken after I’d put Hannah’s Aunt Maggie in the car. Lettie had been rushing toward the car and tripped, but I’d caught her.

I use my fingers to zoom in on the photo.

My arm wrapped possessively around Lettie’s waist. My fingers brushing the loose hair off her face. That’s the picture they published.

I shake my head. It’s the perfect example of a photo being taken out of context. She’d only been in my arms for a few seconds, tops. That photographer must have gotten every moment leading up to that shot and every moment after, yet this is the one that they posted.

“Another woman was with us.”

“There weretwowomen? Jesus, Rhys, I thought you were going to stop that shit. What about the foundation board?”

“Calm down. The other woman was Hannah’s Aunt Maggie and we were taking her home. She had too much to drink at the wedding.”

“You’re lucky they didn’t get you with the other woman, too. That would have been an easy story to spin.”

“I only had that one threesome. You make it sound like it’s been a common occurrence.”

“You know as well as I do, it’s never about what actually happened, it’s what others believe could happen.” He waves a hand at me. “When you’ve had mischievous fuckboy written on your face in permanent marker for the last five years, it’s not exactly easy to get it off.”

I exhale, then rub my thumb along my bottom lip. “What’s the damage?” I ask.

Ramsey lifts his brows. “Surprisingly, none. In fact, social media is abuzz with speculation in a good way for once.”

He scrolls on his phone and shows me another picture. It’s Lettie and I dancing at the wedding. We’re not the focus of the photo, just two people dancing in the background. It must have been taken and posted online by another guest. Social media did its thing and somehow connected the two.

“It’s assumed she was your date.”

Seeing the picture of us dancing, I recall how it felt to hold Lettie in my arms. Familiar, yet new. Looking into her blue eyes transported me back to those summers at Lake George, remembering how young and innocent we were then, but her lithe, muscular frame beneath my hands, the way her tongue unconsciously brushed over her full pink lips, piqued the interest of the man I am now.

But I shouldn’t think of Lettie like that. And if I’m going to have any chance of cleaning up my reputation, I need to keep my dick in my pants for the next few months. Until the board votes.

I hand him back the phone. It had been easy with Lettie last night. She was sharp and witty, and gorgeous. And exactly who I should be spending my time with. She’d be the perfect girlfriend to help me win favor with the foundation board.

But why would she date me?

That’s the million-dollar question. Or in this case, the billion-dollar question because that’s the value of The Spencer Foundation. While its main purpose now is philanthropic efforts, investments, and partnerships with global companies, the entrepreneurial efforts made by my parents when they started it has grown the foundation to a billion-dollar entity.

And Jerrod wants control.

The memory of his smug face sends a fresh wave of anger coursing through my veins.

Ramsey waves the phone. “Jerrod texted as well. Corinne needs to confirm a head count for their dinner party, so Jerrod wants to know if you’re bringing a date.”

“Of course he does.”

I stamp out my cigarette butt on the railing, then toss it over.

Ramsey’s jaw drops. “You can’t just throw those overboard. That’s littering.”

I push my hand into my hair. “Shit. I forgot.”

He sighs, grabbing the net nearby. “I’ll go fish it out…again.”

“I’ll remember next time. Promise.”

“Or you can just quit smoking. That would work, too.”

I ignore his comment, my focus returning to Jerrod’s text. I can’t show up alone to that dinner party. Not when he and Corinne are going to be playing happy couple dinner party hosts and all the board members and their significant others will be there.

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