Page 36 of Nothing to Do

“It’s a disease,” Alana interjected. Had she been listening the whole time? “Addiction is a disease. It’s not his fault.”

Maybe. Maybe not.

“His addiction is none of my business, disease or otherwise. My sister’s safety is my primary concern.”

“Running away from him will send a message,” Alana said. “You’ll be telling him he’s broken.”

It could be argued he was, wasn’t everyone broken in one way or another?

Lark leaned toward the center of the table. “Zane Dyce came to Alessia’s room to apologize!”

Shit, how long had the woman been biting her tongue on that one?

“Oh my God,” Alana said. “Do you think he’ll visit everyone?”

The sneaky look Alessia and Lark exchanged almost deserved an eye roll.

“No,” she said uninterested in being the subject of gossip. “He and I have been working together while you’ve been on excursions with Roman.”

“Last night Roman said you were perfect for each other,” Lark said. “That you captivated Zane, is that true? Are you together?”

“No.”

“So just sex then?”

“No! Not just sex, not just anything.” How had this all turned around on her? “We had a friendship and now it’s through.”

“Because of what happened last night?”

God, these women were relentless.

“So you think he’s broken too? That he’s responsible for his cousin’s actions?”

“Not the actions, but enabling him, yes,” she said. What the Lowe and Dyce families decided to do for each other was their business. “There’s no denying last night wouldn’t have happened in another environment. Dyce gave Roman all the tools he needed to—”

“To what?”

“What the hell is with the inquisition? Aren’t we going to eat?”

In silence, if she had her way. No one had even looked at their plates. Deciding to take the lead, the quicker she scarfed the food, the sooner she could get away from the table. Maybe Alessia would be more reasonable alone without her posse.

The last thing she wanted to do was deprive her sister of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But what exactly did looking after her mean if she let Alessia spend time with a potential abuser?

“I’ve never known anyone who slept with a billionaire before.”

It was like she wasn’t even there. Or she was there, screaming into the void, and no one could hear her. Drama was fuel for these women, and they knew exactly how to use it to its full potential.

“You don’t think about it do you? Weren’t you terrified?” Alana asked. “He’s probably had sex with the hottest women on the planet.”

Alessia’s shoulders went back. “My sister is hot.”

“Yeah, but, not like supermodel hot. Look at Sway, she’s just… on another plane.”

“You think she slept with Zane?” Lark asked on a gasp. “Maybe that’s why Roman was so upset last night! He found out his cousin had sex with the love of his life.”

Wow, it was just… wow. Did people really live their lives this way?

“If Sway and Zane got together, she wouldn’t marry Deacon.”

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