Page 24 of Oh, Hell No

“Impressive,” I said, then took a drink from my glass.

She laughed softly, and the sound distracted me. It had some soothing power to it. One you wanted to listen to again, just to see if it always had that impact.

“Yeah, while my little brother was out changing the world, I was busy going to my boyfriend’s games and the parties he never wanted to miss.”

Alec Dart.

“What, dating the football star wasn’t a fairy tale?” I asked, smirking.

Her eyes widened, then narrowed. “How do you know who I dated?”

I gave her a smug look. “Mafia,” I replied. “We don’t abduct someone without knowing basic facts about the people closest to them that might get in the way.”

She leaned back against the sofa, setting her plate down on the table beside her as she watched me. “What all do you know? I mean, if you know I dated Alec.”

I shrugged. “Not as much as you think. Like I said, basic. The reason Alec was info we needed was because he might be a person who would track you. Notice you were missing.”

She let out a short laugh. “Alec and I haven’t spoken in ten months. I broke it off eleven months ago, and after one month of him calling, texting, sending flowers, he stopped apologizing and left me alone.”

She’d broken it off with him. I liked that. Not that it mattered, but I still fucking liked it.

“Why did you end things?”

She tilted her head to the side, and her dark locks fell over her shoulder. “If you know who Alec is, then you know he plays for the Saints now. When the fame came, faithfulness wasn’t his strong suit.”

He’d cheated. Stupid fucker.

“How’d you find out?” I asked. This had not one damn thing to do with Perry, yet here I was, continuing to go off course.

“I called him after he got to play in their second preseason game his first year with them. We had been dating two years almost to the day. But he didn’t answer. A woman did. They were…well…” She paused, and her cheeks turned a little pink. “His mouth was otherwise occupied between her legs, and she answered the phone, then told me where he was. He took the phone and started apologizing, and I told him it was over. Not to call me again.”

Fucking bastard. I might fuck different women, but I never cheated. I didn’t do relationships.

“Sorry. That was probably more information than you wanted.”

I shook my head, standing to pour myself another drink. “Not at all. Only confirmed my opinion of him.”

Another laugh. “Is that so?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I replied, my own lips tugging into a grin. “Never liked him, and he’s not NFL material.”

“Let me guess…you’re an Ole Miss fan,” she said.

I went to the cabinet with whiskey in it and pulled down a bottle, then glanced over my shoulder at her. “Go Rebels,” I replied, although that was a fucking lie.

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.

“So, you’re telling me you’ve never cheated on a girl?” she asked.

“Never been in a relationship, darlin’. So, no, I haven’t,” I told her as I poured my drink, running the ball on the top of my tongue ring over my lip.

“Like, never?” she asked incredulously. “How have you never been in a serious relationship? You’re, like, what, twenty-six, twenty-seven?”

I turned back around to look at her. “Twenty-seven.” Although I’d only been twenty-seven for three months now.

“And not one time in all those years have you been in a relationship?” she asked me again as if she didn’t believe me.

“If we aren’t counting my hand,” I drawled.

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