Page 71 of Pin-up Girl

They both looked at me expectantly. My heart started to race, and my palms started to sweat. Okay, shit, this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought it was going to be.

“Yes, my older sister. She was four years older than me, and for all intents and purposes, she was my mother.”

Sympathy entered Milo’s eyes as he slipped his hand in mine. “Was? You told Emmett you weren’t close with her.”

“She’s dead. She died when I was ten.” When did it get so hot in here? This was a bad idea, a really fucking bad idea. I should have picked the time to privately tell them about Emma, not here in a ballroom full of strangers. “Can we not talk about her? I’ll answer all your questions later, but not here. Not about her.”

Jules slid his phone back my way, taking pity on me.How did you get your first kiss?

This was a much easier question. “A boy I liked had art class with me in seventh grade. At a football game, we started talking under the bleachers while his friends left us. He kissed me. It was sloppy and bad enough that I ditched him after that.”

Milo chuckled and stretched back against the seat, spreading his arms so they lined the top of the booth. The way his jacket pulled tight over his chest was sexy and alluring. Luckily, I had enough willpower to keep my gaze above the chin.

“That’s…underwhelming,” he said, although the smirk said he thought it was hilarious. Even Jules shared a glorious, beautiful smile with me.

For a second, I was struck by how beautiful they were. Not just on the outside, I wasn’t that vain. But how beautiful they were on the inside, despite having only devils for role models.

“Yeah, it was. What about you guys? Tell me first kisses were just destined to be bad.” I squeezed Milo’s knee and smiled at Jules.

“For me, it was okay. One of the maids’ daughters used to come with her on Saturdays. I was probably thirteen or fourteen, and she would sneak in to watch me by the pool. I invited her in one time and totally made my play. I was a horny boy, so it was great for me. I could have kissed the throw pillow and been equally aroused.”

I laughed, slapping a hand over my mouth. “That’s great. I can’t wait for any type of gift giving holiday, this is gold.”

Jules held his phone up to block my view of Milo, jiggling it until I took the phone from him. “Got it, your turn.”

I was eight, an early developer because I never thought girls were gross. The most popular girl in class used to play with me on the playground, and one day, she wore the epitome of a short skirt for an elementary kid. I wanted to see up her skirt, so I dared her to climb up the underside of the big metal slide and flip on the poles. I did it all the time, so I knew it could be done. Anyway, she said she would for a kiss. Win, win. I got my first kiss and watched her ass as she climbed up the underside of the steps.

“Oh my god! You were such a little dickhead.” I was laughing so hard, I had tears in my eyes. He caught me as I fell into him, brushing a sweet kiss over my forehead. The affection in that one touch sobered me right up, and when I tilted my head back to see if he really meant it, he caught my lips with fiery passion. He massaged my thigh while he tangled his tongue with mine, the soft cherry taste of amaretto on his lips.

One of his big, warm hands cupped the underside of my jaw, and he pressed one more sweet kiss to my lips before he drew back.

“I missed you over the last couple days,” I whispered, letting him see exactly what he meant to me. I know, I was a dumb bitch sometimes.

But instead of making me feel stupid, or self-conscious about sharing that vulnerable little admission, he pulled my fingers to his lips and mouthed, ‘I missed you, too.’

We turned back to Milo, who watched us with something akin to confusion on his face. He probably thought it was all for show and there weren’t any true feelings here, at least on my side.

His word from the previous day floated through my head.Worse.

When we’d woke up, I’d done everything I could to pretend the whole thing had never happened, and he had, too. But I thought about it, constantly.

Making love to me face to face was worse than he ever thought it would be. Why? Because he saw I had feelings for him where he had none? Or because he saw what he wanted to see, making me out to be the villain? I’d learned way too early in life that sometimes you couldn’t win, so why try? No, that was when you regrouped and picked the battles you could dominate.

A tinkling laugh echoed across the ballroom, pulling my attention right to a girl in a bright red ballgown with a princess skirt. She was laughing and smiling like she was a legit fairy princess in the arms of her prince charming.

In the arms of Emmett.

Chapter Twenty

Was it possible for me to feel betrayal and jealousy over seeing another girl with Emmett when I had the three of them?

Yes it fucking was.

My whole body felt like it had gone up in flames, and more than anything, I wanted to march over there and slam her beautifully done updo into the fucking ground. Repeatedly.

No, what I really wanted to do was take my old, dull scissors to Emmett’s chest, to carvePin-upin his smooth, perfect, blemish free skin before castrating him. Maybe even toss some whiskey on it once I was done. That would burn right? Add salt to the wound. Oh, salt would be even better.

“What the hell?” Milo straightened and leaned toward the scene across the room, like he couldn’t quite believe his eyes. Jules actually rubbed his eyes then looked back where Emmett was standing.

---