Page 69 of Heartbreaker

Because, yeah, the words had hurt at the time.

But Amber was really good at hurting me.

Jade’s reaction isn’t so cavalier. She pushes out of my lap and bursts to her feet. “She saidwhat?”

“You heard me right, Shortcake.”

Her hands fist at her sides. A muscle in her jaw flexes. Bright red burns over her cheekbones. She opens her mouth, and I—never for a thousand years—would I have been able to predict the next words that come out of her mouth.

“Th-that…strumpet!”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Jade

Royal throwshis head back and laughs.

Really laughs.

I don't think I’ve ever heard him laugh like this, and the sound is…wonderful. The look on his face, the pure joy in his eyes, catches me off-guard. He’s already the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, but this side of him makes him a veritable heartbreaker. And Amber is a moron. What kind of woman abandons the man she supposedly loves after an accident like that?

“You’re something, Shortcake.” He brushes his mouth over mine, hovering, a smile still playing on his lips. “Thanks for making me laugh.”

“Was what I said funny?” I wrinkle my nose.

“Honey, I’m almost positive I’ve never heard the wordstrumpetused in real life before.”

I blush. “It was Grandma’s favorite word for a woman she didn’t think much of—and she wouldn’t have liked Amber at all.” I pause. “I don’t either.”

“Yeah, sometimes I still have a hard time believing I married her,” he says thoughtfully.

“Did your friends like her?” I ask curiously. “Banks and Briar and the others?”

“Not particularly. They didn’t dislike her, because in retrospect it seems like she was on her best behavior around them, but she didn’t really spend much time with them either. I was touring then, and she was with me, so we didn’t get together very often. Looking back, that probably should have been a huge red flag, but you know what they say about hindsight.”

“Well, she was a fool,” I say, putting my hand on the side of his face. “She didn’t know what she had.”

“Oh, I think she knew—she just didn’t want it anymore.”

“Like I said, she was a fool.”

Our gazes lock, and the ever-present cloud of electricity seems to surround us.

His lips capture mine, his kisses soft and sensual, teasing, playful.

There might not be anything I enjoy more than the playful version of Royal.

Except maybe passionate, sexy Royal.

“I’m hungry,” he says, rolling over. “You wore me out.”

“Iwore you out?” I counter, laughing. “I beg to differ.”

“Are you hungry?” he asks pointedly.

I have to admit, my stomach could be down for a snack. “I could eat,” I say, getting to my feet.

We pad into the kitchen together and I rummage in the fridge. “Cheese, crackers, fruit…impromptu charcuterie board?”

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