Page 6 of Never the Best

He tucked his hands in his slacks and looked at me with keen eyes.

He was a handsome man, no denying that. We were about the same age—just past thirty, still navigating who we were. I’d seen him around town enough to know he wore a suit well, but today, he was dressed more casually: slacks and a crisp blue-and-white striped dress shirt that made his eyes look like brilliant azure. His hair was freshly cut and styled with just enough precision to look polished without feeling rigid. And, of course, his shoes had red soles—because Rhett Vanderbilt couldn’t help but be a walking fashion statement.

But it was his hands that I'd watched the most. They were big and strong.

I remembered those hands, even though I didn't want to. I remembered them touching my untrained body—coaxing an orgasm out of me, which surprised both of us.

"It doesn't always happen," he told me in awe. "I'm so glad it happened for you. And, fuck, Pearl, you look so beautiful flushed like this."

"Can we do it again?" I asked breathlessly.

"Let me try something."

"What?"

"I'm going to eat your pussy. I…I've never done that before."

"Before I forget, congratulations on your engagement," I trilled. "You and Josie make a lovely couple."

He arched an eyebrow. "Do we?"

"Absolutely. I always thought you'd end up together. She was so keen on you."

He looked confused. "Really?"

"Oh, yes, she was one of your floozies who often told me that…." I shut the fuck up. What was I doing? Why was I talking about the past? Why was I letting Rhett bait me into exposing old scars and scratching them open?

"Told you what?" he coaxed.

I shrugged lazily. "Doesn't matter, and I honestly can't even remember; it's been so many years. Is there anything else I can do for you? I have a meeting shortly."

Rhett nodded. "Yeah, me too. Ah, it's good to see you, Pearl. You…look nice."

"Well, I’m a size six now, so I fit right into Savannah society." Bitterness edged my voice, sharp and unrelenting. I was nice-looking now—acceptable—because I’d lost weight. But no one cared who I was on the inside. No one cared that, once upon a time, my heart had stopped beating. That I had technically died because I’d been starving myself, unable to stand the sight of my reflection. And even now, even after everything, I still struggled to look in the mirror.

He looked hurt, and I wanted to throw something at him.

"I didn't mean it like that, Pearl. It’s good to see you thriving in a professional setting."

"Of course, you did. Now, if you'll excuse me." I tried to keep my voice light, but I knew it wasn't working. My therapist had warned me that going to Savannah would trigger me—that old struggles would resurface, and I'd known that seeing Rhett would be a test to see how far I'd come, if at all.

CHAPTER 3

Rhett

"So, did you hear that Bessie Simons is getting a divorce?" Josie announced.

"She found her husband diddling the maid," said Gary's wife, Dixie May, giggling.

Yep, her name was Dixie May, a perfect summation of her: old Southern money, perfectly polished exterior, with a talent for gossip that could turn even the smallest detail into a full-blown scandal.

"But then Bessie put on all that weight after she had kids; what did she expect would happen?" Josie shook her head, disgusted.

"I don't think a woman who has children and puts on weight should have her spouse cheat on her because of it," my friend Sage interjected.

Sage used to be one of the mean girls, but as we grew up, we both developed a conscience. She was a lawyer and a partner at her father's fancy white-shoe law firm,butshe alsodid a lot of pro bono work. We'd gotten closer over the past years as we found ourselves morally drifting away from the friends we grew up with.

"Oh, come on, Sage, we're not talking aboutyourmarriage," Josie said sweetly, but I knew she was.

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