Page 48 of Crash

“It’s Sandy,” I say, holding her phone. She doesn’t look happy as she takes it from me. When I heard it vibrate, I reached it before she could, ready to tell Blake to fuck off, but lucky for him, he wasn’t calling.

I do my best to pretend like I’m not listening to her one-sided conversation with my sister-in-law. I don’t miss her eyes on my body as I dress, still wrapped in a towel as she digs through her suitcase.

“You came by my room?” she says as she pulls out black leggings, a denim skirt, and a black sweater. “I just got out of the shower.” It’s technically true. What she fails to mention is that she just got out ofmyshower after showering with me. “No, that’s a Clark thing.”

I assume Sandy just invited her to brunch. I pretend to busy myself by putting on my belt.

“That’s sweet, Sandy, but I don’t want to intrude. You told me this is a family tradition. Please, don’t worry about me, okay?” She listens some more as I put on my shoes.

She’s right about it being a family tradition. We’ve had the company Christmas party here all my life, andthe entire family meets for brunch the next day, followed by Uncle John’s Christmas party later that night.

“I was going to spend the day in the city. Do a little Christmas shopping,” she explains, standing in the middle of my room, phone attached to her ear as she holds onto her clothes. “I can get lunch at a McDonald’s or something. It’s not a big deal.” I cringe at the thought, but keep my mouth shut as I continue to eavesdrop. She finally sighs in resignation. “Fine. I’ll see you in a few.” She ends the call and tosses the phone on the bed.

She loses the towel and slathers lotion on her naked body.

“Sandy convinced you to come to brunch?” I ask as casually as I can.

“She refused to take no for an answer.” As she dresses, I consider how she’d react if I hold her hand as we walk into the private room my family has reserved for brunch. Instead of her usual leggings and a big t-shirt, she looks so incredibly beautiful in a mini skirt over her leggings, with an off-shoulder black top that gives her an eighty’s look. But when she takes her hair out of that messy bun, I become breathless. It’s a big, long, curly mess that tumbles down to her mid-back. She doesn’t even bother with a comb or brush. She runs her hand through it a few times and shrugs at her reflection. Without bothering with any makeup, she puts on a pair of high boots, shoves her clothes back into her bag, and throws the bag over her shoulder.

“Whoa,” I say as she starts to towards the door. “What are you doing?” I take the bag from her and throw it at the top of the closet, out of her reach.

“Putting my stuff back in my room.”

I pull out the extra room key from my back pocket and hand it to her. “Leave your stuff and just come back here.” I try to shrug as if it’s no big deal.

“You’re giving me a key to your room?” She smiles as she puts it in the back pocket of her skirt.

“Don’t get too happy. It’s only a room key, not the key to my mansion.” She throws her head back and laughs so hard she snorts.

“There will never be a day when I will need a key to your mansion, rich boy.” Her words are playful.

She tries to punch me on the arm, but I dodge her and put my arm around her shoulders instead. “Let’s go have brunch.”

“Um, no.” She shrugs out of my hug. “You go first, and I’ll wait a few minutes.”

I shrug to mask my disappointment. For now, we’ll do this her way. “Whatever. Just bring your little ass here later.”

She walks up to me and jabs me with her finger. “Who do you think you’re ordering around, barbarian?” She’s looking up at me, both hands on her hips.

I resist the urge to laugh. Instead, I pull her to me and silence her with a deep kiss. “I’ll see you soon, suffragette.”

CHAPTER 26

VIVI

I wait a full fifteen minutes before I leave Luke’s room. I know Sandy and Jake aren’t on this floor, but I poke my head out of the room and look in both directions before exiting. I walk as quickly as I can to the elevator and let out a huge breath of relief when I manage to get to the banquet room without anyone seeing me.

When I arrived at the party last night, the last thing I expected was to end up spending the night with Lucas Clark. And what a night it was, too. I can feel my nipples hardening at the thought of his hands and mouth all over my body. I knew the barbarian had a great body, but nothing compares to seeing him completely naked.

As if I can sense him, I turn my head to find him looking at me. I blush because I know he’s probably thinking about last night too. My thoughts are confirmed when I see a smug smile spread across his handsome face.

Sandy and Jake walk in, hand in hand, Sandy laughing. Mrs. Clark sees them and walks over, hugging Sandy tight and placing her hand on her still very flat belly. She hugs her again before kissing both of her cheeks. Sandy says something to Mrs. Clark, and she throws her head back with laughter. She then turns to Jake and pinches his cheek before she kisses it repeatedly. Jake and Sandy walk to what looks like an omelet bar. He stands behind her, her back to his chest, his arm wrapped possessively around her.

As I watch the sweet scene, I can’t help but think how lucky Sandy is to be in love and loved back by not only her husband but his entire family. It’s so easy. Most of my mom’s family live outside the country, and no one in my father’s family interacts with my mother.

This is what a family should be. For a few hours today, I’ll watch from the outside.

By the time I fill my plate and find a seat, Troy and his family arrive. Tristan and Emma head straight for Jake and Sandy, while Travis runs to his uncle Luke. Not missing a beat from his conversation with his father, Luke swoops Travis up into his arms, and something inside me melts when Travis puts his head in the crook of Luke’s neck.

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