Page 3 of Four Fiances & I

“Who are these girls?” he asks, nodding towards them. This is what I love about Layton, he never pretends to like someone. He shows it if he doesn’t deem you important or worthy of his time.

“They used to be my best friends; I’ve known them most of my life,” I answer, sipping my coffee. Layton's eyebrows disappear under his hair before looking back at them.

“The ones who left you the night Maximus offered me the job?”

I nod, knowing what night he’s referring to.

Layton got his job as my bodyguard after Maximus saw how well he looked after me one night. I was so drunk I couldn’t stand and was throwing up everywhere. He had been a bouncer at the club, and the girls had left me to chase after some guys, leaving me with the moron I was dating at the time.

“Who is this if not your boyfriend?” Sophia asks, watching Layton and me.

“I’m her bodyguard,” he answers, standing tall beside me. Amber and Sophia look at each other and burst out laughing.

“What the fuck do you need a bodyguard for?” Amber laughs. “Thinking very highly of yourself, Jaz.”

“It’s to keep her safe from lowlifes like you.”

My heart skips a beat as Maximus steps into view in his jeans and black shirt, looking like a god.

“Max!” Sophia screams and goes to launch herself at him. He growls as he stops her before she can touch him.

“For the last time, it’s Maximus,” he growls.

“But Max will be so much easier when I moan it,” she smirks, causing me to choke on the coffee I was sipping.

“Oh shit!” Layton gasps as he looks at me. I’m staring at the girl who has the audacity even to suggest my man would touch her.

“Shorty never has any issues moaning my name,” he replies, wrapping an arm around my waist and tugging me close to him before kissing me so hard that it takes my breath away.

“You're sleeping with your stepbrother!” Amber yells before laughing again. I smile at Sophia as I lean against my man, leaving my hand resting on his chest. I can tell she’s put out that I have what she has always wanted.

“Oh, this could be interesting,” Layton mutters under his breath, unable to hide the massive smirk on his face, as Maximus chuckles in my hair. The girls seem oblivious to the fact, and the guys are trying, but failing, to hold it together.

“I always thought she would end up with that stuck-up fucker Christian,” Sophia adds.

And just like that, all the humour from the situation has gone.

“What did you call him?” I demand, stepping out of Maximus’s arms.

“Oh, come on, he was always telling you what to do and that you should stay at home and be a good little girl,” she answers, rolling her eyes.

“Maybe he was looking out for me as he could see I was on a slippery slope and was going to end up throwing everything away,” I point out, annoyed.

“You wouldn’t have thrown everything away; you were just trying to have fun. He was a killjoy, and you know it.”

I step forward and close the distance between us a little. I hear Layton asking Maximus if he should intervene, but he knows, as well as anyone else, that this is overdue.

“At least he helped me when I hit rock bottom. He didn’t force me out onto the streets with nowhere to go or money to eat.”

“We didn’t force you out; we gave you a couch to live on. You’re the one who disappeared in the middle of the night without so much as a word!” Amber snaps, taking a step forward.

“Because I couldn’t afford to stay! You wanted two hundred pounds a week from me!” I yell, throwing my empty hand up in the air.

“It was to go towards the rent and bills,” she screeches back.

“Yeah, the whole amount! What were you going to pay towards?” I ask. “I heard everything you two said that last night when you thought I was still at rehearsal—laughing about how you were going to get me to pay for everything so you guys could enjoy the free ride and have more money to spend at the weekends. You figured you would get more money out of me that way, not like you ever paid for the nights out anyway; it was always me. You even said it was the only reason you kept my sorry ass around.” I had been so hurt hearing how my best friends didn’t really care about me, and it was always my generosity they loved.

I leave out how I heard they would try to get money from the O’Reillys for putting me up. I can already sense Maximus’s anger radiating behind me. I don’t need to add fuel to that fire. Feeling him there reminds me that I don’t need them anymore. I have more than they ever will.

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