Page 2 of Suddenly Tempted
“Well, Nate put in an order for a Remy Martin so it’s a good job it’s free or I’d be kicked out of APEX.” Jackson crossed his arms and skulked, jokingly.
Nate Parker was in the social media business, like Blake, only his forte was dating apps. Nate could have bought himself a bottle of Remy Martin with loose change. They all could. But none of the men Devlin knew through his club were men who’d use that as a tool, none of them except Devlin himself. He sighed and waved at Nate who was standing at the other end of the lodge with a man Devlin hadn’t seen in years.
“I’ll have the same then. Thanks, mate.” Devlin strode across the floor towards Nate and his friend, a grin growing on his face. “Christian Carroll, who dragged you into the twenty-first century?”
Christian Carroll rolled his eyes and tugged awkwardly at the Tom Ford shirt that he had buttoned right up to his chin. Devlin laughed and pulled him in for a hug.
“Last time I saw you, you were knee deep in wild grasses,” Devlin said, letting the man go. “Now look at you, all dressed up.”
“It’s all against my will, Dev,” Christian replied, his New York accent clipping his words. “And I’ve been forced out of my comfort zone and into a shirt because my old man is insanely annoying and badgering me to go home. So, obviously I came here instead. Couldn’t resist the lure of some guy time before I face whatever he’s got in store for me this time.”
Christian’s family were the Carrolls of New York department-store fame, but Christian had opted out of a life of wealth and had been building his own charitable business constructing schools abroad. Much to his father’s chagrin.
“Drinks, gentlemen.” Jackson appeared with a tray of Waterford crystal cognac glasses, a bottle of Remy Martin, and a wide grin.
Behind him, Blake hovered with the nervous energy of someone watching a bottle of the good stuff teeter precariously on the end of an arm of a man far too drunk to be careful. Devlin took the tray from Jackson with a single nod and placed it on the end of the bar.
“A toast,” he said, pouring the warm, spicy drink into each of their glasses and handing them out to Jackson, Nate, Christian, and Blake. “To the men we once were and the better men we are today.”
Nate snorted on his cognac. “Who forced you to swallow a motivational, self-help guide?” he jibed.
“Your mum,” Devlin joked back, to a roar of laughter.
He sipped his drink, staring at the flames from the fire raging in the inglenook. Though the lodge was warm, Devlin could see the winds picking up outside. Snow was blasting against the windows and the fir trees swayed as though made from paper. Devlin had spent enough of his life in the mountains to know an approaching blizzard when he saw one.
His stomach dropped. He needed to get out of the resort before he was snowed in. “Guys, I might have to take a rain check. There’s something I need to do.”
“Everything okay, Devlin?” Blake tilted his head.
Devlin nodded, slapping Christian on the shoulder and giving the others a salute. He downed his drink in one great gulp and headed towards the door of the lodge, hoping he hadn’t left it too late. An icy wind whipped snow around him as soon as he stepped out, and he shoved his hands in his pockets to stop his fingers turning blue. Devlin had only made it a few feet before Blake called after him.
“Hey, Dev, you okay? You seemed a bit, I don’t know, distracted back there. It gets to us all sometimes, you know. All this . . . Sometimes we all need a bit of what moneycan’tbuy. Happiness. Love. Find love, and everything else makes sense.”
A sad laugh escaped Devlin’s lips, appearing as a cloud of breath in front of him before he could stop it.
“I’ll bear that in mind, Blake,” he remarked, pulling himself together and winking. “Next time I’m sitting in my twenty-million-pound mansion with a bottle of Dom and a woman whose name I’ll have forgotten by the morning.”
A flash lit up the path and Devlin turned to see a reporter there, a cameraman right next to her.
“Devlin, would you care to comment on what you just said?” asked the woman, who was grinning as if she couldn’t believe her luck.
“Sure, I’ll say it again,” Devlin boomed. “I’m rich, I’m happy, and I couldn’t care less about anyone else or anything else, especially love. Now go printthat.”
He turned his back on the reporters, walking around the corner and heading for his cabin. His own words haunted him, and he felt bad for saying them. He’d no doubt see it in the morning’s papers, or even hear himself saying it over and over on social media if the reporter had been recording the conversation. He’d have to pretend once again that he didn’t care about anything or anyone other than himself.
And itwouldbe pretending.
Devlin sighed. He wasn’t even sure how this reputation had started. He hadn’t always been a rogue, a bad boy. Back when he’d first started his business, eleven years ago, he’d just wanted to create something beautiful and do something good. But he’d soon learned you needed a tough skin in this world, and his skin had toughened with every passing day until he’d convinced himself he couldn’t feel anything anymore.
And as for the stories about supermodels and Hollywood starlets . . . They were just that . . . stories. All except for his ex, of course, Claudia Romano. She had been a supermodel and an actress, and even though they had parted company a year ago she had taught him the greatest lesson of all: not to trust too easily. He’d known things weren’t working, had ended it cleanly, only for her to turn around and sell their story to the highest bidder. He hadn’t trusted anyone with his life story since.
He didn’t exactly mind the rumours about his dating life, they helped boost his reputation and sell his designs. But after all this time being showboated as a bad boy, how was a man with Devlin’s reputation ever supposed to find someone who genuinely liked him as a person and not the lifestyle he brought with him?
He shook his head. He was way too busy for love, especially this weekend.
This weekend he had a job to do, one that required every ounce of his strength.
Ahead, a door opened in the main building and a group of revellers spilled out, two men and three women. Their laughter filled the evening air, followed by a series of excited squeals as they recognised Devlin. Two of the women ran up to him, shivering in their thin party dresses.
