Page 23 of Velvet Sin
I couldn’t handle the idea of a future when I had no fucking idea what it was supposed to look like.I was too proud to admit that.Too stupid, stubborn, scared.So I fucked a random girl from the dorm when I knew Lenny was planning on coming over.I’d even left the door unlocked so she’d walk in and find us.
The worst part?I told myself it was for the best.She would be happier without me.Happier with a man who could give her what she wanted.
And then she went and married that useless prick, Cameron Nichols.I’d pushed the one person that ever mattered in my life into the arms of her husband.
On a whim, I decided to call her via FaceTime.She answered after two rings, and when she did, she was wearing those under-eye mask things and a towel turban on her head.“It’s my day off,boss,” she reminded me.“Don’t tell me you’re calling me to work tonight.”
“What, I can’t call you for any other reason?I’ll have you know, smartass, that I’m looking at houses out here, and I found a good one.I wanted to get your opinion.”
“Whoa.”She sat up straighter as I turned the camera around so it was facing away from me.“That’s not a house.That’s a freaking mansion!”
“Wait until you see the backyard,” I promised, turning toward the windows overlooking the pool.Her stunned gasp made my heart beat faster.It was like being a kid on Christmas, excitement starting to leak into my veins.I was already enthused before the call, but now I had to have it.
“You could throw the best parties out there!I mean, I’m sitting here in a shoebox,” she pointed out with a laugh.“So maybe I’m not the best one to judge.I think anything would be better than this place.”
“You should come over and visit once I move in,” I suggested, winking when I turned the camera around to face me.
“I should’ve known you would make it about that.”She shook her head and clicked her tongue, pretending to disapprove, when I knew the opposite was true.She couldn’t hide from me.
“Can you imagine swimming in that pool?Floating on your back, letting the water support your naked body…” I might’ve started this as a joke, but now the idea made my dick twitch.
“Watch it,” she warned.“I’ll come over for a housewarming, West.I’ll bring you a blender or something.”
“Slap a big bow on yourself, and I’ll be satisfied.”There was no pretending I didn’t want her.Keeping my hands to myself was enough of a challenge.She couldn’t expect more than that.
“I wonder if they sell big bows online…” No sooner did a wicked gleam flicker in her eyes than she scowled.“No.I take that back.No big bows.No anything.I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
She ended the call before I had the chance to say another word.
When Jeanette stepped into the living room, her chipper voice echoed loudly in the large, empty space.“What do you think?Want to see the upstairs?”
“No need,” I decided without looking her way.“I’ll take it.”
“We… haven’t discussed price,” she reminded me with a tight, disbelieving laugh.
“We don’t need to,” I replied, turning on my heel and leveling a hard gaze her way.“The price is incidental.I know what I want when I see it.And I want this house.”
Just like I wanted to bend Lenny over a chair by the pool and make her scream.Like the house I stood in, I’d get what I wanted.No matter how determined she was to deny me.
Because Lenny wanted the same thing, whether she’d admit it or not.
10
ELEANOR
Back when I had to start looking for sales, picking up the cheapest ingredients I could find, including instant ramen, cereal, rice, and beans, I had gotten by, but it was nobody’s idea of thriving.So whenever I felt slightly guilty for doing the sort of work I did, I went to the grocery store and remembered how grim things were in the weeks and months after the divorce.Not that there was anything wrong with my job, but it wasn’t exactly something I wanted to brag about.
I’d never again be the woman I was during my marriage.That much I knew for sure.Back when I could go to the store and buy anything and everything that looked good.Back when I used to research recipes for Cameron, preparing sometimes lavish meals.Anything, so long as he was happy.So long as I could hold onto the life we had built.
No, I was a different person now, buying frugally, aware of prices in a way I never had been.Not much mattered more than building my savings.I would never feel that breathless desperation again.
And I had Dante to thank.
I could still barely wrap my head around it as I unloaded my cart and placed items on the conveyor belt for the cashier.For so long, Dante had been the symbol of everything that went wrong in my life—my broken heart, my complete drop in self-esteem, my trust issues.All of that damage made Cameron seem like the ideal partner.He had always adored me and was completely on my side in cursing Dante for ruining a good thing.He made me feel safe, protected.
Funny how things changed.
“Hey, girl!”I jumped in mute surprise and turned my head in time to find Casey jogging my way as I loaded a couple of bags into the back seat of my Lexus.“We were all starting to think you dropped off the face of the earth.Where have you been?”
