Page 60 of Away With You
“That’s right.” I tilt my chin in a silent challenge.Bring it on, sister.
She sniffs, dragging her dismissive eyes over me once more. I supress the urge to hike my dress up over my meagre cleavage and smooth back my wayward hair.Show no weakness, Katie!
“I’ve heard nothing about you,” she declares, and I bite back a smile.Why would she have?
“Yes, well, I know a lot about you.” The words are out of my mouth before I can think better of them, and Victoria’s eyes narrow in response.
Gulp.
“Don’t believe everything he tells you. There are two sides to every story and every breakup. Nathan wasn’t the little victim here.”
Blood rushes to my head, and I hear it whirring through my ears.She did not just say that, did she?
My fists clench in front of me. “And what part exactly did Nathan play in you getting engaged to his brother?”
Her face turns all the shades of red, and I delight in each one. Even the thick layer of make-up she has lacquered onto her face can’t hide the nerve I’ve just struck.
Good.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she hisses, stepping into my personal space and towering over me. In her heels, she is almost a foot taller than I am, and I have to tilt back to maintain eye contact. It’s a power move; one I’d respect if it came from anyone else. “You’re new here; you’ll learn the hierarchy.”
I gasp.Have I stumbled into an episode ofSuccession? Who speaks like this?
“Sure.” I glance around like I’m over this conversation, when really, I’m looking to be rescued or for the exit. “Except, I’m not that new. I’ve known Nathan for years.”
This catches her attention, a flash of doubt taking over some of the smugness in her face. Now she’s looking around, seeing people glancing our way, and takes a small step back. Plastering a fake smile on her blood-red lips, she leans over. “Just remember,Ilefthim. I picked the better brother. You’re only here because of that. Enjoy my sloppy seconds.”
For a long, drawn-out moment, I’m speechless.Who does this woman think she is? And why is she so awful?My Italian genes kick in and I draw myself up all my five feet and three inches. “That’s a delightful story and all, Vicky.” She winces, and my grin is triumphant. “But if you really think about it, I saw him first. You got my sloppy seconds, and now he’s woken up and realised the truth.”
“And what was that?”
I glance over my shoulder, my eyes colliding with his lake blue ones. “That he was mine all along.”
Victoria splutters, and I pat her arm with a large amount of condescension before turning and walking away. With a confidence I’m not feeling, I saunter away from Nathan’s ex-girlfriend, unruffled and unaffected, while guests around me eye me and titter behind their hands. When I get to Nathan, I all but collapse into his arms, my feet tingling and my stomach churning in the aftermath of that confrontation.
“What did she say to you?” Nathan growls into my ear, his arms like steel bands around my back.
I sink into him further, shaking my head. “That’s not it.” Leaning back, I stare at him, eyelashes blinking wildly. “It’s what I said to her.”
He looks over my head and back at me, his brow furrowed while a ghost of a smile tips his lips. “Victoria looks shell-shocked. What did you do?”
My once tingly feet are now numb. “We have to get out of here,” I whisper urgently. “Like right now.”
He immediately moves us towards the exit, his arm wrapped around my shoulders. “Oh, you’ve got me intrigued. I’ve never seen her look like that before.”
I urge him to walk faster, until the two of us are all-but jogging across the sand to safety. We’re both out of breath when we get to our bungalow (okay, I’m out of breath, Nathan looks like he could go run a marathon), and he stops me going in with a gentle hand on my arm.
“Tell me what happened.”
I bite my lip and gaze up at him, miserable.How could I let my mouth run away with me like that? What a stupid thing to say.
“Okay, so it’s bad.”
He smiles at me like I’m an unruly kitten, like nothing I could do would ever be that bad. “Come on, tell me.”
I huff out a breath. “You have to know; she was baiting me. Saying many unkind things…”
“About you?” he snarls.
