Page 8 of Beautiful Beast

I spend a lot of time in my own head because I love reading and exploring new worlds through books. My imagination is overactive, and it doesn’t take much to conjure up an image of Adam in a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal his roped, tattooed forearms.

Is there such a thing as arm porn? There should be.

“I didn’t really get a good look at him, but based on those photos, I’m sure he looks sexy in anything. Are you sure they were recent pictures? Maybe he got… I don’t know, old and gross since they were taken.”

“He’s notthatold,” Ariel complains. “And even if he was, I wouldn’t mind calling him daddy.”

A laugh that’s more of a snort escapes and makes the fratboy-looking guy in front of us turn around to stare. He does a double-take and starts to say something to me, but I turn toward my friend and blatantly ignore him.

“To answer your question, the beach picture was just last summer,” Ariel says. “So there’s no way he could have gotten super old or gross in that short amount of time.”

So, he was hiding for another reason.

We give our orders at the counter, and while we’re waiting for the custom, overpriced creations, Ariel asks a question that makes my stomach bottom out.

“Does your mom know about… everything?”

It hurts so much to learn that my grandmother was alive throughout my childhood. It’s too late, but I can already guess that having her in my life would have been a blessing.

I could have told her what was happening.

She could have let me live with her.

And she could have saved me.

“No,” I reply quietly, looking around as though my mother is going to suddenly appear. “And she can never know. Not about the money, the apartment, or that I know the truth.”

To say that my mother is unstable would be an understatement.

“I’m sure she couldn’t get past the doorman anyway,” Ariel says.

But I did, and hopefully, Adam didn’t ream him out too hard for allowing me entry. It’s not like I saw anything anyway because I didn’t get past the foyer.

And who the hell is rich enough to have a foyer as big as a museum anyway?

I’m curious about Adam, mostly because of how rude he was to me. It’s not something I’m used to from men, and I didn’t do anything to deserve such hostility. I mean, trespassing, really? All I was doing was looking for my grandmother’s place, not casing the joint.

Even though Adam wasn’t receptive – to say the least – I’m going to try and get to know him. Not in the creepy stalker-like way Ariel is suggesting, but in a normal, new neighbor kind of way.

I don’t know anyone else in the building, and I can’t go around knocking on penthouse doors introducing myself. If there’s one thing I’m sure rich people like other than their money, it’s privacy, so I’m not going to show my poor girl cards and give away that I don’t belong.

But Adam and I already know each other – kind of – so it’s different with him.

And we’re more or less friends – sort of – so it’s okay if I try and chat him up.

Maybe Ariel isn’t the only delusional one in our relationship.

The encounter just doesn’t sit well, and with my tendency to overanalyze and worry about everything, I can’t let it go. I’m compelled to figure Adam out when usually I could care less if I go a week without talking to anyone.

So, I’m going with my gut and assuming there’s a reason for being drawn to him.

And I have a plan that no red-blooded man can resist.

Chapter 3

Adam

Somepeopledon’ttaketrespassing violations very seriously, and the beautiful Belle is one of them.

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