Page 95 of Her Filthy Reverse Harem Romance Collection

Piper snorts at my comparison. “Funning all aside, you’re doing that rapid talk thing you do when you get nervous. Take a breather. It’s just a gala, not a blind date your mom orchestrated. Now let me see!”

I snort. “There’s not much difference. She’ll expect me to flirt and dance all night.” I stand and do a three-sixty for her benefit since she helped me pick out the dress.

Piper leans in. “Damn, there won’t be a limp dick or dry pussy in that ballroom, tonight. Your mom just wants help loosening people’s purse strings. Besides, it’s not like you have to fuck anyone. Well, unless you want to, that is. There are plenty of places in that mansion to get busy. And don’t give me that ‘I have no time for sex and men anymore’ look. Everyone needs a dick now and again. You’re a hotmamacita.” Piper teases, “If I were into chicks, I’d do you in a heartbeat.”

My head falls back and I let out the first crack of laughter I’ve felt belly deep since my time with them. “Piper! Give your V-card to that boyfriend of yours yet?”

“That is a negative. He hooked up with another chick so I am blissfully unattached.”

“As of when? Did I lose track of time somewhere? You guys had dinner last night.”

A corner of her mouth dips into a frown. “Yep. After you left this morning, he sent me a text that he found someone else who can fulfill his needs.”

Sadness sweeps over me for my friend. This makes something close to four boyfriends who have dumped her because she refuses to sleep with them straight out of the gate.

“Don’t give up hope. You’ll find someone who understands what you are looking for.”

“Doubtful. Seems men only want pussy and a slap on the back with a hearty attaboy.”

The woman never did hold back her thoughts. Probably why we were friends from day one of college.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling my shoulders relax a little. I smile for my friend’s sake despite the urge to run and change from the red number I’m wearing for my mother’s charity gala. I’d much rather hole up in my father’s office and work than plaster on a fake smile for the sake of my parents’ equally fake friends.

“Why aren’t you out there flaunting your curves on that dance floor and getting all those rich dinosaurs’ money into your mom’s charity? That’s what tonight is all about, right? All those rich ladies will probably chuck in a few grand more for getting their husbands excited for them.” Piper wiggles her brows and laughs wickedly.

“You truly are the devil,” I toss back and reclaim my position in the chair, laptop balanced on the fat arm instead of the desk.

“Is it childish of me that I feel like stomping my feet and refusing?” I pout and stick my lower lip out for the full effect.

Piper’s lithe form jostles on screen as she flops on her bed and stretches across the fluffy comforter. “That hasn’t worked on anyone for years. You need to relax, take a break and have a little fun. Your code isn’t going anywhere.”

“Exactly.”

Piper pulls the screen close. “Read my lips again—your code isn’t going anywhere as in it will be there when you get back. You, on the other hand, are going somewhere. You’re a bombshell, sweetie. Use it.”

After my break up I spilled the beans to Piper and filled her in on all things Tomas, Maksym, and Stefan. She was hurt at first that I hid my relationship but understood.

“You miss them, don’t you?”

“I do. Why do I have to shape my life around my father’s choices?”

“Who said you did?”

I shake my head. “I have too much respect for my parents’ sacrifice in building their company to ruin it with such a scandal.” I cringe at the mere thought. “I’m so tired. And my heart just aches.”

We’re both quiet for a long minute.

“All the more reason to get out there and mingle. It will help clear your head so you can come back and work with a fresh start. You are wasting a beautiful dress and makeup sitting in a musty old office. Go, have fun. Shake some ass and just live a little, sweetie.”

I shoot her a look as my brow arches.

Piper’s words cause me to be self-conscious and I stroke my palms down the length of my gown. The thought of squeezing my feet back into the heels I kicked off under the desk makes me wish I had five more minutes to convince myself it’s worth all the pain to my arches.

“Okay, if I wait for a little longer everyone will be sufficiently boozed and will happily hand over their checkbooks without a whole lot of conversation.”

Piper purses her lips that smartass way she does when she gets annoyed with my hermit tendencies. “You can’t hole up in your father’s office all evening again, India. Your mom organized a spectacular fundraising gala in your brother’s memory, remember? You worried over it with her for months and now you’re spending it locked away like Cinderella in the tower. Only, you have the sexy red dress and fancy makeup. You do not belong in a dark room. Aaron wouldn’t want that.”

I shove aside the urge to fall into deep thought about my brother we lost to leukemia only a few months prior. “It’s not completely dark. There’s a cozy fire in the hearth,” I try to counter but fail when she gives me a pinched look of disapproval.

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