I follow him as he leads me up the stairs and back to the main floor. When we reach the kitchen, Bailey is sitting on a bar stool, eating granola.
“Hey!” Her face lights up and she swings her little body off the chair, making her way to me. “Brantley said you were here, so I thought I’d come say hi.”
I pull her in for a hug, the familiarity strong. “Are you okay?” I ask, my hands coming to her arms as I search over her. “He hasn’t hurt you?”
“Stop being so dramatic, little terror.”
My cheeks hurt from the smile that’s stretching over my face. “Can I say that I prefer little terror over princess?”
Brantley pours some coffee into a mug and that’s when my eyes come to him. He’s wearing loose grey sweats and no shirt. Did I say no shirt, because I meant no fucking shirt. His floppy dark hair falls over his forehead slightly, his dark eyes zeroing in on me. The dick print is strong, and I have to fight with myself not to do something girly like bite my lip or moan.
When my eyes finally come back to Brantley’s, he’s smirking at me over the rim of his mug. “You’re drooling like you haven’t seen what’s under these pants.”
I roll my eyes, taking my attention back to something safe, like Bailey.
“How are you?”
She shrugs. “I’ll be okay. I have orders that I’ll be starting Riverside Prep next year, so I guess I’m just winging it until then.”
My eyes shoot to Brantley. “Is that right? Awful school…”
Nate kicks the backs of my legs. “That’s my school you’re talking about…literally. I own it.”
I flop down onto a bar stool as Brantley slides over a cup of coffee. I take it, sipping on the hot drink. “So what have you been doing while you’ve been here? Are you attending your old school until RPA?”
“No, I’ve taken the rest of the year off until I start.”
“Oh, that’s awful. Being stuck in this house with this bossy bastard?”
She shrugs. “It’s not all that bad. Brantley throws platinum cards at me and bought me a shiny new car.”
I smirk at Brantley. “I would call that love in their language.”
Brantley flips me off. “Shut up.”
I giggle, looking back at Bailey. “Have you heard from your parents?”
Her body visibly halts, her face falling. “Yeah once. When I told them that Brantley had taken me in, they apologized for everything and tried to cover what they had done to make me come home. I told them no. I think they were scared, to be honest.”
I snort. “With good reason. Has Brantley told you about the Vitiosis graveyard in the back? Because let me tell you…”
Bailey starts laughing, her little face tipping back. She’s so beautiful. She’s going to own that school, not just with her beauty, but with the Vitiosis name attached to it too.
“Yeah,” she chuckles. “He has. That was the first threat he gave me.” She stands from her seat, just as Bishop and Eli walk into the kitchen. “Oh! I got you a gift.”
I sit up straight. “Me? Why?”
She flushes. “I don’t know. You saved me. I’ll always owe you, but for now…”
She leans over the kitchen island, her perky, young ass in the air for all the boys to see. My eyes go straight to Nate. Bet the fucker is eating it up, but when my eyes land on his, he’s smirking at me. My stomach clenches at the stare he’s giving me.
“Surprised?” His smirk darkens.
Damnit.
Bishop isn’t taking notice, but Eli is. He tilts his head, his lips forming an O.
Brantley shakes his head, laughing.
Bailey stands back up, thank god, and hands me a small Tiffany & Co. box. “Here you go. It’s just something that reminded me of you, because of your tattoo on your thigh.”
My hand comes to my thigh before I flip open the box.
“Holy shit,” I whisper. It’s a rose gold crown with flush white diamonds glistening over every single piece of it. The chain glistens as it hits the sunlight.
I slam it shut. “I can’t accept this, Bailey. It’s too much. I like—”
“—She likes Chinese food,” Nate interrupts, choking on a laugh.
Bailey glares. “Listen, you will put it on and love it because I will be offended if you don’t. It’s nothing. Honestly, and if it makes you feel better, I paid for it with Brantley’s money, so—”
“—That money is yours too, Bailey, it’s a trust fund.”
“Shhhh.” I push my finger to my lips, grinning at Brantley. “It does make it a lot better.” I exhale, taking it out of the box. “I love it so much. Thank you.” I stand up and pull her in for a hug. “I mean it. And saving you was no problem. I wish I went with these assholes more often. Maybe I could save a few more girls,” I joke, but she stiffens in my grip.