“Too bad.” He looks around the room. “This is quite impressive, but I would expect nothing less. Only… What’s a guy to do with this?”
He holds up the ultra-feminine beige SWAG bag with the flesh-pink velvet ribbon, and I shrug. “Give it to your wife. Where is Vanessa?”
He grimaces, looking into the bag. “Our divorce was finalized last week.”
“Rick, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“Yeah, fuck all that. You’ve had the right idea all along. There are far too many hot women in the world to tie myself down to screwing only one. I plan to make up for lost time, starting now. What do you say?”
My brow furrows, and strangely, I have no interest in his plan. In the past, I probably would have been fine with showing him around town, seeing what Oceanside has to offer. I take another passing flute of champagne.
Daisy swirls up beside us at that moment with her pituitary case husband who looks something out of Hollywood Tonight.
“Hey, Rick, I see you found Spencer.” She rises on tiptoes to give him a hug. “He was looking for you last night, Spence. I think Rick wanted to pull an all-nighter.”
“A missed opportunity,” I deadpan, still feeling off my game. “You should have sent him out with your husband.”
“Nah, thanks, but that’s never been my style. I’m a one-woman guy.” Scout looks down at his wife, and the adoration brimming in his eyes makes me angry.
I am not a one-woman guy. I need to fucking eat something. “If you’ll excuse me.”
I move away from them, returning to the food tables. I’m about to take what looks like a salmon croquette when I lift my eyes and there she is, entering the ballroom in a dress that makes me hesitate.
It’s a floor-length white gown with a sparkling gold band wrapped around her narrow wais
t, crisscrossing her bodice, and curving over each of her full breasts, which are straining like pillows against strapless cups. My dick gets hard at the sight of her.
She’s old-school sex kitten with her red hair swept back and falling in large curls around her shoulders.
Blue eyes land on me, and a hint of a smile teases her dark red lips. She crosses the floor, walking straight to me with all the confidence of a witch casting a spell.
“You made it.” Her slim hand touches my shoulder, and she rises slightly to give me a kiss at my ear that sets my teeth on edge. “How’s the back? Any better? I like this tux.”
The way she’s acting is worse than her anger. She’s familiar and curious and wanting me to be well—or to help me get there. Blinking up, she touches my chin and smiles like I’m her hero.
I’m nobody’s fucking hero. Not even my own.
“I told you I’d be here. I’m a man of my word.”
“Yes.” Her full lips part with a smile, and her eyes dance. “You’re honest and not nice at all, and you never sleep with the same woman twice. I’m learning.”
Is she teasing me? Dammit, the last time she did this, I kissed the shit out of her… and she was soft and pliant, and she tasted like honey. I want to take her mouth again, kiss her like I did before, like she belongs to me.
She doesn’t belong to me.
That thought pisses me off even more.
Our chemistry is very real, but I won’t let her have control over me.
“Why are you here alone? You should have brought a date.” Do I want that?
“I knew I’d be seeing you.” She’s undeterred by my gruffness. “How did you sleep last night? Any pain?”
“I took an edible. I was asleep ten minutes after you left.”
“Wait, are you saying you ate some weed?” She does that adorable little pursed smile like she’s scolding me. It shouldn’t work on a woman her age, but it does.
So well.