Ouch. His words sting again. Moved on to someone better.
He lands a kiss on my forehead, but I don’t feel anything at his affection. I don’t tip my face up to meet his lips, and he misreads me, soothing me with a soft shh before he whispers.
“You don’t need Gerwyn, baby, don’t worry. You’re a slut that deserves plenty of rough, hard cock, but trust me, you’ll get more than enough without calling in vanilla dick with his cute, chequered shirts.”
I try not to tense up when I see the filthy smile on Ant’s face, because I can sense a mile off what’s coming next.
“I’ve already got a whole load of cock lined up for you tomorrow night, since I knew the crusader would be over in London.” He laughs. “You needn’t worry about Gerwyn watching the procession of guys marching in. We’ll be keeping it well and truly away from him.”
The procession.
So, there’s definitely going to be a load of them.
With that Ant presses tighter against me, and the switch is flicked. The man I adore more than all others comes back, brushing a thumb down my cheek as he meets me eye to eye.
“God, I love you,” he says. “I’m still in awe of how perfect a woman you are. You were a beautiful creature this evening, princess. The whole restaurant must have seen how in love we are. We got smiles from every corner.”
I’d usually light up like a beacon at his compliments, but the feeling doesn’t hit me so hard this time.
“Trust me, baby,” he adds. “I’m going to be so proud when you become Mrs Bradstone. So proud to see your dad walking you up the aisle.”
Talking about our wedding day is enough to bring me back to him, and maybe he knows that, because his eyes are sparkling. Sharp. It doesn’t matter what his motives are though, the image of us saying our vows works regardless of why he said it. It lights up my fairy tale dreams.
“Me, too,” I whisper. “Just a shame you won’t have any family to join us. I’d love to see your family loving our day along with mine.”
He brushes it off.
“That doesn’t matter, darling. Gerwyn can be annoying, but I love the prick to death. The crusading hero will be at my side with the ring box open and a smile on his face. He knows you’re the woman for me.”
I tip my face to Ant’s for a kiss, back into my role of the woman dedicated to his future, just as he’s dedicated to mine. I’d fall right asleep in his arms from exhaustion if I wasn’t still in my crumpled-up dress.
He reads my thoughts. “Time to get you showered and tucked up for sleep, baby.”
My suited boyfriend tugs me up from the bed, still looking pretty damn immaculate in comparison to me. I shift my dress back into position, smoothing it down as he watches, then smile as I mirror his own wisdom, as my mouth is parched, bone dry.
“Get the shower started up, Mr Perfect, I’ll go grab us some mineral water.”
“Wow, that’s my good girl,” he replies. “You’re learning fast.”
I step out onto the landing and close the door behind me, appreciating the fact I got my dress back into some kind of order when I see Gerwyn at the top of the stairs.
Gerwyn’s eyes are on me but they’re not lit up with a friendly grin this time. He looks much more serious than that.
“Hey,” I say as our paths cross. “Here’s to us, meeting on the landing so soon.”
I go to step past him, but he reaches out and takes hold of my hand. God, his eyes are even more intense up close.
“Be careful, Cass. Ant can be very persuasive.”
I get a rush of jitters at the thought of the procession tomorrow night, but I play it down as best I can. So what if Gerwyn overheard us in the bedroom? I give him a soft shrug, because it’s no big deal, right? It’s Ant having fun and me joining him, both of us enjoying it together. No harm whatsoever in that.
As it turns out though, it’s not the procession of guys Gerwyn is talking about. Not even close.
“If you want coffee and chocolate fudge cake, you make sure you have it. Don’t let Ant bombard you with advice on whatever he thinks you should be doing. If you let him start making your decisions for you, he’ll do it all the more.”
“Thanks,” I say, my heart calming a bit. “But you don’t need to worry about me, honestly. I like mineral water, and I didn’t want dessert. Ant had nothing to do with it.”
“No problem then. If you say I don’t need to worry, I’m sure I don’t.”
Gerwyn the crusader is not sure at all though, that much is obvious.