Tony taps his chin. “I can’t think of any other reason, unless you took her to some hundred-dollar roach motel and the money was supposed to cover half the room.”
“Come on, I’d never take a girl to a place like that. It was the Aylster.”
Edgar purses his mouth. “Had to be the performance.”
Asshole. “I’m telling you, it was not. We had a great time. Both of us.”
“Then track her down and ask,” he says. “Or better yet, throw the money in her face.”
“Yes.” Tony snaps his fingers. “Oh, and at a public event…like her high school graduation. Except that’ll only show everyone what she thought of the night.”
I bare my teeth. “You guys are dicks.”
Tony grins. “Dicks worth more than fifty bucks.” Edgar laughs, slapping the arm of his chair.
Damn it. I should’ve known nothing useful would come from my brothers. Why did I think otherwise? Hope springs eternal only for idiots. “You know what? I am going to find her, and have my revenge.”
“There you go. Revenge is the best…” Snapping his fingers, Tony looks at Edgar.
“Revenge,” he finishes.
My brothers are dumber than goats dropped off a cliff. “At least I’m not whipped enough to spend half a million bucks on a first anniversary gift.”
“Well.” Tony shoots me a bland smile. “First you have to have a first anniversary…”
“He’s going to build her a copy of Versailles for their second,” Edgar says.
“Like I said. Whipped.” I make the whip-snapping sound.
Ivy walks in, carrying a shopping bag. She’s a pretty strawberry blonde with soft gray eyes. She’s even more beautiful now. Must be the love she’s feeling for my brother. I’m not the mushy type, but when I look at those two, I feel like fate does exist.
“What’s up with the whip?” She sweeps her gaze across the room, over all three of us, then raises her palm. “No, no. Never mind. I don’t want to know. Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Edgar and I laugh. I don’t know why he’s laughing, but oh man. Ivy should know by now that I basically exist to do what she wouldn’t do.
“Did you buy something pretty?” Tony asks.
“Shoes. I needed something comfy to wear.”
I exchange a glance with Edgar. Since Ivy’s home, it’s our cue to get out. Bet Tony’s dying to show her the gift.
We get up and bid them goodbye.
When I reach the foyer, I see TJ.
I overheard Ivy refer to him as a Visigoth once, and that’s a damn good
description of the guy. He’s a giant—a mountain, really, with lots of hair and a nasty expression that says he’s going to kick your ass, your dad’s ass, your brother’s ass and your Doberman’s ass. All at the same time. The suit he’s wearing doesn’t lessen the aura one bit.
His biggest responsibility is ensuring Ivy’s safety. But he also works for Tony, and everyone at my brother’s company knows TJ and does what he asks them to do. Which means…
“Something happen to you?” TJ says.
I blink at him. “Huh?”
“You look unhappy.”
It must be pretty obvious for him to comment. His communication usually consists of grunts.