"That soon?" Rhys swivels toward Lilly and hands her a dirty plate, which she loads into the dishwasher.
"The previous girl quit overnight, and apparently, there is a big contract happening with Liberman."
"Denielle'sLiberman?" He sounds shocked, and my curiosity is at a new high. I'm aware that Keller was employed by Liberman Fashion until her sudden relocation to LA, but what's the big deal if—
"Collin is the main contact between Denis and his mother. Den said he'll be here next week to oversee the fabric choices." Lilly bites her bottom lip as she eyes her husband, waiting for his reaction. Rhys halts in the middle of handing her more dirty dishes.
"Are you shitting me? And she took the job?" His tone has lowered to a dangerous growl I don't often witness—unless his family is somehow threatened.
"I can handle my ex-fiancé," Denielle's voice comes from behind me. Both McGuires shift their attention to the doorway, and the sound of bare feet padding across the tiled floor tells me that she is coming closer.
The hair at the nape of my neck stands, and I tense. Her nearness causes my stomach to roll and my heart rate to pick up at the same time. Contempt andI want to fuck her raware battling for control. As she appears in my peripheral vision, my fingers tighten around my phone. Another part of my body also throws his opinion into the mix. She is wearing cutoff shorts that barely cover her—uh…scratch that, they don't cover it at all. Her perfectly round ass peeks out from under the frayed hem, and my cock wins the fight. A flutter in my core accompanies my now hard-as-a-rock dick.
My grip slackens, and my phone clatters to the tabletop. All eyes in the room shift to me, and I grind my teeth.
Fucking great.
Denielle studies me with an arched brow before she refocuses on the other people in the room. She drapes her arm over the back of Audrey's high chair and strokes the little girl's cheek with the opposite hand. Audrey gapes up at her godmother with stars in her eyes.
"This job is not something I can refuse. It allows me to build a new life here and away from Collin," Denielle elaborates as she makes her way over to the fridge.
And move out of this house.
"After the manwhore is back on his side of the country," Rhys deadpans.
Manwhore?
I definitely missed something. With one hand on the handle of the fridge, Keller glances over her shoulder. Her gaze lands first on Rhys, then flicks to Lilly, glazing over me like air.
Lilly shuffles her feet. "I told him. I'm sorry."
Told him wha—
Denielle's eyes snap to mine, assessing how much attention I'm paying to the conversation. The corner of my mouth pulls up. I'm fully invested. Anything I can use to put her in her place is of interest to me.
"It's fine, babe. I didn't ask you to keep it a secret." She doesn't break our stare down, closing the fridge absently.
"I know, but I still feel like I should've asked first." Lilly takes a step toward her friend, and Denielle diverts her focus.
My shoulders drop, and I realize how stiff my spine was until now. I slowly inhale through my nose until my lungs can't take in any more oxygen. Holding my breath, I let the aggravation of her hold on me seep through every limb. When it reaches the tips of my fingers, they curl inward, and my trimmed nails dig into the palm of my hand.
Denielle moves around the island and stands next to her friend with her back to me—cheeksonce again on full display. My cock twitches. Thank fuck the table conceals my physical state.
No one is paying me any mind. I lean back in my seat, folding my arms over my chest, following the show.
"Babe, half of New York knows. There is nothing that stays under the rug at Liberman, especially when it pertains to Collin. He made his bed when he bragged about his extracurriculars to the office gossip guy. Now he has to lie in it." She casually lifts her shoulder.
Huh, the idiot cheated on his fiancée. And she doesn't care?
I slant my head, waiting for what comes next. I overheard Ethan tell one of the other guys thatthe hot ass staying on the propertyrecently broke off her engagement to some rich tool. I didn't stick around to find out what had put a stop to Keller joining the ranks of the East Coast high society.
"But he didn't just cheat once, D." Rhys throws his hands up, exasperated. "It went on for weeks, and he could've given you his fucking STD."
Whoa.
Heaviness in my chest suddenly overshadows the glee of her being the victim of her poor life choices. This tug-of-war is grating on my nerves. There is nothing positive about Denielle Keller—besides her fine body. Maybe.
Denielle interlaces her hands on top of her head, glancing toward the ceiling. "He didn't, though. There was no way I would've let him near me without a condom. I wasn't risking getting pregnant. Everyone knows the pill is not a fail-safe, and kids are not in my future."