Brielle
High society has no idea what a bore it is.
Growing up with money should make life easier. In some ways it did, of course. I went to the best schools, was able to see the world on holidays, and had a black card that never ran out of spending money. It left me isolated from the world. I was only allowed to talk to others like me—most of whom I could not stand.
My father was a powerful man who loved me and my brother but had little time for us. My mother passed when I was young, and he sent us off to be taken care of by strangers. My brother was all I had left so being separated was extremely hard for me. I felt discarded during the formative years of my life.
Quinn VonMuth saved me from complete isolation during our time at boarding school. We were roommates with Lennon Gallo, the three of us becoming as thick as thieves during our years there. If not for the two of them, I may not have survived my miserable youth.
With the two of them leading the way, I started to figure myself out. I am not my mother, a regal prima donna who loved the lifestyle my father provided her. And as much as I loved my brother Caleb, I was not driven to succeed the way he was.
All I ever wanted was to be proud of who I was and what I did.
It took some time to get there but I am both. Once I finished college to please my father, I took some time to decide what I was going to do next. During that time, I saw a different world than the one I had grown up in.
With Quinn and Lennon leading the way, I witnessed the struggles and strife others suffered. While we flew on private jets and were chauffeured in sleek limousines, too many went hungry and homeless. We decided we had to do something—because we had the means to make a difference.
Trading private jets for electric cars and less carbon footprints, we did what our fathers before us said they would. We gave back. To homeless havens and animal shelters. We marched for equal rights and pushed for those rights to become laws. Our travels were not to fashion shows or exotic islands but to rebuild war-torn villages and fund water supplies systems.
Our work together has been rewarding but risky—but I am proud of all we accomplished together.
“Thoughtful Brielle meansa nervousBrielle,” Lennon’s voicesingsongsplayfully as I am snapped from my thoughts.
Frowning at her, I turnaway,so a curtain of crimson hair hides my face. Because she will see me flush and that will give me away. I am nervous. It is not a foreign feeling, I spent most of my life nervous. Nervous about letting my father down or stepping out of my brothers’ shadow.
This is not that sort of nervous.No,this is a feeling reserved for just one thing—seeing Brett Shea. A feeling so overwhelming for me that I avoid it at all costs. Or rather, Iavoid himat all costs. Being anywhere near him is nota good ideafor me because I am reduced to a simpering idiot.
“Why would I be nervous to eat free food and donate money to a good cause?” I counter, finally glancing at my best friend as I tuck my hair over my shoulder. Before I finish telling the lie, it falls back in my face again.
“What cause again, Bri? You don’t remember. Once you saw who was hosting this shindig, you were all in. Tell me I am wrong,” she challenges as our heels click on the sidewalk, her taunt making my temper flare.
On a crisp November evening we are dressed to kill. Could be just another night out in the big city. Nights here in Driftwood are nothing like even the best nights in the city. Since coming here last spring, I have grown to love the little town for all its wonder. It’s the most beautiful place I have ever been, and I have been just about everywhere.
When we came here, it was to protest a logging company we were convinced were wrecking the landscape. We quickly found out how wrong we were because they might be the most sociallyconsciouscompany we have ever tried to protest. It was the best mistake we ever made.
Because Quinn found the love of her life when she met Keller, the foreman of the site we came to protest. Unable to break up the trio, we decided to stick it out here in Driftwood with her. It was the best decision of my life. Until I laid eyes on one tall, dark slice of trouble.
“Watch your mouth, Len,” I growl at her playfully as I scan the room looking for that delicious slice. I have not admitted to myself or anyone else that I came here tonight looking for him. Not that I need to admit a thing to Lennon—she knows me well enough to know I am here looking for trouble.
“Well, well, looking for you as usual,” she teases, shoving me gently.
Glancing up, I spot him. And he is looking for me. He always seems to be looking for me, but I have tried to keep my distance. I am not particularly good at it because I don’tactually wantthat distance, I force between us. And he does not make it easy because he made it very clear he wants zero distance.
Brett is bright, beautiful, andwaywrong for me. He got famous for being a ladies' man on a bad bachelor show a few years ago. While he never found his happy ever after, he seemed to have an awful lot of fun trying to. Not that I watched the show—I was too busy marching for rainforests.
“They did that man dirty,” Lennon whisper shouts beside me, “cameras cannot capture how totally hunky he is.”
“Do you enjoy breathing?” I turn to glare at her, “If so, stop talking. I am not here for him. Neither of us are.”
Lennon laughs atme,and I hide my smirk. Way to pretend I am not pissed at her for saying how hot he is. I am fully aware of how hot he is. I have spent months trying to ignore thathotness. Ignore how I feel when he looks at me with those amber eyes. He looks at me as if I am the only girl in the world. I should love it, but it just scares me.
How do you trust a man who lived out a dozen romances for the world to see?
“Stop it. We came to eat,” Lennon waggles her brows as she eyes me salaciously, “or maybe togeteaten.”
“Len! Always a pervert,” I laugh though because how can I not?
As I am laughing, I feel the air shift. It always heats and crackles whenever Brett is close. His presence takes up all the space around me as he moves closer than he should. When the warmth of his palm presses to my back, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. He always touches me when we seeeach other,and I am no longer able to pretend I don’t like his touch.