“I’m not meaning to badger you. I just want to make sure you’re seeing through Cody’s bullshit. He’s only dating you to get back at me.”
I huff. “Of course, he is. That’s why he spent the past three hours texting me because he knew you were here, sulking like a fool over a girl you’veneverwanted.”
Over both him and our conversation, I retreat to my room.
Lennox follows me like he failed to do last night when I said I was going to bed. Just because the hotel gave us a two-room suite didn’t automatically mean we had to sleep in separate beds. Our last room had two beds, yet we still shared the same one every night. “Don’t walk away from me, Cocoa. You’re not a fucking coward who runs when scared.”
I freeze, then pivot around to face him. “You’re right. I’m not because you do it enough for the both of us!” He balks as if I slapped him, the expression on his face worsening when I say, “Is it really so hard for you to believe someone may like me for me? Am I that hideous I should live like a hermit so no one throws up when they look at me?”
“Nothing about you is hideous.” His sneer is as dangerous as my heart rate. “I’m just trying to protect you.”
“Then stop being a dick and support me how I’vealwayssupported you.” I thrust my hand at the door like Neish is standing behind it. “I told you she wasn’t up to par, that she’d hurt you like Eliza did, but instead of trusting me, you ran to her.”
“Sohewouldn’t hurt you. I don’t give a fuck what he does or has done to Neish. I only care about you, Summer.” The way he spits out ‘he’ leaves no doubt who he is referencing. His father is very much a part of our argument. “He will chew you up and spit you out just like Cody will when you give him what he wants.” When I roll my eyes, he hits me with a truth that freezes them midroll. “He thinks you’re a virgin, Sum. They all do. That’s why you were the talk of the town in the locker room today.”
“But I’m not a virgin.”
“Three Pumps doesn’t count!” He rakes his fingers through his hair, leaving it standing on its ends. “You can’t even be sure he got it in with how quick it was over.”
I give him the death stare of all death stares. “You’re an ass!”
He drops his hand from his hair. “And you’re a fool if you can’t comprehend the game Cody is attempting to play with you.”
“I know exactly what he’s doing because I mastered his game sheet the three years I spent watching you work your way through floozy after floozy.”
“Sum—” A doorbell buzzing interrupts his reply. It isn’t from Desiree. She’s standing on the outside patio, acting as if she wasn’t eyeballing our exchange with a craving for popcorn. It came from the second entrance to our room—the side that faces the hotel corridor.
“I know I’m a little early,” Cody says through the door, his voice tightening Lennox’s fists into firm balls. “But I was hoping we could spend some time together before the rest of the guests arrive. Is that okay?”
“No, it isn’t,” Lennox answers before I can. After shifting his focus to me, he continues, “And you’re not going anywhere with him. I forbid it.”
My mouth falls open. “Excuse me? You’re not my father!”
“No, I’m not,” he agrees. “But I’m sure even he would agree with me this time around. If you don’t believe me, call him and ask.”
My mouth drapes open even more when he plonks his backside onto the sofa, rests his right ankle on his left knee, then opens a sports magazine he was featured in as if his word is final.
I’m so stunned by his arrogance it takes Desiree miming for me to undertake a dramatic walk out before the idea even pops into my head. I’m not known for dramatics—Lennox is well aware of this—so not only does it feel foreign to snatch up my shoes with a huff and race to the door, but I also have no clue what I’m meant to do once I open it.
“Hi.”
Not the best start, but it’s better than nothing.
“Time away from annoying pests sounds perfect.”
The twang in my voice could have Cody mistaking my ‘pests’ comment as guests, but he’d need to be deaf to miss the possessiveness in Lennox’s voice when he calls my name. His deep timbre rumbles through the thick melamine door a mere second after I bump Cody out of the way so I can slam it shut. “Summer Ramsay!”
“I hope you parked close. These heels will be killers once I put them on,” I push out with an apprehensive yet still excited squeal before increasing the length of my strides.
Lennox isn’t a fan of running, but he has no issues doing it when it has a purpose. Regretfully for him, this hotel implemented a shirt and shoe policy after an elderly lady went into cardiac arrhythmia after the teams’ last shirtless foray through the lobby.
“I’m right out front,” Cody replies before hooking his thumb to the door I’m dragging him away from. “Should I be worr—”
“Nope!” I cut him off before he can say anymore. “He’s a little overprotective, but what wannabe big brother isn’t?” That was as disturbing to articulate as the stabbing pain it caused my heart.
“He also isn’t a fan of mine,” Cody murmurs while opening the passenger side door of his swanky ride for me. “I’m not sure why.”
“I doubt it’s anything personal,” I lie. “It just takes him a while to adjust to newcomers.”
