I looked down at the form-fitting purple dress and frowned. “Too much?”
“If we were anywhere else in the world, I’d show you just how much it isn’t too much. It’s perfect. You look edible.”
Shivering under his hot stare, I pretended like I was interested in the room around us. “Should we sit?”
Lucas grunted and looked around. “I guess throwing you over my shoulder and taking you out of here would be bad, right?”
I stepped away from him, just in case. “Slightly, yeah.”
He led me to a small table in the back of the room and pulled my chair out for me. “Just let me know if you change your mind.”
I looked around, worried that we were going to look like a couple, but Lucas had picked the table well. We were behind everyone and off to the side, fading into the back of the bar. It was darker in the corner where we were and the candle burning on our table didn’t cast enough light to cut through it. It was perfectly romantic and sweet.
Lucas sat next to me and rested his arm along the back of my chair. “Anything I should know before you get tipsy on wine?”
“I’ll try to break into the kitchen to bake something if I get too drunk.” I winced. “Don’t let me.”
“Breaking in? Whatever happened to our little good girl Cupcake?”
I shrugged. “I was never all that good.”
“You were too good. With your sweet little overalls and high-top sneakers. You wore pigtails until you were sixteen.” Lucas reached over and ran his knuckle down my cheek. “You were too young and too innocent then.”
I swallowed. He remembered what I wore? “I’m not too young or innocent now.”
A wicked smile crossed his face. “You are. We just can’t stay away now.”
I shook my head, disbelieving that they’d had any trouble staying away from me. I had several boyfriends to act as proof that I was plenty resistible. “You’re overselling it.”
Lucas rested his hand on my thigh and leaned into my space. “You keep talking about yourself like you don’t see how fucking perfect you are.”
I shrugged one shoulder while meeting his gaze. Searching for proof that he was being serious, I swallowed back an unexpected wave of emotion. “My ex. I caught him cheating on me just a couple of weeks ago. I wasn’t enough for him. The other woman...she was perfect. I’m...me. I’m chunky and boring. I’m vanilla. Not even good vanilla. I’m imitation vanilla.”
Frowning darkly, Lucas stood up and motioned behind him. When I turned to look, he caught my chin and turned my face back to him. “You’re coming to my room with me. We’re going to work on this attitude.”
Chapter 7
I felt helpless and sad in that moment. Not actively sad, just sad as a whole. I was crying to a beautiful man about being ugly. Could I get more cliché? It was embarrassing, and I wanted to run away. I looked around for an exit, but Lucas’s hand on my elbow didn’t feel like it was slipping.
He pulled me out of the back of the bar and up the grand staircase. Down to his suite, which was close to the scene of the crime that was my first day at the resort with Warren. He opened the door and motioned me in, making the choice mine. I couldn’t tell him no. Walking inside, I jumped when Warren and Andrew appeared behind Lucas.
“That was creepy.” I sniffled, still feeling emotional.
“We’re going to talk. Just the four of us. No interruptions.” Warren cupped the back of my head and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Sound okay?”
I nodded and let him pull me over to the bed. He let me pick my spot and I quickly arranged myself at the head of the bed, in the pillows that smelled like Lucas. I pulled one to my chest and inhaled deeply while watching the three brothers.
Lucas settled next to me while Andrew and Warren settled at the other end of the bed. It was a strange situation to find myself in. Half of me was waiting on them to pounce on me while the other half of me was hoping to be held and comforted because I was having an emotional moment.
“Cupcake thinks she’s vanilla. Imitation vanilla.” Lucas said my words back harshly and shook his head. “The ex you mentioned. He have a name?”
I curled up even tighter with the pillow. “Milo. He’s not important, though.”
“If he managed to convince you that you aren’t perfect in every way, then yeah, he is important.” Andrew rolled his neck and yanked at his tie. “What’d he do?”
“I...no. This is embarrassing. Telling you three my dirty secrets is weird. You would’ve used this to torture me when we were younger.”
Warren sighed. “We’re not those boys, Cupcake.”
