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“So, when is she getting here? The mystery lady?” she asks, slowly looking away from Emmet’s ridiculous posturing.
“Any moment, I guess,” I answer, irritation creeping into my voice. Now it looks somewhat humiliating, like some broad is making us wait. Which is true, but I certainly don't want it to look that way. “I think she had to take a quick meeting with Oprah or something,” I add, trying to cover quickly.
Melody quirks one eyebrow at me. “Oprah is back in town? She was just in Monaco yesterday, I think. You sure?”
“Monaco? Yeah, well,” I grumble, looking away and feeling stupid in a way that's about to make me angry. “Well I guess she… oh, here she is now.”
Melody steps back, her eyes growing wide. “Bella?” she gasps, automatically walking forward with her arms out. Bella takes her in a quick, friendly hug that people use when they already know each other, but not well enough to go on a vacation together. The business casual friend.
“Melody!” Bella coos, tossing her hair over one shoulder.
I wonder if she practiced that. It really does look stunning with her thick, mahogany hair fanning out behind her, just this side of a slow-motion glamour shot. I'm totally impressed.
“Well this is a surprise!” Melody exclaims, barely concealing the bitter envy in her voice. “Hannah ordered me to rush right over here to catch the scoop, but I never expected, um, you!”
Bella just smiles, dazzling her with a blinding flash of white teeth. She doesn't say anything, and I'm even more impressed. Melody’s sideswipe insult would've put most people off their game entirely, but Bella is going to let her smile do the work.
Wow. I kind of want to cheer.
“So, um… well, can I ask a few questions?” Melody babbles, her frustration clear. She whips out her phone and holds it up, using it as a recording device.
Instead of answering, Bella tips her head to the side, looking over Melody’s shoulder. She lifts her hand and waves he
r fingertips, sucking in her breath and holding it in a completely convincing schoolgirl crush kind of way.
“Oh, excuse me, won't you please?” she mutters breathlessly as she completely steps around Melody and begins walking across the yellow painted concrete of the helipad. Emmet leaves his pose and walks toward her, arms out. His smile is charming and camera ready.
“Well, shit,” I hear Melody mutter under her breath as Emmet and Bella fall together, kissing slowly and tenderly as though joyfully reuniting.
Frankly, this act is getting on my nerves more than a little bit. But I can’t look away either. I imagine myself as Emmet, kissing those sweet lips and remembering her hungry mouth against mine at the restaurant. Remembering my tongue inside her, surrounded by Chanel No. 5. She’s so pure. I’ve never met anyone like her.
Melody casts her eyes to me sidelong. “So, I guess I will just ask you. How long have they been dating?”
I put on a pair of sunglasses just in case anything shows on my face. Despite being a bit of a Romeo, I have never been a good liar. Not much practice, as I don’t have to lie. I’m Dillon fucking Riordan, for chrissakes.
But also, I can’t stop watching them cuddle and kiss, and Melody doesn’t need to see that. I remember Bella’s taste precisely… that sweet, spicy nectar. I should be over there, kissing her too. Not talking to whoever the fuck this is.
“Oh, this has been going on for a few weeks. I can’t believe they kept it quiet this long, can you?” I say, congratulating myself on my apparent authenticity.
“Well, I guess that is quite a scoop then!” Melody shrugs, probably weighing her jealousy against the value of the information she has just been given. Just like clockwork, her greed wins out.
“And do you approve, Dillon? I know you like to keep… very close tabs on your brother’s relationships…”
She steps closer to me, angling the phone toward my face. As I watch, she draws her lower lip between her teeth, wetting it with the back of her tongue.
“Bella's really been good for him,” I nod, very nearly adhering to the truth. “You might say he’s a changed man. I've never seen him so serious about someone so fast. It's almost boring, if I’m telling you the truth.”
“Ha!” she laughs, tipping her head back and baring full rows of even, white teeth. “Oh, come on, you Riordan boys could never be boring. I'm sure there's something absolutely wicked about those two, right? He can't be going totally goody-goody, honestly, can he?”
I shrug. I look away wistfully, letting her think that I'm sorry that our Playboy days are almost behind us now. “You will have to ask him, I’m afraid.”
“Yes,” she says, almost to herself. “I suppose I will have to do that.”
Suddenly, the rotors start up. Though we are outside of the immediate zone of the helicopter, the noise is deafening along with a substantial amount of wind. Melody’s skirt flies open, revealing long, toned legs and very pretty knees that she presses together protectively. For just a moment, a flash of Bella's knees jolts through my brain again. Those creamy thighs. That Chanel.
What is wrong with me?
“I guess that's my cue!” I shout, leaning closer so she can hear me over the sound of the helicopter.
