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“Hitting him wouldn’t annoy him even half as much as you being apathetic will. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from having Alondra as my mother, it’s that hiding your anger often annoys peoplewaymore than yelling or cursing at them does. Indifference makes people feel irrelevant. Ryland is confident, but he seeks validation from others just like my mother does.”
Having noticed that myself, I nodded. “It was one of the reasons I didn’t feel I could give up control to him. I don’t see the strength in him that I’m looking for in a bloke.” But I saw it in Cole.
“Because he doesn’t possess it. That’s why he likes to own pretty, unique things. It makes him feel important. It’s why he wants to ownyou. It’s also why he reacted so badly when you walked away—it was a massive hit to his fragile ego. Don’t massage said ego by reacting to anything he does or says.”
“I already told you yesterday that I’d give him no response.”
“But you weren’t feeling homicidal yesterday. He made it worse by coming to your home. Please tell me you’ll ignore him as best you can.”
I sighed, resigned. “I won’t give him what he wants, no matter how much joy it would bring me to crush his dick with an iron.”
Briar gave a satisfied nod. “Now that that’s done and dusted, let’s move onto a topic that doesn’t make you itch to commit violence. Any ideas for what I could get Ansel for hisbirthday?” she asked, referring to her biological dad, who was as famous an actor as her mother. “It’s hard to buy something for a man who has everything.”
I often had the same struggle when it came to my own father. I took a breath and then asked, “When is his birthday?”
“Not for a couple of weeks. I’m taking him, Troy, and both their parents out for a meal. But I also want to buy Ansel something. I’m stuck.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “Let me have a think and I’ll get back to you on it. Have you thought of asking Troy for advice?”
Troy was Briar’s other dad, who was initially a model before getting into the acting business. He walked away from it years ago, not much liking how the industry operated.
“I would have done, but he calledmefor advice,” Briar replied. “He might be Ansel’s husband, but he finds it just as tricky. Like I said, it’s hard to buy for a dude who has everything. I have this problem every year. It’s easier with Alondra. She might have everything, but if you offer her something that sparkles, she’ll happily have that, too.”
I snickered. “Have you seen much of her lately?”
“She’s on location shooting a movie right now. She called me a week ago to rant at me for not inviting her to Ansel’s upcoming birthday meal, despite that not only is she unable to make it—what with her being in a whole other country—but she’d decline anyway. Herrealproblem is that I’m making a fuss of him for his birthday. In her view, he doesn’t deserve it, and I should acknowledge that and take her ‘side.’”
I puffed out a disbelieving breath. “It’s crazy how she likes to see herself as a victim in the scenario when, really, she bloody orchestrated it.”
“I doubt she ever thought that pushing Ansel into a threesome with Troy would lead to the two men falling for eachother—it shocked even them. But it never occurs to her that, hey, if she had justnotpushed Ansel to try something he wasn’t initially comfortable with all those years ago, things wouldn’t have played out the way they did. The stuff she says and the way she behaves … you’d think the threesome had beenhisidea andshe’dbeen coerced into it.” Briar gave her head a fast shake. “Anyway, what are your plans for today?”
“Same as always. I intend to head out with my camera. I don’t have a particular destination in mind yet.”
“You should come with me, then. I’m going to one of my favorite fabric stores. You can take shots of the patterns and materials and all that stuff.”
I felt my brows inch up. “That’ll work.”
“I’m full of great ideas. Here’s another one—when it’s your turn to book a private room at the Vault, go for the lap dancing room.”
I blinked. “There’s a lap dancing room?”
Her lips curled. “Oh, yeah. It’s set up as if it’s part of a strip club.”
“You’ve used it?”
“Uh-huh.” Her eyes gleamed. “And you know what is a typical rule for lap dances, right? Clients aren’t allowed to touch. I’d say giving Delaney a lap dance, making him wait for what he wants as long asyouwant him to wait, will be the perfect revenge for the orgasm delay he subjected you to.”
I felt a slow smile shape my mouth. “I like how you think, Briar.”
“Allpeople should like how I think. I’m freaking brilliant. Now go grab your camera and whatever else you need. We have places to be.”
***
Having parked in the lot outside my apartment building the following Thursday, I grabbed my purse and camera bag from the front passenger seat. I’d spent a few hours at the local botanical garden, taking picture after picture. I’d kept on my cap and sunglasses the entire time, hoping to remain unrecognized while I worked. I didn’t need idiotic males heckling or throwing out creepy comments about spanking or whatever.
The media attention in regards to the article hadn’t yet died down, but said attention was slowly beginning to be diverted by other pieces of online news. Inaya was no doubt right that the article would soon be buried beneath other juicier rumors—she knew from personal experience that media attention was a fickle thing that never lasted long. The tabloids printed stuff about her all the time.
She, Cat, and Briar were coming to my apartment later for pizza, wine, and face masks—the latter was all Cat, shelovedthem. She had masks for places on the body I didn’t even know were available to purchase.
