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Elizabeth and I exchange the same perplexed squint. I lifted my glass of red wine to my lips. “I guess I wouldn’t mind the help.”
Aiden leaned around her, meeting my gaze. “Maybe I can come help too when I’m not working on my dirt bikes.” He took Elizabeth’s hand in his.
She tore her gaze away from mine and I could no longer see her expression. “I’ll be fine.” She withdrew her arm.
“And no offense, but I don’t even know you.” I noted, setting my glass back down on the placemat. “I really don’t want strange people in my house.”
He didn’t respond, but he also didn’t look happy either. I didn’t even want Elizabeth there going through my shit, but if I put up too much of a fight, my best friend would think I was hiding more than I had been before. Yes, he knew very well the life I lived, but there were things he had to find out about during my court case. Things I’d never told him to protect him.
James took over the conversation throughout the rest of dinner and caught me up on life. I received a brief run-down of the past five years and the normal everyday things he didn’t waste time telling me when he visited me in prison.
After dinner, Alicia offered dessert, but I was too full to accept. I agreed to a drink, however. Elizabeth excused herself from the table to see her boyfriend out and Lucas took off to his room for what he described as anonline raid party…or something.
James grabbed a couple of Cuban cigars from the humidor before we headed to the outdoor lounge area on their covered back patio. Two black couches and chairs offered a cozy sitting arrangement, while a table-top fire pit sat between them. Ambient lighting complimented the bar with a full outdoor kitchen, fireplace, and mounted television, making it the perfect space to entertain.
Though my home was just as nice, I had done little with it. Entertaining had never been my thing, like it was for the Whitman’s. The only exceptions were twice a year, I would host a summer party and a Christmas party for my closest friends and family. The Whitman’s hosted many large events at their home throughout the rest of the year.
I took a seat in one of the chairs, crossing my ankle over my knee. James sat on the couch. Just as I stretched my arm out, Elizabeth appeared through the French doors. I exchanged a quick glance with her before she silently sashayed by with a towel draped over her shoulder.
James leaned back, propping his free arm on the back of the couch as he puffed on his cigar. “You okay, sweetheart?”
“Yeah, I just want to wind down and swim. Busy day, I guess.” She offered me a faint smirk before she twirled away.
“Just checking.” He turned back to me. As he spoke more about some of our mutual friends and what had been going on in their lives for the past few years, I was trying to listen. Unfortunately, I was instantly distracted by his daughter.
She dropped the towel on a lounge chair by the pool and slipped her baby-pink tank top over her head, letting it fall to the ground. I darted my eyes back and forth between her and James. It almost felt as if she were taunting me on purpose. Just as I began to question her intentions, she bent over with her ass toward me, shimmying out of her white shorts and revealing her perfect figure. I swallowed hard as I struggled to keep my concentration on James, merely peeking at her from the corner of my eye.
“You’ll have to make sure she stays focused.” A thick grey cloud drifted from James’s mouth.
A splash sounded in the distance, but I forced eye contact with her father. “Are you sure you don’t need her at the office?” I would have paid him to keep her with him. Nothing in me wanted her in my home now.
He chuckled, shaking his head as he glanced her way before laying his cigar in the ashtray on the coffee table. Striding over to the outdoor bar, he grabbed a bottle of scotch and clean glasses, then waltzed back over. After pouring half a glass of liquor, he handed it to me, muttering, “Nah, I was just doing it for a punishment.”
“And what did she do exactly?” I cocked a brow, half-amused but still extremely curious.
“Well,” he gnawed on his bottom lip for a moment as he sat down and took his cigar between his fingers, “I had to drive to Boston because she got caught fucking one of her professors.” He spoke quiet enough that she wouldn’t have been able to hear him.
“Yikes.” I peeked back over at her, seeing she was propping her arms up on the edge of the pool staring at us.
“You should get in!” She called out from the deep end before she pushed off the wall and swam backwards. “We can play chicken like we used to!”
Without averting my gaze, I chugged the rest of my liquid before situating the glass on the table. “There’s no one else in the pool.”
“Then we can play another fun game!”
What the fuck?I could no longer see her once she disappeared behind a pillar on the porch, but I heard the sneer in her tone. I turned back to James, who was texting on his phone. “I need to go take a piss.” I put my cigar on the ashtray and excused myself.
“You remember where it is, old man?”
“I’ll manage.” I shook my head as I disappeared inside.
There was no sign of anyone, so I trekked down the long hallway to the nearest restroom. I closed the door, locking it. I propped my hands on the rim of the round vessel sink.That girl was going to get me in trouble.I hadn’t gotten laid in years. I needed to leave as soon as possible and call one of my old hookups.
After a deep breath, I glanced down at my black Patek Philippe watch, noticing ten minutes had already passed. The moment I threw open the door, Elizabeth was standing in the hallway wrapped in a towel. Her long, dark, wet hair was parted in the middle, messy as if she’d towel dried it.
“Excuse me.” I moved to the side.
“The pool house bathroom is being renovated right now.”
