AllFreeNovel
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“What?”
“Riven’s black,” Eli says kindly. “Cole is white.”
I flush. “Oh. Right.” Duh.
“Didn’t you notice?” Riven drawls, taking another deep swig of his drink.
“I try not to look at him.”
Eli guffaws. “Anyway, it hit Cole hard. Like,reallyhard. He felt like he’d just lost his kid. He just disappeared. Up and left town. Meanwhile, Riven couldn’t believe his fiancée was cheating on him, so he started searching through her stuff, looking for evidence. And guess what he found?”
“Do you have to make this so interactive?” Riv mutters. I peer up at his face. His eyes are pained. He really isn’t enjoying this.
I push away from Eli and go to snuggle under his arm instead, putting my head on his chest. He presses a kiss to my hair, breathing me in.
“He found baggies of coke,” Eli continues. “A lot of it. She was stashing it for a party she was going to.”
My eyes are probably the size of plates. “She set you up.”
“My dad knew that Eli was innocent,” Riven forces out. “He defended Johanna in court for free, because my parents hated the fact that I had group relationships. They saw it as an opportunity to get me locked down with a smart, beautiful, educated woman.” He flicks the rim of his glass. “Dad told her that he would do the casepro bonoif she agreed to dump the other two and get married to me. And I fell for it.” He swallows thickly. “As soon as I realised the mistake, I tried to visit Eli in jail, but he wouldn’t see me. I found him months after he got out. He was unemployed, drinking himself to death in a motel room.”
“It’s pretty hard to get a job with a drug charge,” Eli shrugs. “But it’s okay, because after that, he fixed everything.”
I heave a sigh of relief. “Yeah?”
Eli nods. “Anybody else would have just given up on us and moved on. But Riv tracked Cole down in Stockholm, and took us both up here, where we grew up. He got me a job as a ski instructor at the resort. Vouched for me to the owner. And he bought this place.” He waves around the cabin. “It was falling apart, but we fixed it up together. And the rest is history.”
“Wow.” I slump back against the sofa cushions. “That’s the most wack relationship story I’ve heard in my life.” It makesmybad breakup looktame.“At least it has a happy ending.” Riven scoffs. I look across at him. “Don’t you think so?”
“No,” he says shortly. “It’s not a happy ending. Eli was wrongfully imprisoned. Cole lost a kid. None of that had to happen, but I let her manipulate me.”
“It wasn’t your fault, man,” Eli protests. “That’s why it’smanipulation.”
“I get it,” I chip in. “I’ve been manipulated by an ex, too. When you love someone that much, they have so much power over your thoughts. They don’t even have to get inside your head; they’re already there.”
Riven frowns, his gaze focussing on me. “Who manipulated you?”
I look down, examining the slice of orange in the bottom of my glass. For a second, I think about actually telling them what happened with Sam. But the words die in my mouth.
I can’t. It would ruin everything. I wouldn’t be able to stay here with them anymore, if they knew.
“Just an ex who didn’t want me to leave him. It was a while back.” I clear my throat, looking for a quick way to change the subject. “Um. Well. Thank you guys for telling me.” I set my glass down and slide out from under Riv’s arm. “You know, Eli got me a present, today.”
Eli grins, perking up. “I definitely did.”
“Do you want to see it?”
“Okay.” Riven looks bemused.
“One sec.” I practically run to the bathroom to freshen up, then trip along to my bedroom to get changed. Riv’s left the lingerie bag on my bed, and I quickly unfold the white, sparkly tissue paper, pulling out the slip. I run my hand over the fabric. It’s unbelievably soft and silky, a delicate, ballet-slipper peach. I wriggle into it, not bothering with underwear, then brush on a touch of makeup, spritz some perfume into my hair, and run my fingers through my curls, loosening them. When I check myself out in the mirror, I’m impressed. I look hot.
Something pangs in my stomach as I study my reflection. I do. I lookhot.I look hot and sexy and kind of… beautiful. I reach out, touching the glass with my fingernail.
I’d never admit it, but before I left for Sweden, I didn’t think I’d ever find myself sexy again. I couldn’t even look at my body in the shower. Everyone that I thought was my friend was suddenly talking behind my back, calling me a whore and a slut. Journalists on the news were talking like I was some kind of sexual deviant. Everywhere I went, I felt men looking at me, undressing me with their eyes. My body didn’t feel sexy; it felt used, like a bit of trash at the bottom of a rubbish bin.
But now my body feels like it’s mine again. I’m flushed and turned on and excited. And that feels incredible.
Fluffing up my hair, I pad back into the living room barefoot. The guys are chatting over their drinks. Riven spots me first, and he freezes, mid-word.
