AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hands off. I’m not one of your toys, Rhys.” She scrunches up her nose. “And I don’t know where those hands have been.”
I smirk.
She’s such a good girl. Now I’m wondering how many guys have been between her toned legs. Or if she’s a virgin. I shudder just thinking about it. How strict must someone be to not be able to let lose, have some fun. Fuck a few people.
My grandfather’s words echo back to me. Keep it in your pants. Find a nice woman to date. Prove to me that you can change or you won’t be getting a dime.
“Trust me, I’m not trying to hit on you. I remember you running around in a saggy diaper on the shores of Lake George. Not to mention you’re boring as hell. A good girl with a stick up her ass. There’s nothing sexy about that.”
Her eyes lift to mine. I arch my brow, begging for her to throw a barb back at me. Something to show me she’s not a doormat. That she’s more than the perfectly obedient daughter of Meredith Davenport.
But she’s quiet. I watch her lips part on a sharp inhale. Her cheeks flush, the rims of her sapphire eyes go glassy. I see it all written on her face. The sadness. The humiliation that my words are causing. Then, she clears her throat and swallows back whatever emotion just popped up.
“You’re right. That’s me.” She agrees, while keeping her gaze over my shoulder.
The music cuts out and Colette drops her hands from my shoulders. Her gaze skates across the crowd and I follow it. At the edge of the dance floor, there’s a group of guys talking. In the middle of the group is Nathan King of the King’s Foods dynasty. My gaze returns to Colette. Her full bottom lip is caught between her teeth, and the hearts in her eyes as she gazes longingly at Nathan are impossible to miss.
Without a word, she turns away from me and does her best to move through the crowd on the dance floor; a million, pardon me’s left in her wake. I let her go, because what would I say?Sorry, but I was being honest?I know enough about women that an apology with a ‘but’ in the middle of it usually doesn’t go over well. I make my way back over to the bar and order a whiskey neat. I sip the amber liquid wanting to forget the dance with Colette, and the hurt look on her face, but something is nagging at me.
Colette Davenport is the exact kind of woman that my grandfather would want to see me with. The kind of woman that if on my arm, could convince him that I’ve taken his ultimatum seriously. If I could convince him I’m committed to a sweet, beautiful, tenderhearted woman like Colette, I’d be golden. But why on Earth would Colette date me? And how would I not be bored to tears by her?
I toss back the rest of my whiskey, hoping it will do the trick. Make the scrambled mess in my head clear.
Across the room, my eyes snag on Colette with her friends. I watch as she openly glances in Nathan’s direction. Nathan and his brother Aiden set their drinks down on the table, then start moving through the crowd. Colette’s gaze follows their every move. She’s clutching her champagne glass nervously. She looks like she’s about to step in Nathan’s path, to say something to him, but she hesitates and he moves right past her, oblivious of her intent. Oblivious toher.
Colette has a thing for Nathan King and he doesn’t even know she exists.
Huh. I let that sink in.
Either he’s blind or the fact that she’s been locked away in a ballet practice room for most of her life has placed her in the untouchable category. Either way, her agreeable demeanor isn’t going to be drawing him in anytime soon.
I know Nathan, he likes the chase and she is far from chasable. From the eager look on her face, she would drop right in his lap if he so much as glanced in her direction.
I turn away from the sad scene.
Colette Davenport’s love life isn’t my problem.
I order another whiskey to make this miserable event more bearable.
While I’m waiting for the bartender to pour my drink, I turn back toward the reception and scan the area.
My eyes settle on a sexy red-head over by the cake table. Her eyes lift to mine and a seductive smirk pulls at her lips. She selects a piece of cake. With her eyes never leaving mine, she dips her fork in the frosting, then temptingly swirls her tongue around the end of the fork. Some frosting gets stuck on her upper lip, so she removes it with her tongue.Fucking hell.
The urge to go over there and suggest a better use for the red-head’s tongue is deep-seated. It’s my instinct, but I’ve got two-hundred and fifty million reasons to fight it.
I pull my attention away from the suggestive red-head and immediately my mind returns to Colette. I don’t know why I can’t let it go. Why I’m suddenly fixated on a girl I haven’t talked to in years.
Our parents were friends, our houses on Lake George next door to each other. Those summers were a lifetime ago. Why I would care what is going on in her life, when I’m the one who was delivered an ultimatum by my grandfather. I’m the one with the problem. Other than an unrequited crush, Colette’s life appears to be perfect.Sheis perfect.
Like one of those puzzles you have to slide the pieces around, shifting and organizing until the image is clear, suddenly everything locks into place.
Colette wants Nathan and I need a woman like Colette in my corner. If she was on my arm, it would appease my grandfather, and draw Nathan’s attention.
But my grandfather’s demanding an engagement. That would most likely prevent Colette from agreeing to an arrangement. I mull that over for a moment and decide that’s a problem for another day.
I was right. Colette Davenport’s love life isn’t my problem, it’s my solution.
* * *
