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As she passed him, she almost expected him to pop her on the ass for her bratty behavior… but he didn’t. And she wasn’t sure who she was more mad at. Him for ghosting her in the past, or herself for half-wishing he’d spank her now. There was something wrong with her brain.
CHAPTER TWO
ORLANDO
Well, he’d wanted Juliet to hate him. Mission accomplished.
Unfortunately, it didn’t give him any satisfaction. Not that he’d thought it would. During the past year and half, he’d questioned his decision at every turn, replayed the events of that weekend over and over in his head every night, and wondered if he’d made the right choice. He still wasn’t sure.
He also wasn’t sure he’d made the right choice by showing up for Thanksgiving, but when his mom had raved about meeting Juliet’s new boyfriend and mentioned that he’d be there for Thanksgiving… Yeah, Orlando hadn’t been able to stay away. Maybe he was the real masochist.
Just seeing Juliet’s arm linked with city boy had made him want to growl and pull her away. It had taken all of his willpower not to swat her bratty ass when she’d swanned by him with her nose in the air.
You gave her up, remember?
Yeah, and regretted it ever fucking since.
At least his mom had kept her promise about making his presence a surprise. Then again, his mom might just not have trusted that he’d actually show up.
Closing the front door, Orlando sauntered down the hallway to the kitchen where voices were already coming from. His mom and Lawrence had had nothing but good things to say about London. Jealousy crawled over his skin as he walked in to find London standing there with his arm around Juliet, Juliet leaning into him, and both of them talking to her dad.
Juliet didn’t even glance at him.
She looked good, in a green shirt dress that hung down to her mid-thigh, cinched in at the waist with a brown and gold belt, her long hair hanging in curling waves around her shoulders and down her back. The brown boots she was wearing only had a small heel, enough that her head was right at London’s shoulder height.
As for London himself, Orlando was trying not to make a snap judgment. He was wearing an ugly Thanksgiving sweater, which Orlando knew would be a point in his favor for Juliet. She loved ugly holiday sweaters for some unknown reason.
Which was why he’d gotten one for today. An attempt to thwart some of her anger perhaps? Or to get under her skin even more. He wasn’t really sure what he was aiming for, to be honest. Not with the sweater or with his presence here. He’d told himself that he just wanted to meet the boyfriend and make sure Juliet was in good hands.
That’s what someone who cared would do.
That’s what a good big step-brother would do.
That’s also what a totally secure, not-at-all-jealous ex-lover would do.
But since he was wildly jealous, mostly he was just hating life as he stood across from London and Juliet, arms crossed over his chest, trying not to glare at a man that he hated on sight. It wasn’t really London’s fault, after all, nothing personal. Orlando was going to hate him regardless. Because he was Juliet’s boyfriend and Orlando wasn’t.
“Here, chop some sweet potatoes for me,” his mom said.
Because that’s what he needed right now. A knife in his hands while he was seething with envy watching Juliet with someone else. He couldn’t say no to his momma though, so he just accepted the knife and set up shop at the cutting board.
Though, it did give him an unexpected opportunity.
When Juliet glanced at him, he winked at her, lifting the knife suggestively. Heat bloomed in her face and she immediately looked away, but not before he’d seen her reaction. Knife play had been one of their rolls during Roulette, and that scene had been hot. Juliet was a masochist in addition to being submissive, and she’d loved the edgier scenes. Orlando had only done a few shallow slices, enough to use the blood to draw a rose on her skin.
Now he almost wished he’d done it hard enough to scar, but scarification was a whole other kink and not one he’d tried before. He knew there was a couple at Black Light who had done some branding. Maybe he should look into it. The whole thing was sounding a hell of a lot more appealing now.
You’re the one who decided it was better to be apart, asshole.
Yeah, and then regretted it ever since. Even now, he couldn’t help but think —what if it did work out? What if he and Juliet made a go of it and everything was fine?
Besides, with the way they were divvying up the holidays right now, even if it didn’t work out, they could just go back to that. They didn’t have to involve their parents at all. Their parents might not even need to know, at least not until they were sure that it was going to stick.
Of course, all of this was entirely theoretical.
Step one: get rid of the boyfriend.
Step two: convince Juliet to forgive him and give him another chance.
