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“I saw the car pull up and I knew it was here for you.” Mom’s voice comes through gritted teeth as she watches Rey pull a cigarette from behind his ear and lights it with a grin. I move closer to my mother’s side and really take him in, and fuck me, the guy is ridiculously handsome.
He’s wearing a suit that fits him impeccably. Sharp creases and gleaming cufflinks that I’m sure cost more than every piece of jewelry I have put together. Along his knuckles I can make out black ink that looks like Old English lettering.
I wonder what it says.
His arms are hidden beneath clothes, but I can see there’s not an inch of skin on his neck that isn’t covered in swirls of black. His head is shaved fairly close to his scalp, but it works on him. Even from here I can see how symmetrical his face is and I can literally feel my knuckles itch with the need to break his nose just so he isn’t so fucking perfect.
He’s tall, as tall as Noah is, with broad shoulders that make me think of a hockey player. The slacks of his suit are snug against his muscular thighs and the white button up shirt under his jacket looks like it’s stretched tightly across his chest.
The light on our front porch illuminates him enough that I can see he possesses clear, light-colored eyes and again, I’m struck with fierce irritation at the unfairness of my stepbrother’s handsomeness. He’s pretty but in a way that lures the prey into his traps. My lip curls.Thankfully, I’ve never been prey.
He blows smoke through his nose before tapping at his wrist, as though he’s reminding me that I’m on a schedule.
I flip my finger at him before shutting the curtain.
“I need to call Noah. He should have been here by now.”
My mom turns to me and wipes at her eyes, “He called me while you were asleep. He said the driver called to let him know he’d be picked up after you so he would be waiting.”
She pulls me to the kitchen where she hugs me tightly, her nose in my hair and mine in hers. I may be pissed with her, but my mom will always be the only woman in my life I can call my best friend. She’s done more for me than anyone ever has and while most people would say, that’s what moms are supposed to do, I don’t buy it.
When shit got rough, she could have easily given me up. She could have washed her hands of me and moved on without ever knowing a day of desperation, but she didn’t. Being a mother is a choice and my mom chose it despite the odds stacked against her. She’s not perfect, her choices have proven that, but she’s perfect to me.
“I love you, mama. Always and forever.”
She sobs once before breathing deeply and pulling herself together enough to pull back and cup my face.
“I love you. Now go show those bastards they picked the wrong girl to fuck with.”
FOURTEEN
* * *
‘BLAME’ MONTELL FISH
The Rolls Royce Cullinanis a luxury unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Sleek and midnight black on the outside, complete with beautiful chrome wheels that you’d see in magazines but never in real life, and peanut butter leather interior.
Rey is seated beside me with an empty seat facing us like we’re in a limo. There is a driver who sits up front, but the divider is up so I can’t see who it is. Hell, for all I know, this beautiful car is driving itself. I want to roll down the window beside me so I’m not inhaling Rey’s intoxicating cologne. He smells of leather more expensive than the car with a slight hint of marijuana. The good kind too.
I force my eyes to examine anything but him and his Tom Ford suit, so I continue to gaze out the window, but my attention continuously strays back to the interior of the car. Fuck, I want this car.
Rey must notice my lust over the car, his deep voice penetrating the silence. I wish it didn’t go straight to my damn nipples—thank fuck for cupped bras.
“Beauty, isn’t it? The Black Badge edition is, in my opinion, the best Rolls Royce on the market.”
I’m loath to agree with anything he says, but I have to at least give credit to the designer, so I give him a stilted nod as I run my fingers across the perfectly smooth leather.
I look up at the ceiling, my brows furrowing at the tiny dots that look like glass spread across the black material.
“What are those?” I ask mostly to myself, but Rey answers anyway.
“They’re stars.” At my eye roll he chuckles and does something that has me gasping.
He’s right, the ceiling is covered in stars. The tiny LED bulbs meticulously placed above us, light up like the dusting of the night sky. It’s beautiful and whoever thought of doing that inside a vehicle better have the best damn bonus possible. I want this car. There’s no going around that. Even if I have to sell my soul and kidney to the devil, I’m going to own one of these.
“Is this a rental?”
Rey doesn’t answer me, he just scoffs and shakes his head.
