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“Easy there, Romeo,” Saxon said to him.
Trev turned his attention to Saxon, but his hand didn’t leave my back. “What? I do. It’s hot. The damn thing doesn’t have a back. She looks hot, doesn’t she?”
Saxon glanced up at me, then back at his phone. “Yes, she looks beautiful.”
Trev groaned, and his hand fell away from me as he leaned against the elevator wall. “Why do you have to be so damn charming? I can’t compete.”
Saxon grinned, shaking his head. “We’ve been best friends most of our lives, Trev. You’ve never once needed to compete with anyone. Your game is strong.”
Trev swung his head back around to look at me. “You think my game is strong, Lollipop?”
I opened my mouth and closed it. How did I answer this? Carefully, I decided. Very carefully. “Yes, you’ve got excellent pickup lines,” I assured him.
He let out a bark of laughter. “Bullshit! You didn’t fall for it for a second. My fucking ego was bruised.”
“I texted Eliza,” Saxon informed him. “She’s on the fifth floor. We’re stopping to get her.”
Trev looked disappointed. “She’s getting the wrong idea.”
Saxon cleared his throat. “Dude, you should have thought about that before buying her a thirty-five-hundred-dollar cup, groping her, taking her to the winner’s circle, and sticking your tongue down her throat in photos that will make it in the news.”
Trev covered his face with his hand, groaning again. “Fuck, I did that, didn’t I?”
I looked over at Saxon, and he just smiled, shaking his head at me. This must be common Trev behavior. That was a bit of a letdown, but then how long would I really be around Trev? This could be over with our parents by next week. Then again, it could last awhile. Mom seemed to light up under Garrett’s attention.
“Just for the record, the mint julep without the gold cup was delicious,” I told him.
He looked at me and frowned. “You didn’t get a Gold Cup?”
I laughed. “Uh, no. That offends me that you’d ask. Drinks should not cost that much.”
Trev banged the back of his head on the wall. “Fucking hell. I didn’t even get you a Gold Cup.”
“And I assure you, I am happy about that.”
“Now, I’m stuck with Eliza,” he groaned.
“Look at it this way. Eliza doesn’t live in Ocala. After tonight, you won’t see her again until Belmont Stakes,” Saxon told him.
Trev nodded. “That’s good. Yeah.” Then, he looked at me. “How’d you like the winner’s circle?”
Even with his eyes glassy, he was still insanely handsome. It truly wasn’t fair. With his money and looks, what else had I expected? He could do whatever he wanted, act however he wanted, and it was overlooked.
“I liked it. It was exciting,” I told him.
He looked pained. Had he wanted me to hate it?
The elevator doors opened.
“Go get your date,” Saxon told him.
“I don’t know what room,” he replied, not moving.
Saxon sighed and walked out of the elevator to look down the hallway while texting, I assumed, Eliza. The elevator doors started to close, and I took a step to stop it, but Trev’s hand wrapped around my arm, pulling me back.
“It’s closing.” I pointed out the obvious.
Trev grinned. “Oops.”
I realized that he’d done that on purpose. “Saxon is helping you.”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
Frustrated with him even if he was drunk, I pulled my arm free of his hold. “I realize that most people just let you get drunk and act however you want, but I’m not cool with it. You need to be a better friend, even when you’re drunk.”
His smile fell. Good. Someone needed to point out his behavior.
“He deserves it,” he said to me.
“No, he doesn’t.”
Trev nodded, and then his gaze slowly drifted down my dress, legs, all the way to my shoes. “Yeah, he fucking does. You were gonna be my friend. He stole you.”
He sounded like a little boy, upset because someone had taken his toy.
“You got busy with Eliza. Remember? You left me with Saxon, and being the good friend he is, he stepped in and babysat me so you didn’t have to.”
The scowl that touched his brow shouldn’t make me want to reach up and smooth it out. “I needed a minute. Eliza was there, and she distracted me. I wasn’t trying to get rid of you. We were supposed to watch the race together. You were supposed to go with me to the winner’s circle. But you liked Sax better.”
The elevator doors opened again, and an elegant older couple stepped inside. I realized we hadn’t pressed the lobby button, and the elevator had gone back up.
The man noticed Trev and nodded his head. “Congratulations, Mr. Hughes. Cohiba was a beauty to watch.”
He smiled, straightening his stance. “Thank you,” he replied.
The man stepped forward and pressed the lobby button, glancing back at us. “Are you two headed to the lobby?” he asked.
