Captivating You (How to Marry a Billionaire #2)

Episode 58

EPISODE 58

MEETING OF THE BOYS CLUB

Sebastian

I need to get my anger in check. Evangeline’s face is pale, and dark circles rim her eyes. She looks exhausted...and frightened.

I stay near the door. Evangeline walks to her desk and takes a look at her computer. I keep distance between us. I don’t want her to fear me.

But I also want answers.

I clear my throat. “I walked Heather to her suite, and we found Misty there. She said you let her in.”

“I did.”

“Seriously? You just let someone in Heather’s suite without checking with her?”

“Yes. Misty seemed upset and didn’t want to be alone. She indicated that she and Heather had become close and that Heather wouldn’t mind.”

“I see.” I look around Evangeline’s suite. Just last night I was here to seduce information out of her. When I pushed, she ended up getting ill in the bathroom.

And then I found the email from Misty to her.

Fun night, Ev. But remember, I get River, so I want Rachel out of the running. June too. It’s non-negotiable. You owe me.

I marked it as unread and left before Evangeline came out of the bathroom. Neither of us spoke about that meeting today. Evangeline was busy on the catamaran, and then the issue with Rachel...

But now I want answers. What does Evangeline owe Misty?

And what the hell happened to Rachel?

Evangeline’s dark eyes harbor secrets, a flicker of something unspoken.

“We’re paying you a lot of money, Evie,” I say, keeping my voice kind. “You’re doing a bang-up job, but I have questions.”

“Of course.” She takes a seat at her desk. “But it’s late. Can we deal with this tomorrow?”

I take a look at my watch. “It is tomorrow. It’s a few minutes past midnight.”

“Shouldn’t you be with your date? Heather, wasn’t it?”

“Our date is over.”

“How did it go? She’s a lovely girl.”

“She is,” I agree.

“But you have lunch with Ariel coming up. She’s young, but such a beautiful thing. And she?—”

I hold up my hand to stop her. She’s trying to change the subject. Has she forgotten that we had her orchestrate these dates? Of course, she doesn’t know that River had an ulterior motive. She only knows he asked for Misty specifically.

“I need to know what Misty is up to,” I say.

“I think you’d need to ask her that.”

“I’m sure River has. But apparently their date didn’t go all that well if she asked you to let her into Heather’s room.”

Evangeline says, “She didn’t tell me anything about it.”

“She was crying,” I say. “She was lying on the couch in Heather’s living area, and when we came in, she wiped tears from her eyes.”

“I’m sorry her date didn’t go well.”

I draw in a breath, count to ten. “Evie, please. I know you’re not telling me the truth about Misty. I know you and she have something going, and frankly, if that’s the case, I’m ready to tell the guys to end this event right now.”

“No, please!” She stands. “Don’t do that. Please.” Her tone holds a touch—more than a touch—of desperation.

“Evie, what?—”

I jerk away from the door when someone knocks.

Without waiting for Evangeline, I turn and open it.

“Riv,” I say, looking into my friend’s eyes.

“I’ve got Brett and Alex waiting. We need to talk, Seb.”

“Yes, yes, go ahead.” Evangeline ushers me out of the room. “We can get back to this tomorrow, Sebastian.” She closes her door.

“What was that about?” River asks.

“Just trying to figure out what the fuck’s going on.” I shake my head. “As usual, she’s anything but forthcoming.”

“Misty was forthcoming tonight,” River says. “Of course, whether she was telling the truth or not... That’s another question.”

“Apparently your date didn’t go well.”

“Oh?” He lifts his eyebrows.

“Yeah. Misty ended up in Heather’s room crying her eyes out.”

River rolls his eyes. “She’s some piece of work.”

“Don’t I know it. Where are the others?”

“They’re waiting. Come on.”

River leads me toward Brett and Alex. They’re waiting right outside the pool house.

“I’d suggest the hot tub,” I say, “but the ladies may decide to join us.”

“Agreed.” Brett pulls out a pack of cigarettes. “Anyone want a smoke?”

“I thought you quit,” Alex says.

“I did.”

River steps forward and takes one. “Since we don’t have any bourbon out here, I’ll take one.”

Alex grabs a bottle sitting on the grass. “Come on, you guys. Did you really think I’d come unprepared?” He uncorks the bottle—it’s Angel’s Envy—and passes it to River.

River takes a drink and then hands it to me. “Damn, that’s good shit.”

I take a sip and pass the bottle to Brett, who’s taking a drag of his cigarette. “That shit’ll kill you,” I tell him.

He takes another drag and blows the smoke out his nostrils. It drifts away on the warm night breeze as he takes a drink.

“Hold onto your hats,” River says, “because you’re not going to believe what I found out.”

“Misty’s a bitch?” I ask.

“Honestly, I think we’ve got a chicken-egg situation here,” River says. “Misty’s playing someone, no doubt, but I haven’t figured out if it’s me or Evangeline. Or how it started.”

“You?”

“Yeah. Maybe even all four of us, but especially me, because I have the honor of being the man she’s set her sights on.”

Brett pats River on the back. “Nice going, Riv. You always wanted to best me at getting a lady.”

River rolls his eyes again. He and Brett share a bond that Alex and I don’t quite understand. They’ve known each other the longest, but they’re different as night and day. Still, they seem to get each other.

“Get this,” River says. “Misty claims she was adopted, and her birth mother was a woman named Lisa Patterson.”

The bottle of bourbon is back in my hands, and it slips through my fingers and lands on the grass with a thump. I pick it up quickly, making sure not to waste the contents.

“Say what ?” Brett demands.

“Is your hearing going?” Riv says.

“No. I just can’t...”

“Neither could I.” River shakes his head.

“She’s Jake’s fucking sister?” Alex asks. “Half-sister?”

“Maybe. I don’t know if she’s telling the truth.” River grabs the bottle from me and takes a drink. “I figured she was lying. At first.”

“And now you don’t think she’s lying?” Alex asks.

“I was going to go through with it. Seduce her to get to the truth. But then I took a good long look at her, and fuck... I saw it. I saw Lisa’s cheeks and Lisa’s jawline. Hell, I even saw some of Jake in her. It was creepy.”

“Maybe you were seeing things,” I offer. “Maybe you wanted to find a reason not to fuck her.”

“If I was looking for a reason not to fuck her, I already had about a hundred.” River shakes his head. “Nope. I’m telling you. I think she’s serious. She only found out recently by snooping in her father’s papers. The birth certificate didn’t name a father. Apparently her parents paid Lisa twenty K for the baby.”

“I don’t remember Lisa ever being pregnant,” Brett says.

“Me neither.” From Alex.

“I don’t either,” River continues, “but there was that one summer Lisa took Jake to her parents’ and we didn’t see either of them until school started. Hell, I don’t know. We were kids. Would we have noticed?”

“I don’t know.” Brett takes another draw on his cigarette, his fine features tensed and his eyebrows drawn together. He looks anything but relaxed. So much for the cigarette having the desired effect.

“And there’s more,” River says. “She said she researched her birth mother, found out that Lisa lived in my hometown— our hometown—and she discovered Lisa had another child. A boy our age. She figured we’d know him.”

“Jesus. Fuck.” I rub my hands over my hair. “Maybe we’ve run as far as we can. Do you really want to run from this? From Misty?”

“Do you really want to?” River asks.

I take the bottle and down another drink, letting the smooth whiskey coat the ache in my throat. I swallow. “No. I don’t. He never leaves my thoughts. I have lyrics upon lyrics in my head about that day. About that whole fucking week. Lyrics that will never see the light of day, that will never be set to music, because I just can’t let it out. Man, if I let it out...”

Alex clamps his hand on my shoulder. “We get it, Seb. I’ve got a whole novel inside my head about that summer. Probably the best thing I’ll never write.”

River says, “I’m not creative like you two, but every time I look at the photo of old Ernie in my wallet, I remember everything. Every fucking thing.”

We all look to Brett then. He flicks his butt on the grass and then stamps it out with his foot.

But he says nothing.

Brett never says anything emotional about that time. It’s like he’s made of steel.

River glares at him, and Alex and I exchange a glance.

This is our cue to leave. Brett and River are going to have words.