Three Grumpy Billionaires and a Klutzy Librarian (Three Guys and a Girl #2)

Chapter Six

Maybe her first-ever real-life ball was not going to be a complete disaster after all. Allison was just about to take Luke Armstrong’s arm when a voice interrupted them.

“Luke? What are you doing?” A stunningly dressed girl came toward them. Her gown was so tight that every inch of her curves was highlighted by the ridiculously expensive fabric of the garment. Her hair rolled down her shoulders in a rich champagne-blonde hue. She immediately linked her arm with Luke’s and forced him down so she could kiss his cheek.

“Oh, who’s this?”

Luke seemed to take a deep breath. “Allison Harding. She’s new here, Shiloh. Be nice.”

“Oh, Luke. I’m always nice. I just saw your father, and he wanted to see you. The girls and I will keep Allison company.”

“I’ll be back soon, Allison.” Luke smiled. “But if I’m not,” he added, removing Shiloh’s hold on him so he could take out his phone, “I would love to you see some time. Maybe coffee. Or dinner. Will you be kind enough to give me your number?”

Oh.

“I look forward to that, Luke.” Allison smiled back at him as she entered her phone number into his phone. He was a nice person and she’d like very much to get to know him better. But she couldn’t not notice the bristling that came from Shiloh. If she and Luke were a thing, he wouldn’t be that brazen to ask for her number right in front of her, would he? No, he wouldn’t.

As soon as Luke left, two other girls, equally beautiful, and dressed like cover models joined them, and the atmosphere became even more icy cold.

“How did you get invited? I saw you coming in with Zac, Gage, and Reid. How do you know them?”

“Umm… Mrs. Keller… I rent the cottage on her property, and she told me that I should come and see the Davenport library. I heard it’s beautiful. I’m a librarian.” Could she babble anymore? Although she deserved a star for not starting her story with Horse and his triggering reaction to red fabric and the debacle that followed.

“A librarian?” one of the girls inquired. “I don’t think I ever met anyone who goes around giving out her star sign to random people,” she said, laughing.

“Oh, no. I meant a librarian. I work with books.”

“You’re a librarian?” The girl called Shiloh asked with a mocking hint in her voice. “So you work? Like a job?”

“I am, and I do,” Allison said cheerfully. “I’m Allison, by the way,” she added, extending her hand toward the other two girls. They refused to take her hand. Oh, well.

"Oh, my god. I don’t think I’ve ever met a real-life librarian before. Aren’t they extinct?” The other brunette asked.

"Er, not quite yet apparently.” Seriously, extinct?

“I do love your dress,” Shiloh said, eyeing her up and down. “I miss my great-grandma, and you could have picked it straight out of her closet. It reminds me so much of her.”

Okay, so this was the mean girls club. Welcome, Allison.

She looked down at her black velvet dress and didn’t think it was that bad. So it was vintage, but so what? It came with a lace collar; the sleeves reached her elbows, the hem reached midcalf, and she paired it with a pair of white high-heel pumps. She’d gathered one side of her hair, clipped it up, and let the rest run down her back. She looked perfectly fine, so screw you, Shiloh.

“Thank you. Your great-grandmother had impeccable taste. They say it sometimes misses a generation, sadly.”

“I could have you thrown out—”

“Allison, there you are. And no, you couldn’t, Shiloh.” Yet another beautiful newcomer said as she took Allison’s hand and led her off. “There’s a rumor that Shiloh threw her whole car away and bought a new one because she had a flat. Said she didn’t know the wheels came off. Said no one ever, right? Oh, and I’m Bree Davenport.”

“Hi,” Allison said. “Thanks for saving me.”

“Hi yourself. The instant you walked in with the Keller Kings, you put a Shiloh target on your back.”

“Why?”

“Umm, why? Have you actually seen what they look like? Every single straight female with a pulse wants them.”

“Oh,” Allison said sheepishly. Of course, that was true.

“But also, if you met them, then you’d know they’re the grumpiest billionaires in the universe, so while every woman wants them, not many are brave enough to approach them. Well, except for Shiloh, that is. Any one of them would do, or all three, she decided. And do you know what they told her? They don’t fuck little girls.”

If Allison had been drinking anything, she would have sputtered it right out of her mouth.

“Who do they... umm?”

“Fuck?” With a daring grin on her face, Bree asked. “See that statuesque woman in the red dress?”

Allison followed Bree’s gaze and gawked. The woman Bree had singled out was not a mere woman. She was a goddess of such sophisticated beauty that there seemed to be a halo around her. The dress she wore wasn’t just red it was blood red and hugged her curves like a second skin. Horse would probably give himself an aneurysm if he saw it. But it was her confidence, her style, her timelessness and grace, and everything about her that made Allison feel like a distorted alien.

“That’s Tara Mitchell. She was once a supermodel in her younger years, and rumor has it that she was trained in the art of seduction by a courtesan. She can take a whole nine inches down her throat.”

“Nine inches of what?”

“Cock, Ally,” Bree whispered loudly in her ear. “And guess who has nine inches each.”

Oh, my god.

Without thinking, Allison spread her hands apart, estimating what nine inches looked like, and gasped. But then why had her body started to sizzle as if it knew what to do with nine inches? She was a virgin, for crying out loud.

“I know.” Bree nodded. “And the woman in that black dress with the diamond pendant hanging down to her navel. She studied the Kama Sutra, and the Kellers are her favorite men. She knows things that can make an ordinary man just die there on the spot. That explains why the Kellers chose her. Because they aren’t ordinary men. The women they go for are sophisticated, graceful, established, and experienced. And you think Shiloh has a chance with them?”

Allison tried to block out the uneasy rise of heat in her spine. Her blood turned cold, and she frowned heavily as her heart started to pound differently. A sinking feeling dragged her down.

In her mind’s eye, she envisioned Zac, Gage, and Reid touching those women, kissing them, and fucking them. She whimpered. How could she possibly be jealous of them?

What was wrong with her?

“Then you caught Luke Armstrong’s attention and since Shiloh couldn’t land the Kellers, no matter how rich her daddy is, Luke is her next choice. And everyone could see how he looked at you. Oh, enough about men. I heard you’re a librarian.”

“How did you know?” Did she overhear the conversation with Shiloh and her friends?

“They told me you were one when they told me to take care of you.”

“Who told you to take care of me?”

“The Kellers, silly. They seemed rather possessive of you when they did. Told me not to let any guys talk to you, particularly my brother, Martin. So please don’t tell them I didn’t save you from Luke. Come on. They also instructed me to show you our library.”

“Bree, honey, come here for a second.”

An older replica of Bree herself called out to her.

“Argh. My mother. She also gets anxious when she throws these kinds of balls. I won’t be a minute. Carry on upstairs; you won’t miss the library if you try. The bodyguards won’t stop you, either. They put you on the VIP list, and that’s the kind of power they have even in someone else’s house.” She laughed before heading in the direction of her mother.

Allison had no idea what was happening. They had already cut all ties when they honored their grandmother’s commands to come to the ball, with her, so why were they still bothering with her?