Chapter Twenty-One #2
“You just wrecked any possibility of me thinking about anything but what you just did for the rest of this dinner. And if I fake a flu bug to get you out of the house and back to my bed…just go with it, okay?”
“Got it. I’ll take your lead, commander,” I say, smoothing my dress like I didn’t just come apart in his passenger seat and make him lose it behind the wheel.
He looks down between his thighs and pulls something out from between them. “Here, you forgot something.”
He hands me my earring, the one I didn’t even notice had fallen out while I was sucking him dry.
I take the earring and then glance at Isla’s front door.
“Oh God…I don’t stand a chance in there. These girls are a pack of wolves that will smell out my bullshit when they ask if we’ve been sleeping together.”
Trey opens his door as I try to quickly finish and then comes around to open mine.
“I’ll be outside with the fire and sharp objects,” he reminds me. “You’ll be safe,” he says and then reaches out for my hand to help me out.
I roll my eyes. “That’s not what safe means.”
He looks at me, mouth curving. “It does when I say it.”
Isla’s front door barely clicks shut behind us before she’s grinning like she already knows something.
And okay, fine…she probably does.
Penelope’s there too, leaning in the doorway to the kitchen in a fitted sweater and that smirk she’s famous for. I swear she could make someone confess to a murder with just one look.
“Hi ladies,” Trey says to Penelope and Isla. Then he bends down and whispers to me, “I’ll be out with the guys. Code word is ‘cookie dough’ if you need to be rescued. Godspeed.”
And then he’s gone, walking past all three of us until he gets to the large glass doors leading to the outside patio where Kaenan and Slade are already grilling.
“You look…refreshed,” Isla says, dragging me in for a hug that lingers just long enough for her to assess exactly how “refreshed” I am.
Penelope’s gaze sweeps from my hair to my outfit. And then she raises an eyebrow as if my outfit just gave away what Trey and I did on the way over.
“What?” I say, doing a quick sweep of my dress for myself, but nothing’s a miss, as far as I can see.
“Come on already. Get in here,” Penelope says, turning to head back for the kitchen, Isla on her tail.
The second we get into the kitchen, Isla begins to pour generously. “We’re doing red. You’ll need it for what’s coming.”
I lift a brow as I take my glass. “Should I be scared?”
“Only if you’ve got something to hide,” Penelope says, grabbing her wine glass that looks like she already drank half of it, and then perches on a stool.
“Which…judging by the fact that you’re glowing like you just got back from a spa weekend…
” she says, tilting her head. “Or a marathon session between the sheets…yeah, you’ve got something. ”
I take a sip big enough to qualify as a gulp. “You can’t tell that from just looking at me.”
“You basically just admitted it so fess up,” Isla says, topping off her own glass. “Speaking of confession. We want to know how last night went.”
I try to keep my voice casual. “It was nice.”
Penelope snorts. “Nice is what you call a rental car. Not a date. Not sex.”
I shrug, trying to focus on my wine, but my gaze flickers to the glass sliding door.
Outside, under the patio cover, Trey’s standing at the grill with Kaenan and Slade, beer in one hand, tongs in the other.
He laughs at something Slade says, his head tipping back, and even from here I feel that stupid low swoop in my stomach.
Like clockwork, his eyes cut to me.
Like he felt me looking.
And just like that, I’m back in his passenger seat, the sound of his voice in my ear, his talented fingers…
“Hello?” Isla waves her fingers in front of my face. “We want details about your date last night with Trey.”
I grab a cube of cheese from the charcuterie board just to have something to do with my mouth besides smile like an idiot.
“He took me out on a helicopter and showed me Seattle at night, and then we had a picnic on a mountain top. Not a big deal.” I grin.
Both of their eyes go wide.
“He flew you in a helicopter for your date?” Penelope says. “And you’re trying to convince us that you didn’t screw his brains out after? How new do you think we are?”
“And I already know he packed your favorite things for your picnic basket because he borrowed it from me. The little stinker wouldn’t tell me what he was planning. I’ve been dying over here.”
“Okay, maybe more happened in the helicopter, but a lady never kisses and tells.” I take a sip of my wine, and damn her, it’s good.
They both squeal with excitement and do some kind of victory dance that looks like this must be the second bottle of wine for the night.
“Please for the love of God, tell me that you two are dating now,” Penelope pleads. “Because I have been dying to make you WAGs official since Isla got inducted into the group.”
Even though technically we’re “dating,” I can’t be that honest with them because, to be fair, Adeline’s not the only one who might get hurt when Trey and I end this in two weeks.
These WAGs girls all get really attached to each other and to give them false hope that Trey and I are a real item would be cruel.
“It’s just casual. I still have to marry Jameson in two weeks or he and I lose everything. Nothing can happen between us, and it wouldn’t be fair to Adeline.”
Penelope juts out her lower lip like she's disappointed but understands, while Isla looks almost mad at me.
“Vivi, you’re going to throw everything away to marry Jameson. He won’t make you happy. Can you truly agree to this for the rest of your life?”
“Neither of us know if I won't be happy with him. I might,” I say, trying to sound hopeful.
Sometimes I wish she could just face the truth like I have and grin and bear it, even if she’s not happy about it.
I know she gave up her company to be with Kaenan and then she started the sportswear company, bouncing back into a new brand that she loves, but it still was a sacrifice.
What she forgets is that Jameson loses everything too.
And not just a company. He loses his family and five generations of his wealth that should be passed down to him.
None of this should be taken lightly, though I know she’s just worried that I’m going to end up miserable in the long run. Maybe I will, but no one is guaranteed anything, and I have to make the best decision I can.
Trey and I have only agreed to two weeks as it is.
It’s not as if Trey is down on one knee asking me to choose him.
I’m not even sure if he would if I weren’t in this situation.
There are too many questions that I can’t ask because that reality isn’t a possibility anyway.
Not unless Jameson doesn’t show up in just over two weeks and leaves me to clean up the mess, while his family trust disinherits him.
“Let’s just have a nice dinner and talk about something else,” Penelope says, trying to cut the tension, but neither Isla nor I have broken our stares on each other. That’s when the guys walk in, Kaenan with a platter of grilled food that smells amazing.
The three men head for the kitchen, all smiles, but I see the moment their eyes dart around the room sensing that they just walked into something.
“Everything okay in here?” Slade asks.
“I’m sorry that I said anything. I don’t want to mess up tonight,” Isla says.
Trey walks over close to me. “Cookie dough?” he whispers.
I shake my head. “We’re fine…really.”
I don’t want this to ruin our night either. I love my sister, and she loves me. She’s worried, and I get it. I felt the same when she thought she had to go back to Colorado and marry her cheating fiancé. I know exactly how scared she is for me, because I was in her shoes five years ago.
I just wish she could see that I don’t have an out. Not one that doesn’t cost Jameson and I both something substantial. This decision doesn’t just affect me and Jameson. It affects Genevieve, Jameson’s siblings next in line, the trust, both boards, and lastly, my staff and clients who need me back.
Trey and Adeline did fine before I came around, and they will do fine when I’m gone, even if it kills me to think of the lucky woman who gets to step into my place. Who gets to sleep next to Trey for the rest of her life and take Adeline to the library.
“Okay, well the food’s hot so let’s eat. Dive in everyone,” Kaenan instructs. “There are chicken and veggie kabobs, coconut shrimp, and grilled pineapple. Help yourselves.”
“Good. I’m glad that’s all cleared up because can we please talk about what the heck is going on with Aleksi and Kendall for a second?” Penelope says, grabbing a plate to dish up.
We all start loading our plates as everyone takes a shot at their predictions for Aleksi and Kendall.
We sit around the dining room table, and the night turns into one of the best. The guys share funny locker room stories and everyone is laughing.
Trey grips my thigh under the table every once in a while to check in, and I love that he wants to touch me constantly, keeping us connected.
Finally, the night winds down, and I give both of the girls a huge goodnight hug promising to get together at Serendipity’s this week. Trey tells Kaenan that he’ll be back tomorrow to pick up Adeline when his mother brings the girls back tomorrow, and then we’re out the door.
“You okay? It looked pretty tense when we walked into the kitchen earlier,” Trey asks as he walks me to the passenger side of his SUV.
I can’t tell him that Isla’s mad that I’m choosing Jameson over him since Trey has never even offered more than the next two weeks. I can’t afford to start that thought process or the conversation around it with Trey.
“It’s fine. Just normal sister stuff. She and I are fine…I promise.”
He opens my door for me and I slip in, but he keeps his eyes on me as he shuts the door. He doesn’t look like he completely believes me, but what choice does he have?
He walks around the front of the car and slides in. “Well then, are you ready to go home and finish where we left off?” he asks, with heat in his eyes.
“Yes,” I say dramatically. “Take me home.”
He smiles and then pulls out of their long driveway.
Just as he heads down the street, I hear my news notification ping on my phone. An urgent update.
I glance down—just a preview of a headline:
JAMESON HOLIDAY’S JET SPOTTED RETURNING TO THE U.S.
The bubble around me wavers for a second.
And with a short delay, so does Trey’s phone. He comes to a stop sign and glances down quickly, and then his eyes are on me.
Neither of us says a word. We just stare at each other for a moment.
Not tonight. Not here. I still have a little over two weeks, and I’m not letting Jameson take one second of it from me.