Chapter Sixteen
Roux
H is attorney is hot.
Long, tanned legs. Silky blond hair. Big tits.
And a bitch.
I could see the way she looked at Jordy. As though he were a bone with some meat she wanted to suck off. After the soft kiss we’d shared, I was certain things would have gone down differently than they did.
That I’d be a part of his world like I always wanted to be.
Instead, he sent me away.
Dismissed me so he could talk to his attorney. They’re probably getting naked as we speak. I let out a snort at my poutiness. Jordy is a lot of things—angry, fierce, vengeful—but he’s not cruel. He wouldn’t lead me on just to fuck his attorney when she showed up. I’m just pissed that he sent me away. It means he’s still protecting me, and we both know what happened the last time he tried to protect me.
A car turns onto our street and heads toward our house. It’s unfamiliar—a black luxury vehicle. Maybe a BMW, though I can’t tell from this far away. It pulls into the driveway, stopping just a few feet from where I’m sitting on the bottom step outside our garage apartment.
Three car doors open and I recognize everyone immediately. First, I see Hollis climb out. Behind him, Penny follows, though I wish it were Charlotte. It’s the driver who surprises me.
“Mr. English?” I say, rising to my feet.
I’ve only met their dad a few times. He’s always been nothing but business when he visits. I know the girls have gone to stay with him at the hotel before whenever he’s in Horn River. They usually leave with shopping bags full of gifts. The last time he came to visit, Charlotte left with a cherry-red Audi TT RS. I can tell Penny’s already sporting new sneakers and Hollis has a new watch.
Must be nice to have a dad who spoils you rotten.
“Hello, Roux,” Mr. English says as he approaches. “I’ve told you to call me Garrett.”
“Sorry,” I mumble. “Where’s Charlotte?”
Garrett’s jaw clenches. He and Hollis exchange a look I’m not meant to interpret. “She’s off with her boyfriend.”
Penny makes a motion with her fist and mouth like she’s mimicking a blow job. My cheeks blaze with heat as I stifle an inappropriate giggle.
“Roan’s not here,” I tell Garrett.
“We’re here to talk to Jordy,” Hollis chimes in, tugging at a strand of my hair. “Is he up there?”
“With Samantha,” I say icily.
Garrett’s brows lift and Penny snorts out a laugh.
“His attorney,” Hollis tells his dad. “Come on.”
Penny and I follow Garrett and Hollis up the steps. At one time, Garrett was bigger than Hollis, but ever since Roan and Hollis got on their freak gym kick, my brother-in-law has bulked up. Garrett is handsome for an older man and could probably land someone like Samantha if he wanted, but he’s clearly still pining over their mom.
Good luck, buddy.
Kelsey’s boyfriend—and my legal guardian, Mike—is obsessed with her. Spoils her rotten with dinners and presents and stupidly sweet gestures. Garrett, according to Hollis, cheated on Kelsey. His loss, too. Kelsey is kind and gorgeous and the mother of his children. Garrett really screwed up.
We make it to the top of the steps and enter the apartment. My eyes skim right over to where Samantha is leaned across the table showing Jordy something on her computer. The way she looks at him grosses me out.
“Oh,” Samantha says, jerking back. “We have visitors.”
Jordy’s dark eyes land on his favorite place—my lips—and then lazily skim down my front, leaving fire in the wake of his stare.
Garrett introduces himself to Samantha as Jordy stands. He makes a beeline over to me, his body thrumming with the need to touch me. I reach for him and he moves like he might take my hand. At the last second, his hand flies up to rub at the back of his neck.
“Girls,” Garrett says, cutting through the crackling energy between Jordy and me. “Can you run along so the adults can talk?”
Jordy winces and I recoil, fuming at his words.
“I’m staying,” I bite out.
Garrett frowns, shaking his head. “Go to your room.”
I gape at him in shock. Samantha wears a satisfied smirk. Hollis has the sense to look guilty but doesn’t intervene. When my eyes land back on Jordy’s, his eyes take on that dead look he gets when he shuts me out.
“Come on,” Penny says, taking my hand.
“I want to stay,” I whisper to him.
“Go with Penny.” He nods at my bedroom before turning his back on me.
Fire bursts up inside of me, but before I have a chance to yell at him, Penny is dragging me through the living room. She has to shove me into the room and then closes the door behind her. Hot tears of anger flood my eyes, streaking down my cheeks.
“Seriously?” I hiss. “They act like we’re little kids!”
“Daddy’s meetings are always boring,” Penny says. “Trust me, we dodged a bullet.”
She nosily starts picking up picture frames, reading poetry pieces, and peeking in drawers. That’s Penny for you. Always lurking and noticing things.
“Is Char really with Ryan?” I demand.
“Yeah. He’s such a dick, too. No one but me ever sees it either.”
“I see it,” I offer. “You think she’ll ever break up with him?”
Penny’s features darken. “Right. As if the all mighty Ryan Cunningham would allow that. Oh, heavens,” she drawls, “what will the other policemen think if Papa Cunningham’s son gets dumped by the school’s queen? What a scandal!”
“Why do they even care?” I mumble, irritated over the whole situation.
“Same reason they cared back home. The popular people have to mate with each other. It’s some weird evolutional bullshit. Makes the merry world go round.”
“Hmph.”
She laughs and it’s not a usual sound from Penny. “I’m the grumpy one, not you. They really have your panties in a wad today.”
“I hate that Jordy treats me like a kid.”
“You are a kid.”
“Shut up. I am not.”
“You’re literally seventeen, Roux.”
“I lost the opportunity to be a kid when my mom decided heroin needed her more than her children,” I bite out. “I grew up a long time ago. Not all of us have a rich daddy we can bat our lashes at to get what we want.”
“Right. You’re an adult. Totally sold me after that toddler fit you just threw.” She smirks. “Seriously.”
I hate when she’s right.
“Have you ever wanted someone you’re not supposed to have?” I ask, frowning.
She laughs. “I once had a sex dream about Trey.”
“You had a sex dream about him?” My eyes are wide with shock.
She rolls her eyes as she sits on my bed. “It wasn’t like that .”
“Fine. Tell me about how it was then.”
“He was fucking some blond chick on the bleachers while I was playing basketball. They were being so noisy. I kept missing the baskets and I was so pissed at him. I’d just stormed his way, ready to throw the damn ball at his face, when a little kid came running out of nowhere. I got distracted helping the kid walk down the steps. When we reached the bottom, the blond chick was gone and Trey was up there watching me.” She shivers. “Kinda creepy, huh?”
I nod. “That’s not technically a sex dream, though.”
“There was sex in it. I was there. It was a dream.”
“Hmph.”
“You’re full of those today,” Penny says, her stare roaming over me. “Are you crushing over Jordy?”
I wince at her words.
This thing with Jordy is so much more than a crush. It’s not unrequited, either. It’s bone-deep. Maddening. Burning through my veins like liquid fire. I can taste the want for him on my tongue. The buzzing need vibrates continuously through me.
It’s not a crush.
It’s an annihilation of my emotions.
“Oh,” Penny says with a frown. “You’re in love. Gross.”
“Love’s not gross. Your brother’s in love. So is your mom. Probably Charlotte too.”
Penny lies back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Hollis and Roan are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s gross watching Mike maul Mom, but she laughs a lot, so I tolerate it.” Her gaze hardens. “Charlotte isn’t in love with Ryan. She’s scared of him.”
I tense at her words. “You think she’s scared of him?”
Penny sits up on her elbows, giving me an exasperated huff. “He’s a controlling bastard. Of course she’s scared. Charlotte has always been…trusting. Ryan is the type of guy who exploits that sort of thing.”
“Can you tell your parents? Maybe they’ll make them break up.”
“You already tried, remember? And look where that got you. My parents are scared too. After what went on with Hollis, Mom is trying to be the superhero parent and Daddy is trying desperately not to fuck up again with one of his kids.” Penny lets out a dry laugh. “Charlotte will be stuck with that douchebag until he dumps her for someone else.”
“I wish she would talk to me,” I murmur. “I could try and reason with her.”
“It’s not her you have to reason with.”
Ryan is who we need to break it off.
And he’s having too much fun being her puppet master.
“Everything will change soon, though,” Penny says in a cryptic tone.
“What? Why?”
Her blue eyes glitter. “Daddy’s moving here.”
“What? Seriously? Garrett’s a big-time surgeon in Vermont, though.”
“He’s tired of it, he said. He wants to be here. To open his own family practice so he can be closer to us.” Her lips curl up into a wicked smile. “Daddy can only tiptoe for so long. Once he sees how Ryan treats her—I mean really sees—we won’t have to worry about Ryan dumping her. Daddy will make it happen.”
“She’ll hate him,” I remind her.
Penny shakes her head. “There’s a lot you don’t know about my dad. He’s connected. It doesn’t matter where he’s at, he is connected to everyone who’s important. Watch. Within a month of moving here, he’ll be playing golf with the mayor and rubbing elbows with the police chief.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh. Daddy will destroy Ryan and he won’t know what hit him.” She smiles victoriously. Then, her smile falls. “Why do you think Mom bailed? She won’t admit it, but I think she was worried Daddy would turn the whole town against her.”
“Your dad sounds like a real asshole.”
“Sometimes it’s beneficial to be the biggest asshole in the room. Or, in this case, Horn River.”
“This town has enough assholes,” I grumble.
“What’s one more?”
I let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, what’s one more? Will you tell Charlotte I love her and miss her?”
“She knows,” Penny says, giving me a rare smile. “She plays your dumb songs you love all the time ever since you guys broke up.”
My heart clenches painfully in my chest.
“I’ll be here for her when she comes to her senses,” I tell her, my voice cracking.
“I think she knows that. Let’s just hope she comes to them before she does something really stupid.”