Chapter 27 Lofton #2
“Fine,” I huffed. “Go get the ladies.”
Her smile turned triumphant. “I’ll grab some more wine too.”
She disappeared from the room, and I made a quick trip to the bathroom to make sure the outside of me didn’t match the jumbled wreck on the inside. It did. I looked like hell. Puffy eyes, red streaks of paint still hidden in my hairline, flakes of mascara peppering my skin under my eyes.
Shit. Was it too late to change my mind?
“Knock, knock,” Rhion called, answering my unspoken question. “I come bearing reinforcements and refills.”
I walked out of the bathroom to find three kind smiles and one short brunette who looked like she might throw up.
Grinning, I walked to her first. “You must be Mira.”
She bobbed her head up and down like she couldn’t stop it once it had been set in motion.
I started to extend my hand, but the woman dove into my arms, wrapping me in a hug.
The tall blonde, who looked slightly older than the rest but no less stunning, quietly laughed and shot me a warm smile. “She’s a big fan. I told her as long as she doesn’t cry, she can stay.”
Mira backed out of my arms, drying her eyes on the palms of her hands. “Shit. I’m sorry. I’ll get it together I swear.”
“Oh, girl. You don’t have to apologize to me. You should have seen me the first time I met Nick Jonas. Full-on snot-sob. Our paths have never once crossed again, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”
Her eyes danced with wonder. “I was more into Joe.”
“Perfect. Then we won’t even have to fight over them.”
My gaze drifted up…up…up…to the woman behind her.
Holy shit, she was so gorgeous it was almost jarring. Long, glossy black hair, and a red dress that hugged her in all the right places. She had to have been at least six feet without the heels. With them, she was probably Devon’s height.
Her smile was slow and mischievous as she lifted an already full glass of wine in my direction. “Hi. I’m Brianna Talbot.”
Okay. Yep. That made sense. Supermodel turned lingerie mogul before the ripe old age of thirty. I knew the name. I owned some of her pieces. Made a mental note to break them out for Devon.
And then immediately erased that note because I was never letting him see me in lingerie again.
Which was also a lie, but further proof the wine was definitely doing its job.
“Lofton Beck,” I introduced myself, then glanced at Mira. “You’re crying over me while casually hanging out with a supermodel?”
Brianna laughed. “Yeah, Mir. I didn’t get any tears.”
Mira shot her a look. “You did. You just didn’t see them, because I was hiding in the bathroom trying to figure out how to avoid looking like a troll in a bathing suit next to you on the beach.”
I reached out and took one of the empty wine glasses from Rhion’s fingers and poured myself another drink. “I’m with her on this one. If you’re in a bathing suit, I might skip the company pool party this year too.”
“Oh please. Now there’s just two of you I’ll have to cry over.” Mira groaned playfully, sharing a knowing look with Rhion.
The slightly older blonde spoke up. “Does that mean you’ll be coming to company parties not hosted at a pool? We don’t usually invite clients, just the guys and their families.”
I bit my bottom lip. “Depends, do you know about the video in the ladies group chat?”
Grinning wide, she stepped forward and extended her hand. “I created the ladies’ group chat. I’m Sarah James. Leo’s wife.”
“Oh wow, it is so nice to finally meet you. Leo has been a saint. He was so incredibly kind to me when we met. Devon was being a dick and Leo just swooped in and put me at ease.”
“He’s definitely good at the easy thing. I speak from years of experience. I’m glad we had someone as qualified as Devon to help, given your, well, situation.”
“You mean my clusterfuck? It’s okay, you can say it.”
Sarah flashed me an eek face. “Actually, back then it was just a cluster. But now, with you and Devon sleeping together and Leo firing him, it’s officially a clusterfuck.”
My stomach dropped. “Oh God, Leo fired him?”
She waved me off. “Don’t worry about it. He talks a big game, but Leo’s a sucker for love.” She walked across the room and sank down on the corner of the bed. “He didn’t fire Jude when he showed up drunk at Rhion’s door.”
“True,” Rhion said, following her to the bed.
Sarah lifted her chin to Mira. “He didn’t fire Lark when he went all half-cocked over Mira, either.”
Mira shrugged and joined them on the bed. “Jeremy even got shot.”
I blinked so many times, unable to decide if I was shocked or confused. Devon had told me a few stories from Guardian Protection, all of them absolutely wild, but nothing about Jeremy getting shot.
“Okay, first of all, who’s Jeremy?”
Mira giggled. “That’s my husband. They call him Lark, but he’ll always be Jeremy to me.”
“Gotcha. And he was shot?”
She smiled, her eyes lighting up as if she were revisiting her fondest memory. “It was a graze. At least to hear him tell it.”
I turned and looked at Brianna. “Okay, so Rhion is married to Jude. Mira to Jeremy, aka Lark. Sarah is Leo’s wife. Who are you with?”
She settled on the pillows at the head of the bed as if she were posing to be painted. “I fuck Alex.” She paused for a beat. “And sometimes Johnson.” Another beat. “But mostly Alex.”
The room went completely silent.
All of us staring at her.
Rhion’s gasp broke the silence. “I’m sorry, what! Since when?”
Brianna's reply was entirely serene. “It just started a few weeks ago. Alex said he could watch, but then watching turned into touching and then touching turned into me fucking Johnson while Alex watched.”
There was another round of silence.
Rhion scrubbed a hand over her face. “Ew. So many ews. You know Johnson is like a brother to me.”
Brianna lifted one elegant shoulder in a shrug. “Which is why I didn’t tell you. But Lofton asked.” She looked at me. “Any more questions?”
Mira pressed her lips together.
Sarah squinted up at the ceiling.
And I laughed so hard I nearly spilled my wine. “My best friend, Brooke, would be absolutely devastated that she’s not here right now.”
Carrying the bottle in one hand and my glass in the other, I walked over to the bed. Sarah and Mira slid to the sides to make room for me at the foot. I started to pass Sarah the bottle as I settled between them cross-legged, but she shook her head.
“No, thanks. I don’t drink.”
“I do,” Brianna said, lifting her already full glass for a top-off.
“Anyway,” Rhion said, taking the bottle from me and setting it on the nightstand. “Can we get back to Devon now?”
I let out a groan. “I’d rather hear more about Johnson.”
“Me too,” Mira whispered.
Rhion acted like she might gag, and Sarah quickly lifted her hand. “That man is the godfather to my children. I do not need to hear about him—watching.”
“And fucking,” Brianna added with a smirk.
“That either.” Sarah turned her attention to me. “So, let’s hear it. What’s going on with you and Devon? I heard you found out about Levee.”
I swung an accusatory gaze through them. “Did y’all know about her?”
“Yeah,” Rhion started. “But not because Devon told us. It took me years to put the pieces together.”
Mira jumped in next. “Jeremy had to tell me when I was making the playlist for the twins’ birthday party. Levee Williams is outlawed in our house.”
Sarah nodded. “Leo talked to me about it before he hired Devon.”
Brianna shrugged. “I don’t actually know anything. Not much time for talking when—”
“Don’t say it!” Rhion yelled, plugging her ears.
“Prude,” Brianna teased, and then went back to sipping her wine.
Sarah shook her head. “Lofton, how about you give us a little background on you and Devon. That way we can all be on the same page. And Brianna won’t be able to talk for a while.”
I smiled. It might not have been my brightest idea, but I was desperate, and if Brianna Talbot trusted these women with the details of her threesomes, I figured I didn’t have anything to worry about.
For the next twenty minutes, I told them everything. Not the carefully edited version I’d have given a journalist or a publicist. The real version. All of it.
Devon being an asshole at the hotel.
Devon taking me to see Marty.
Our shared mornings on the farm.
Sebastian showing up.
My night at the Doodle Bug Café with Brit and Fran.
Devon calling Brooke to give me something normal.
They went wild when I told them about the stolen shirt and heels, everyone hitting me with either a cheers or a high-five.
There were actual sighs when I told them about Roger and the five-dollar bill.
And finally, I’d ended it with Henry Alexander and my argument with Devon in the driveway.
By the time I’d gotten through all of it, I’d made my way to the bottom of my wine, the warmth in my veins making me bold.
“Can I say something embarrassing?”
“Finally,” Brianna smarted, leaning in close.
“I googled her.”
Nobody laughed. Which I greatly appreciated.
“I mean, I already know what she looks like, but I searched: Levee Williams with bodyguard. And there he was. Photo after photo. Strong. Protective.” I paused. “In love with her.”
“Lofton—” Sarah started.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I rushed out. “I feel like I’m the sequel.”
The room was quiet for a moment. I anchored my gaze on my glass in my lap to avoid their eyes, but I could feel the pity filling the space.
Then Mira said softly, “It doesn’t sound like he ever treated you that way though.”
As if my heart were doing the answering, my response came out before my brain had fully processed the question. “No. He’s amazing.”
“Then what makes you feel that way?”
I twisted my lips. “Come on. It’s Levee Williams. Who wouldn’t want to be with her.”
They all looked at each other, but it was Brianna who spoke up. “Um…probably the man who’s with Lofton Beck.”
I scoffed. “He’s only with me because she turned him down.”