Chapter 15
Serenity
Ifall on my bed, landing on my back, and the bottom of my dress poofs out around my legs. These dresses are too restrictive with the corset I wear underneath, but Victor picked out this outfit and had it delivered specially for this party.
It has been two days since I touched Victor. Two days since he said he found me a volunteer opportunity. Two days since butterflies took flight and I didn’t resist them. If Summer hadn’t kept me running during that time, I would’ve thought more about what that meant.
But now, we have to attend Sebastian’s birthday party at some nightclub. And with how my emotions have been all jumbled, a dark, intimate place with alcohol might not be the best place for us to go together.
Summer leans over me, and her red ringlets drape over my face. Concern flickers across her delicate features, and my stomach twists. If I wasn’t pushed by those bastard loan sharks, we’d be back home, and her life wouldn’t be so out of whack.
“What’s wrong?” Summer’s soft voice fills me up. “Are you hurt?”
I shake my head. “I’m okay, baby.”
She juts out her bottom lip in a pout. “Do I have to stay with Annie again?”
I swallow. “Do you not like her? I can find you a new nanny.”
Summer’s little head tilts to the side. “I like her, but I miss you, Mommy. Why can’t you stay with me?”
My throat clogs as I try to hold back tears. “I miss you, too.” I run my fingers through her wild hair. “But isn’t Annie more fun than I am?”
She flashes me a shy smile. “Maybe sometimes.”
I bolt into an upright position, but my dress restricts me, and I topple backward again. “What? Is she really more fun than I am?”
“She plays dolls as long as I want.”
Before I can respond, my phone vibrates on the bed beside me.
“Go get in your pajamas,” I say to Summer when I spot the name on caller ID.
She throws her arms up but doesn’t say no. That girl gets my personality and attitude one hundred percent. I can’t deny it.
Once Summer is out of the room, I reach over and grab the phone. Lana’s name flashes on the screen. “Hello?”
“Oh, good. I thought you weren’t going to answer,” Lana breathes through the phone. “You need to come home like now.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Other than the fact that I miss you? Well, tomorrow is our normal girls’ night.”
I release a sigh of relief. “Girl, I thought something happened.” After what went down with Harmony and then the threats to me, I’m thankful Lana doesn’t have anything like that looming.
“You can’t skip our night. We only get one a month, and I miss you.”
“Okay, I’ll come home tomorrow night.”
A loud, shrill shriek blasts through the speaker, and I pull my phone away from my face. “You are seriously the best. So, how has it been living like a queen?”
“Uhhh,” I say as Summer scurries back into the room with her shirt on inside out and backward. She climbs on top of me, trying to listen to our conversation. “I wouldn’t say it’s living like a queen, but the beds are comfortable, and it has been nice to spend a lot more time with Summer.”
I ruffle my daughter’s hair. Being with her every day is the best.
“The queen and princess living the life,” Lana replies, and I just roll my eyes. She won’t let that royalty stuff drop.
“Is that Auntie Lana?” Summer reaches for the phone. “I want to talk!”
I keep the phone clenched in my hand. “You’ll see her tomorrow.”
Summer’s eyes light up. “Really?”
“Yes, now how about you go pack a little bag so we can stay the weekend?”
Summer listening to our conversation is not a good thing because I never know what’s going to come out of Lana’s mouth next.
She bounds off the bed, and her little feet patter against the wood floor. She slides and hits the wall, just like I assumed would happen. I finally work myself into a seated position. Whoever designed this dress really didn’t think about how their customer would breathe or move.
“Is she gone again?” Lana’s voice vibrates with excitement.
Anytime she asks if Summer is gone, I know it isn’t going to be good. “Yes, why?”
“I need to know,” Lana starts, her voice barely loud enough for me to hear. “Have I won the bet yet? Have you and the hottie billionaire fucked?”
What. The. Fuck? My mouth drops. “What? N-no, of course not.”
My voice is a little shriller than intended, and Lana’s laughter pours through the speaker. “Oh, God. You want him. I knew it!”
I glance over my shoulder and around my bedroom, but no one is around. The more time I spend with him, the harder it is to deny I want him. “You’re wrong. I’ll win this bet.”
“Are you sure? You didn’t say no right away.”
“I’m seriously sure.” Something gnaws at me. Guilt for lying? “Are you that bored with me out of town for only a week and a half that you have to make up those inappropriate scenarios in your head?”
“What inappropriate scenarios?” Victor’s deep voice asks from the doorway.
Lana shrieks again, and I wince. “Oh, my God. He’s there right now, isn’t he? Everlasting Love missed out because this is way more interesting than their show.”
My stomach flips as I cover the speaker and say to Victor, “What are you doing home so early? I thought you didn’t get out until later.”
“I wanted to see you.”
The air shifts around us as his deep blue eyes bore into me. My heart somersaults as I hold his gaze. I move, almost getting up as if a magnet is pulling me to him, but I resist. After how mean I am to him, it’s almost unbelievable he’d seek me out.
“Oh, sweet baby Jesus.” Lana is practically panting through the line. With his eyes on me, I forgot she was still on the line. “Are you two going to fuck while I’m on the phone with you?”
I hold up a shaking finger to Victor and say to Lana, “I gotta go. I’ll call you later to confirm plans.”
“Yeah, you gotta go. Please remember every dirty detail so you can get back to me. My two-year drought is living vicariously through you.”
I don’t reply and hit the red hang up button. Lana won’t get mad. No, she thinks Victor and I are fucking. If only she knew about the no sex rule I asked for. She’d probably strangle me.
“Sorry.” I flash him a small smile. It feels foreign on my lips. “Lana was calling about our girls’ night.”
Victor studies me as he leans against the door jamb. It’s like there’s an invisible line at my doorway that he knows not to cross. “Girls’ night?”
“Yes, it’s tomorrow, so I won’t miss tonight.”
Something like relief flickers across his face. “I guess that’s why Summer is packing a bag?”
Did he think we were leaving? Was that relief from realizing we weren’t?
“Yes, everything will be okay. I’ll be back before you know it. You’re practically at the office every waking hour anyway. You’ll barely notice I’m gone.”
A frown tugs at his lips. His gaze sweeps around my room and lands on me. His shoulders relax a fraction.
Am I making things up? He can’t care that much if Summer and I leave.
I pick at my nails as I tear my gaze off his relieved face and take in the rest of him.
The navy-blue Armani suit he wears clings to his every lean muscle almost like he’s a sculpture.
For some reason, seeing him at home in his suit doesn’t feel right.
His vulnerability makes him one hundred times sexier than a cocky, rich man. He almost looks like a regular human.
I press my thighs together, and his eyes narrow in on the movement. With him standing right at the edge of my room and staring at me like I’m a snack he’d like to eat, it would be so easy to pull him in here and … and …
No, this is Lana getting in my head. I definitely don’t want to fuck my husband. That will lead to heartbreak and disaster once he’s done with me.
“I’ll notice.” Then he ducks away from my bedroom like he’s running from hell hounds.
Stop fluttering, butterflies.