Chapter Fourteen Drea
The days after my phone call with Leo passed in slow agony. Even though I was back at college and had more than enough to focus on, I couldn’t get him off my mind. One Friday after an exceptionally shitty week, I wanted nothing more than to see his face.
As I eyed my phone, an idea popped into my mind. Although I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t help myself. I needed to see his face. His cocky smirk. His smoldering eyes.
After typing in Leandro Neretti, my breath hitched as the results started popping off like gunfire.
And there he was.
But my attention didn’t remain on his handsome face long. Instead, my stomach dropped at the headline above his picture.
Is one of New York’s most eligible bachelors off the market?
I furrowed my brows at the picture of Leo and a leggy blonde with a waif-like body. They weren’t just standing side by side. His arm was thrown around her waist while she leaned into him with her hand on his heart.
My heartbeat accelerated as I read the caption.
Entrepreneur Leandro Neretti has been seen about town with socialite and fashion model, Harper Newport. The couple has been seen not only in New York but also vacationing with Newport’s family in the Hamptons.
Considering Neretti is never photographed with the same woman twice, you can’t help but wonder if he won’t be the only Neretti walking down an aisle this year.
Agony jolted through me, causing me to drop my phone. For a few minutes, I just stood there, unmoving and fighting to breathe.
Leo was with someone. How was this even possible? I’d just talked to him two weeks ago. He hadn’t mentioned anything about a date.
Do you honestly think he would? It’s not like he owes you an explanation. You don’t belong to him.
You belong to his brother.
My dorm door flew open, and my roommate, an outsider named Mollie, came barreling inside. With a beaming smile, she proclaimed, “Oh my God, Drea, I’m so glad you’re here!”
“What’s up?”
Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she practically trembled with excitement. “I just got an invite to the most exclusive frat party. Like the most exclusive fraternity at the University of Pennsylvania.”
Mollie was the life of the party. It was what had drawn me to her the first time we’d met. I’d been so sheltered that being Mollie’s roommates opened my eyes to a whole new world. If there was a party on campus, Mollie not only knew about it, but she’d scored an invitation.
Since she didn’t come from a wealthy family, she had a double major in art history and finding a rich husband. She kept hope that with every frat party she stumbled into, Mr. Wealthy Right would be there.
But tonight, her enthusiasm was grating considering my emotional turmoil. Pulling the covers over me, I mused, “I’m not sure ‘exclusive’ and ‘frat party’ actually go together in the same sentence.”
With a toss of her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder, she countered, “Trust me, this one has a code.”
“Sounds sketchy.”
“It’s just to keep the undesirables out.” She wagged her brows while gesturing between the two of us. “And you and I are the desirables.”
I shook my head. “Count me out.”
Rolling her eyes, Mollie countered, “Oh hell no. You’ve been a total party pooper the last couple of weeks.”
You would be too if you were in love with one man but being forced to marry his brother.
Since she was an outsider, Mollie didn’t know anything about my arranged marriage. She just knew I came from a strict upbringing, which is why I liked to rebel from time to time at frat parties.
She grabbed me by the shoulders. “I need you to really listen to me, Drea. We’re not talking about the usual dusty musty crowd. We’re talking University of Pennsylvania football players.”
“Is that supposed to do something for me?”
Mollie huffed out a frustrated breath. “You’re impossible if ivy league football players aren’t impressing you.”
“Just because they’re Ivy league, are they not as douchey as the ones around here?”
Placing her hands on her ears, Mollie said, “La, la, la, I’m not not listening to you.”
I laughed. “You go and have a good time for the both of us.”
“Fine,” she muttered before she stomped into the bathroom.
Reaching over, I picked up my phone from the floor. After punching in my code, a jolt went through me when Leo’s picture once again flashed before my eyes.
Leo and Harper’s picture.
Despite my better judgement, I started going through the other pictures of them. They really did look good together. While she certainly seemed crazier about him, he gave her adoring looks in several of the pictures.
At least now you don’t have to worry about Leo having feelings for you. He’s obviously moved on. Maybe you can have a double wedding.
As a storm of emotions swirled within my chest, I fought to breathe. Even though Leo could never be mine, it hurt like hell to see him happy with another. To know that whatever had been between us was just one-sided.
Rising off the bed, I staggered around for a moment. The walls of the room began to close in on me. I had to get out of here.
I had to forget about Leo.
After crossing the room, I knocked on the bathroom door. “Yeah?” Mollie called.
“I, uh…”
I swallowed hard. Everything within me screamed that what I was about to do was too dangerous in my emotional state. That there were other ways to try to free myself of Leo’s hold than hooking up with some random stranger.
But I didn’t listen to the voices of reason. I listened to my broken heart and my rebellious spirit. If Leo didn’t want me, some other man would.
Drawing my shoulders back, I pronounced, “Open up. I’m coming with you.”
***
Since it wasn’t an average frat party, Mollie insisted we dress like we were going to an upscale club.
At my half-hearted attempt, she’d insisted that she’d pick my outfit.
Despite how I felt about myself at that moment, I looked like fire.
The front of the black dress was cut to my navel.
I’d had to use tape to keep my boobs from bursting out.
The glittery material barely covered my ass.
“Are you sure this isn’t too much?” I questioned when we exited the Uber.
“With the body you have, you should totally flaunt it.” After giving me another look, her lips turned down in a pout. “As long as I’m at your side tonight, no man is going to be looking at me.”
“That is totally not true.”
“It is! I swear, I need to find the son of a plastic surgeon to date, so I can get my tits done.”
“Oh God,” I snorted.
Although she giggled, I knew she wasn’t joking. She would’ve really fit in well with the mafia wives I grew up with. Maybe I should try fixing her up with some of the men from my world.
When we walked up to the gate of an enormous mansion, I gasped. “This isn’t exclusive–it’s elite.”
“I know, right?”
As I watched valets grabbing keys and a line of heavy security, it felt more like being at one of the parties from my world. Turning to Mollie, I said, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto,” I mused.
After Mollie gave the code to a man with a headset and a clipboard, we were ushered through the gate and into the courtyard. As we entered the main house, we took a flute of champagne from the waiters lined up.
One sip and Mollie rolled her eyes in exaggerated bliss. “This seriously beats the hell out of cheap keg beer in solo cups.”
With a laugh, I replied, “I suppose it does.”
As we made our way through the crowd, I knew I was going to have to ask Mollie where she had scored this invite. While there might’ve been college football players here, the crowd was more late twenties and early thirties with the occasional sprinkle of salt and pepper mid forties.
We didn’t waste time draining our champagne and then exchanging our empty flutes for fresh ones. Suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck prickled. Like someone I knew was close by. With a groan, I hoped it wasn’t someone from my real life.
Turning slowly, my gaze started flickering around the crowd. Thankfully, there weren’t any Made Men that I recognized, especially from my family.
“What’s wrong?” Mollie called over the music.
“I just had a weird feeling that someone I knew was here.”
She waggled her brows. “Maybe your hookup for the night?”
“Not exactly,” I mused.
Just as I was about to laugh off my feeling, the crowd parted, revealing a riser about ten feet away. It made a bridge over the river that flowed from the indoor fountain. Couples were dancing on it to the live band.
And among the couples was Leo.
I blinked my eyes furiously to make sure I wasn’t just hallucinating him. After all, I’d been so desperate to see him again, maybe I was projecting his image on someone else.
But when he spun a tall blonde around, I knew it was him. And he was with Harper.
After following my line of sight, Mollie asked, “Who is that?”
“Uh, just somebody I saw in the society papers.”
She gasped. “Oh my God, that’s Harper Newport.”
“You know her?”
Rolling her eyes, Mollie countered, “Yeah, like we totally run in the same crowd.”
“You know what I mean.”
She motioned her champagne flute at Harper. “Her family is ridiculously rich. Her brother is on the football team. I bet she came down from New York to see him play.”
Thanks to Mollie, I had a probable explanation for what the hell Leo was doing out of New York. As I continued staring at him, the most surreal feeling came over me. It felt like I was standing outside myself and watching some other woman’s world shatter.
Fuck, this was such a nightmare. I must’ve done something truly terrible to deserve this level of karmic retribution.
How cruel was it that I’d come out tonight to forget Leo, only to see him?
The only mercy was that he was so far from me, along with the muted lights in my area, that he couldn’t possibly notice me.
“That guy she’s with is soooo hawt,” Mollie remarked while fanning herself.
“Yeah, he is,” I replied in a whisper.
“They make one hell of a power couple. I mean, not only are they hot, but they’re so fucking rich.”
With my throat constricting with emotion, I knew I had to get out of there. The last thing I needed was to cause a scene by sobbing like a drunk coed. “I..I need some air,” I muttered before whirling away.
“Just text me,” Mollie called.
Unfortunately, the mansion was like a maze. Every time I thought I got to an exit, it was either blocked off or it didn’t lead to the outside. When I finally did make it outside, I found a DJ and a massive crowd dancing.
Although I’d run away from Leo, his presence seemed to be everywhere. It overwhelmed me. I wanted nothing more than to rid myself of him.
That’s when I made a decision.
I would find someone to make me forget Leo.
Of course, I didn’t really have a clue how to do that.
Although I’d bravely instigated sex with Marco, he’d really always been in charge.
Even with Leo on the dance floor, he’d been the one who approached me.
All I had to do was follow along. As I wove through the crowd, I might as well have been a virgin for all my swagger.
A small part of me thought a broken heart was more to blame than anything. I’d wanted Marco for me. I’d wanted the mystery man on the dance floor for me.
But I wanted this for Leo.
After two more drinks for courage, a tall, broad shouldered man approached me. He had an All American boy look with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes.
“You are the hottest fucking woman at this party,” he said in a low voice.
“Thanks.”
“Wanna dance?”
“Absolutely,” I replied, sounding more confident than I felt.
As soon as I experienced the way he danced, I knew I’d found my replacement for the night. After several dances that bordered on being indecent, his mouth came to the shell of my ear.
“Wanna go somewhere more private?”
This was it. The moment I followed through on leaving Leo in the past. Overwhelmed with emotion, I merely nodded my head.
With a grin, he took my hand. After we came back into the house, I followed him clumsily up the winding staircase that looked like something out of Gone with the Wind.
He must’ve been at the mansion before because he knew exactly where to take me. After picking a bedroom, he led me inside.
As we stood in front of the bed, he cocked his head at me. “What do you want, beautiful?”
Staring at him through eyes glassy with tears, I replied, “I want to forget.”
He flashed me a sexy smile before pushing me down onto the mattress. “Don’t worry. You won’t even remember his name once my tongue and cock are inside you.”
And despite his talents that drew out two orgasms from my body, my mind and heart still only remembered Leo.