“You what?” she snapped. “Thought this was the VIP suite at a strip club?”
The man beside me sat up slowly, unbothered, like this was just another day for him.
“Evening, Lydia,” he said, voice calm and deep. “Love what you’ve done with the place.”
Her jaw dropped. “You.”
That single word dripped with recognition. And fury. And something that might’ve been fear if I didn’t know Lydia Langford better.
She didn’t say his name.
But she knew him.
“I should’ve known it was one of you the second I saw that damn helicopter on my lawn,” she snapped. “You walk in like you own Charleston.”
He gave her a smile that didn’t touch his eyes. “Only parts of it.”
I blinked, staring between them.
What the hell?
Lydia turned on me next. “And you—God, of course, it’s you. What is it with you thinking rules don’t apply?”
I lifted my chin. “I didn’t know it was your room.”
“This is my house!”
“Well, I didn’t see your name on the pillowcase.”
“Oh, don’t be clever,” she hissed. “You’re not good at it.”
He let out a low whistle beside me, clearly entertained.
“I should have you both thrown out,” Lydia snapped.
He raised a brow. “Go ahead. But you might want to check with your security team first.”
Lydia’s mouth opened, then closed.
Interesting.
She backed away slowly, hands on her hips, her mouth twitching like she was suppressing an entire monologue. “Just get out,” she finally spat. “Before I decide to call the press.”
“You’d hate the angle they’d catch from the lawn,” he said, standing with the blanket around his waist.
Lydia huffed, spun on her heel, and stalked out, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the chandelier.
I blinked.
He looked at me. “Still glad you came to the party?”
I stared at the door.
Then burst out laughing. “Absolutely.”
And for some reason, I didn’t stop.
We laughed as we dressed, tugging on formalwear that now felt like a bad joke. My dress was wrinkled beyond hope, one of the straps still twisted from where he’d pushed it off like it offended him. His shirt had lost a button—maybe two—but he didn’t seem to care. Just shrugged it on and knotted his tie loose like a man who’d never worn it tight in the first place.
