“When’s the one month start?”
“I’m going there today. Oh… that reminds me.” I grab my phone from the kitchen counter and search the internet for a local retail store. I call the store, and when an employee answers, I say, “I want the best bed you have available. Price isn’t an issue, but I need it delivered today.” I give my card information to pay for it.
Lawson has a big smile on his face. “What?” I ask him.
“You’re really doing this, aren’t you?”
I sharply bob my head. “I’d better call the family limousine to take me shopping. I’ll have to buy more clothes.”
As I’m leaving, Lawson calls out, “Sophie!”
I glance behind me.
“Nice tattoo.”
I bring my wrist up to my face and glare at it. Lawson laughs as I storm out.
After shopping and filling the limousine’s trunk with bags of clothes, I decide to take some time out and relax by the beach, under a palm tree. I watch as the water drifts back and forth across the sand.
Being in Crown Village is going to be a breeze. All I have to do is stay at the MC for one month. I seem to get along with the women. The beaches are beautiful here, and I’m enjoying spending time with my brothers. I miss Lawson’s advice and our chats, and I miss Harrison’s personality that always puts a smile on my face. And Alec… I chuckle. No… I haven’t missed him. I love him—he’s my brother. But he’s too uptight. I’ve always been closer to Lawson and Harrison than him.
* * *
As the limousinecrawls along the gravel road, toward the clubhouse, flutters fill my stomach and gradually get worse. In the meantime, I call Maddy, the manager of my club, and tell her I’ll be working remotely from Crown Village.
The road is lined with trees and lush plants. It’s a nice change compared to the busy, hectic life in New York. When we reach the driveway, we stop outside a large gate, which effortlessly opens for us. We glide through.
The clubhouse looks like a large two-level country-style home. The chauffeur opens the back door for me, and as I step out, Viper walks out with a cocky grin and that sexy swagger. I’m not sure whether I want to kiss him or throttle him for putting me in this position.
“Hey, wifey, do you need help with your bags?”
I roll my eyes at him. “Yes, they’re in the back.”
He wanders over to the open trunk and laughs, so I walk over to see what’s so funny.
“How many clothes do you own?”
I frown. “What… it’s not that much. I purchased most of them today.”
He points to my pillows. “I own pillows, you know.”
I cringe, imagining how old and gross they would be. “I like heaps of pillows on my bed. You wanted me here, so you can’t whine now, and anyway, I doubt your pillowcases have a high thread count like these do.”
He gives me an odd look, and I realize he has no clue what I’m talking about.
“I like plenty of pillows and luxury pillowcases and bedsheets.”
He nods slowly, dragging out the motion, though he’s smothering a laugh. With his hands full of my bags, he leads the way through the front door and the hallway to an open-plan living space where there’s a large dining room, and further along is a pool table. To the back right, I can see couches and a large flat-screen. As I walk along, I see closed doors to the left. I keep going until there’s a set of stairs that lead to the next level.
“Where is everyone?” It seems too quiet.
“Outside having lunch.”
I follow him up the stairs to a long hallway with a mix of closed and open doors, which I assume are bedrooms. “In here,” he says as he opens a door. When I walk in, I’m hit with the heady smell of his cologne. His room is basic, with white walls and what seems to be a king-size bed with a black leather frame, flanked by gloss-black bedside tables.
I can do this.It could be much worse.
Viper places my bags beside the bed and observes me. “Does it meet your standards?”
