He presses a kiss to my temple as we continue on, both of us quiet, lost in our own thoughts.
Chapter Four
Harlow
The car drives like a dream, and my ride back to the city is filled with Sanctuary of Chaos playing at levels that are probably doing damage to my ears, but I sing along anyway. I park it in the visitor's parking lot at Shane and Alex’s place and make my way upstairs to their apartment, bypassing the doorman with the entry code Alex had given me.
The elevator opens directly into the foyer of their penthouse apartment, and as I step out, I call out to see if anyone's home.
“Alex? Shane?” My words echo around the seemingly empty apartment. When we had left this morning, Shane was still in bed. He’d had a late night at a fashion shoot, not arriving home until the early hours of the morning, so we’d left him there when Alex took me out to Dad’s place. I’m not sure what his plans were after he’d dropped me off, but I thought he had been coming home. The poor guys hadn't had any alone time since they rescued me from the premiere.
Shrugging, I head to the room that they gave me and start to pack away all my crap into a bag. The day after the premiere, Nana had dropped off some things so that I wouldn't be without clothes and toiletries or my laptop. The boys had offered to buy me replacement items, but letting them be my white knights was about my limit. I couldn’t accept anything else from them. They’d already offered me a permanent place to stay if I didn't want to return to my dad’s; it was only Alex’s equally thirsty desire for revenge that made him give in when I explained that I needed to go back to Dad’s place. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, after all.
And boy, did I have plans. Once the horses were gone, I was going to make sure that Jacinta wished she’d never crossed me by making myself invaluable to Nana and Neighpalm Couture. I didn’t have one fashionable bone in my body, but Alex had promised to be my fashion guru, and with his help, I was sure I could pull this off. Declan and his precious Princess were also on the list. By the time I was finished with her, she was never going to want to leave my side.
As for the rest, well, I’d just have to see where their passions lay. A noise in my doorway has me looking up at a sexily rumpled Alex wearing nothing but a pair of sweats and a cheeky grin.Fuck, I must have interrupted them.
“God, I’m sorry,” I blurt out, but he waves his hand at me.
“No, don’t apologize. I’m more than satisfied with our alone time.” He winks at me, and I don’t know whether to blush or be insanely jealous. It’s been way too long since I had any worthwhile “alone time” of my own. “And I’m dying to know what happened. Are you back in?”
Shane appears behind Alex, a matching grin on his face that solidifies my choice: jealousy it is. Damn, these men are sexy. It’s a shame they feel more like brothers to me than anything else. It would be the ultimate revenge if I managed to turn their eye from Jacinta, but I just can’t do it, and I’m pretty sure they're not interested. Despite her actions, I think they both still want her, but it’s going to take a major gesture on her behalf to erase their disappointment in her.
“Yes, Dad really didn't want to take no for an answer, and we already knew me going back there was the likeliest choice. If I’m being honest, even if I didn’t have an ulterior motive, I don’t think I could’ve hurt their feelings by staying away. They’re not stupid though, Nana especially. In fact, Nana actually suggested that she could help me, but Poppy put a stop to that, and he's not wrong. They're pissed off now, but I don't want them to alienate the kids. I told them that much, so I’m just going to hope they stay out of the way.”
“Harlow, I just can’t get over how nice you’re being. I wouldnotbe so forgiving,” Alex muses as Shane wraps his arms around him from behind.
“That’s becausesheis a classy lady,” he says over Alex’s shoulder, and I grin at his compliment.
“Yeah, not that classy. I’ll get my revenge, just not at the cost of their relationships with Dad and our grandparents. If that happens, I really am no better than the kids have suggested. I’m just going to keep this between the younger generation. It’s more that I’m so disappointed in Oliver and Jaxon if I’m honest. I’ve thought about it, and I can see how it might seem to Jaxon, but I didn't even find out Mom had died untilafterI’d met him. That night we just clicked.” My core nearly clenches at just the memory of his body against mine while we danced. Even if we had had to put that heat between us on hold, we could’ve been friends. It would’ve been nice to have a friend among these wolves. Anyway, I know I could spend forever lost in the what ifs of that night, so I push myself to keep going.
“We talked for ages about weird and wonderful things, and then once we hit the dance floor, the chemistry was off the charts, and that was something I hadn’t felt in such a long time. We were headed out the door to indulge in that chemistry when Max stopped me. If he’d just given me a fair chance and talked to me about all of it, I could’ve cleared this whole thing up, I’m sure. Instead, he’d rather just be his sister’s puppet.”
“And Oliver...” A sigh leaves my mouth at the memory. “He pinned me against the wall at NI and ravished me when we were there for tattoos. He also had me pretending to be his girlfriend to ward off the artist he was interviewing. I thought he and I’d clicked too, that maybe we could explore what it meant, yet he just threw me under the bus as well. Talk about mixed fucking signals. And they say women are complicated. Nope, fuck them all, each and every one of them could have given me a warning, but their family ‘loyalty’ stopped them.” The anger is there, sure, but this time there’s a tiny bit of longing that I won’t admit to anyone but myself. It’s hard to think about them and not want… something. Their bodies? Their company? Just to know that I don’t have to be alone in that giant house? I’m not sure what it is, and I’m really not in the mood to dissect it right now.
“It looked like Kai didn't actually know it was happening.” Shane’s comment has me thinking back to his reaction that night. Hehadseemed pretty mad, and I hadn’t gotten the impression that he was a natural liar. Maybe he hadn’t known the exact details, just that something was going to happen? He would be the one sibling who I’d consider forgiving, if any. He’d been kind and friendly from the start, not like the others who were either downright hostile or aloof and disinterested like Holden and Thomas.
I shrug as I finish packing my shit. “We’ll see what happens. If he tries to make amends, I may consider it. Like you said, he had looked blindsided by it, and he was friendly.”It doesn't hurt that he’s sexy as well, whispers my mind. I frown at the thought, not liking… or maybe liking too much… the train of thought that follows.God, he's not the only one who is.All six of those men are hot in looks; it’s a pity the attitudes that come with them stink. I don't understand how I can still find them all attractive.There’s got to be some kind of issue here.
“What’s wrong?” Alex pushes when he sees my frown.
I roll my eyes before I respond, not ready to dig into the emotional aspect of what the hell is wrong with my taste in men. “Just my overactive libido playing the devil on the other shoulder. I’m really going to need to get laid if I keep thinking about how sexy they all are. Not to mention, I’d have to choose.”
Shane laughs, and Alex shakes his head enthusiastically. “Girl, you’d have to be dead not to notice what a hot bunch those brothers are. Who cares if you find one or all of them sexy? Please, multi-partner relationships are the new ‘in’ thing. Love is love and all that jazz. Embrace it and take advantage of it if you get a chance. That could even be part of your revenge!” His eyes sparkle with excitement, and he wiggles his eyebrows comically. “Make each of those brothers fall for you and then smash their hearts to smithereens.”
He jumps up and down on the spot in excitement, and Shane drops his arms from around his waist, rolling his eyes at his partner. “I don't know, Alex. Only a psychopath would be cold-hearted enough to not actually develop some kind of feelings doing something like that, and I really don’t think that’s Harlow. She’d be hurting herself just as much as she hurt them, not to mention that might be playing a bit too dirty for her dad and grandparents to forgive.”
Shane’s points certainly bring some caution to the forefront of my mind, and he might be right, but I’m not taking the idea off the table.Yet, anyway. That’s one to heavily think about before diving in.
“Come on, you two. Let’s have some lunch before Harlow heads back to the estate,” Shane says, trying to rein us in. And likely get his boyfriend’s mind off of any revenge-driven matchmaking. “How did you get here?" he asks, leading the way out to their kitchen as Alex and I follow behind.
“Oh, get this!” I nearly squeal, already riding a high at the mere thought of the beauty waiting for me outside. “Dad gave me the keys to Oliver’s Vanquish.” I take the keys out of my pocket and wave them around, my body doing what can only be described as the world’s most awkward happy dance. “Says I can use it to get around. I think he knows how much it’s going to piss Oliver off. You should have seen his face as I drove down the driveway with it when they passed me in a limo. That thing drives like a freaking dream.”
The boys both laugh at me gloating over my small victory before deciding it’s time for lunch. Throughout the fun meal, Alex and I toss around more plans for revenge, the ideas getting more ridiculous each time, while poor and ever-patient Shane does everything he can to temper our crazier schemes.
“We want them feeling sorry, not dead,” he finally ruled, but still Alex and I cackled like crazies.
* * *
