Then I leaned back against the fence and stretched out my legs, sipping my latte while I waited for further developments.
Dolly was really determined, managing to knock the crumbing top over until it shattered into huge chunks on the ground.
It was then that the security guard took notice, and it wasn’t long before several of them, plus a policeman, strongly objected to this treatment of Hiram Ebenezer’s resting place.
“I am Kingsley Ames’ girlfriend,” Dolly slurred indignantly. “He could buy your whole town probably.”
Cornelius was going to absolutely hate this.
Good.
There was already a healthy amount of paparazzi as the police made enquiries, and Cornelius himself appeared just as they brought out cuffs.
“Oh, no, these headlines aren’t going to be very good for your client,” I said as Dolly stalked around the other gravestones, reading the inscriptions aloud. “Disturbing the peace, destruction of city property, general hooliganism.”
“This is all your fault,” Cornelius hissed. “Dolly was a nice sweet girl before she met you! Now two days after meeting you, she’s getting arrested. What’ve you done to her?”
“I did nothing,” I shrugged. “I guess Dolly isn’t interested in being your perfect little PR puppet. This is the end result of trying to domesticate Kingsley Ames.”
And just then, the devil himself appeared.
You could hear the collective intake of breath as Kingsley emerged from his sports car, putting on his sunglasses as he stretched his tall frame to its full height. With Kingsley, every step was sex, power, a magnetic pull toward him.
“What’s going on here?” he called in his deep voice, his eyes zeroing in on where a policeman stood in front of me with cuffs.
“Sir, if you would, this gravestone is over a hundred years old,” one of the security guards said disapprovingly.
Kingsley waved his hand impatiently. “I’ll pay for it. I’ll pay for renovating this whole place. Step away from Rosalie with those cuffs.”
“Try to remember,” Cornelius moaned in agony, “That you are datingDolly.”
“What are you doing, idiot?” was all he said to her, holding out his hand to help me up.
For a second his broad shoulders blotted out the sun, and I was forced to look up at him.
“Kingsley, she is being a very bad example,” Cornelius hissed. “This doesn’t look good for your reputation!”
“I don’t care,” he said. “Rosalie can do whatever the hell she wants, and I’ll always be there to bail her out.”
Something turned over deep in my belly at the expression on his face, the way his fingers wrapped around mine, but I declined to be charmed.
His charm worked very well on all the security guards though, as well as his promise of a substantial payment formaintenance of the entire property, and free tickets to his upcoming show, and the guards waved off the police.
“Thank you, Mr. Ames. You’re too good to us, sir.”
Then Matt arrived and we all piled into his Range Rover and left Cornelius to deal with the fine print.
“That’s what I pay him for,” Kings said shortly.
His body felt unbearably hot, his long thigh warm against mine, but I ignored the heat that flared in my belly. I was not going to fall into the same patterns again or believe his promises that someday things would be different.
When we arrived at the steakhouse for lunch, Kingsley pulled on my arm to try to slide me into the booth next to him, but I slipped out of his grip and sat down by Matt instead, deliberately resting my hand on his thick thigh.
I could tell Kingsley was trying to play it cool, but I knew this asshole.
And I could tell he was pissed.
Good.
