The cougar raised her eyebrow at my friend. “And you are?”
“Oh, Ellie May. I own the boutique in town.” Thrusting her hand out, the red-haired cougar grimaced just a tiny bit before taking her hand in hers.
“Charmed.” Then she turned to my brother and ran the tip of her finger down his chest suggestively. “What do you think, Boo Bear?”
Boo Bear, I mouthed, almost vomiting in my mouth again.
“As soon as possible, Cuddlebug.”
“I’m gonna be sick,” I muttered.
Sawyer leaned in, brushing his nose playfully against hers. I couldn’t really be seeing this. There was no way he was falling for this woman. She clearly was just using him. Why else would a woman her age go for a guy like Sawyer?
Yes, he was good-looking and charming, but he was half her age! And they were engaged? When in the fresh hell did they have time to do anything like that?
“Josie, you don’t mind, do you?”
“Huh?” I asked, completely missing whatever they were saying.
“Scarlet and I are going to stay here for a while. You know, just until we figure out where we want to live and all that. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Uh…”
“It’ll only be for a little while,” Scarlet said, her eyes still firmly fixed on my brother. “After all, we still have to move all my things here.”
Her left hand slid up his chest, and that’s when I saw it.
“Holy shit!” I gasped, staring at the rock on her finger.
Sawyer laughed. “Do you like it? We found it in an antique store. Apparently, it was owned by a Rockefeller or a Carnegie. One of those famous families,” he laughed. “It’s beautiful, right?”
I grasped the redhead’s hand and yanked it toward me. The thing was bigger than my whole hand! Okay, that was a slight exaggeration, but only slightly.
“Sawyer, how the hell did you afford this?”
“Oh, I just called the bank and moved some things around.”
“Some things?” I asked, waiting for more information.
“Boo Bear, are we going to stand in the doorway all morning? I’m getting cold,” Scarlet smiled, but the moment Sawyer leaned in to kiss her, she rolled her eyes.
That bitch.
“Of course not. I’ll take you back to our room. You can take a nap and freshen up before dinner.”
“Dinner,” I said, still stunned. “It’s seven in the morning. The day hasn’t even started yet.”
“We’ve had a long journey, Josie,” Sawyer said in irritation. “Whatever my girl needs, she gets.”
I had a feeling this was about to turn against me very quickly, but I didn’t have time to sit here and listen to their cutesy nicknames. I had things to do, a shop to run.
“Oh, look at the time!” Ellie May said, reading my thoughts. “Well, we have to open our shops. Come on, Josie. Let’s go.”
She dragged me out the door, shushing me when I was about to comment on the expensive heelsCuddlebugwas wearing.
“Just keep walking,” she hissed.
“He brought a woman home,” I said, still in a daze.
