I can hear the regret in her voice and I’m not about to accept that or a rejection, besides, we don’t have time to really hash this out now. Her guests will start arriving any minute.
“I’m not expecting a yes now, Princess. And let’s be honest, that was a shitty proposal, and you deserve one you’ll remember until your last breath. All I want right now is your promise that you’ll take this ride with me. I can already see the destination but you’re a little behind me so the view is obscured; I’ll wait for you to catch up.”
“This is crazy. We’ve only being together, if that’s even what you can call it, for two weeks!”
I can’t wipe the grin off my face now because I can see the longing for what I’m offering in her eyes. “I know. Crazy. Insane.”
“No one even knows I’m divorced.”
“Doesn’t matter what anyone else knows or thinks. This is just between you and me.” I tug her close until my cheek brushes against hers in a light caress, and whisper in her ear. “C’mon, Princess, get crazy with me.”
A chime echoes through the room. The melodic sound matches the woman beside me perfectly.
“Oh God. They’re here,” her panicked words burst against my ear.
I step back, let go of her hands, and bend to pick up the picture. “So much for escaping before anyone sees me.”
“That’s not?—”
I place a finger over her lips. “I know it’s not why you were ushering me out. You got a TV in your bedroom?”
“Yes, but I’ve never used it.”
“I’m set then.” I lean over and plant a quick kiss on her frowning mouth. “See you after your guests leave.”
I don’t give her time to argue. She gave me a tour of her apartment earlier in the day so I know where I’m going. I head straight for the hallway on the other side of the penthouse, where her bedroom suite is, it takes everything in me not to turn around and go right back to her.
But if I’ve learned anything about Livi in the years since she walked into my bar, it’s that she needs to make her own decisions and like that first night when I left her hot and sweaty in my office, I know if I want her, I need to let her come to me.
15
OLIVIA
Isurvey my surroundings and wonder what Carter would think if he ventured out of my bedroom.
My living room is full of women dressed in designer clothes and jewels. Of course, there are varying degrees of flash to them.
Margaret, a veteran of the group, is in her usual impeccably tailored outfit, her sapphires and diamonds sparkling enough to blind the unsuspecting bystander. But she isn’t ostentatious. She wears her wealth elegantly—regally.
How would Carter fair under Margaret’s upper class gaze? How would he look decked out in a tux at her annual Sapphire ball?
A shiver rolls down my spine. Stupid question. He’d be devastatingly handsome.
Moving my gaze to the flash that is the extrovert of the group, Nadia, I contemplate what Carter would think of her. The older woman is dressed in the outrageous fashion she’s known for. Tonight the self-proclaimed cougar is in a skin-tight cherry-red dress that plunges between her surgically enhanced breasts and barely covers her rear end. And she’s been her usual animatedself from the minute she arrived; her current topic, her latest boy-toy.
I smile. Nadia would certainly be at her flirtatious best if she knew a hot young stud was hiding out on the other side of the apartment. At eight years younger than me, Carter is exactly Nadia’s type.
Nicole and Lindsey are huddled in the far corner, deep in discussion while the latter keeps glancing over at Annabelle. I don’t need to hear their conversation to know that Lindsey is once again saying something disparaging about the other woman.
Will I become the victim of Lindsey’s cutting tongue when my secret is revealed?
On the couch, Carlla chats with Elizabeth. Both are smiling and it is obvious Carlla is divulging yet another happy moment spent with her new husband, which my best friend is thrilled to hear about seeing how Carlla married Elizabeth’s brother.
I’m happy for Carlla and Edward, even if the sight of her joy fills me with an unfamiliar ache.
Envy?
Do I want what Carlla has?
