“There you are. I should have put money on finding you in here.” He walked in, grinning.
“I’m trying to convince Selene to come out with us tonight.” Alyssa put her hands on her hips, trying to recruit her boyfriend to the arduous task of changing my mind.
“I agree with you completely. Selene, be ready at nine, no excuses,” Logan ordered, making me roll my eyes. Then he went over to Alyssa and wrapped his arms around her waist. He made a few affectionate movements and whispered something into her ear. His girlfriend giggled mischievously and winked at me.
“You know, this is exactly what I was talking about when I said I didn’t want to be a third wheel.” I went red and slipped out of the room before I was forced to witness something much more embarrassing. I went down to the kitchen in a huff; thoughts of Neil were still spinning around in my head. After his outburst at lunch, he’d vanished. Maybe he went out? Or maybe he’d fled to the pool house?
Who knew?
Maybe Anna could help me out with that question?
After grabbing a pack of shelled pistachios that I knew he’d like from the pantry, I left the kitchen and found Anna in the living room, focused on polishing the silverware. I joined her.
“Miss Anna, do you know where Neil is?” I asked bluntly, which made her turn to face me. She looked at me with a kindly expression and smiled when she saw the packet I was holding. She jerked her chin toward the garden.
I thanked her and went outside. I rubbed my arms, clad only in a basic white sweater. The air was cold, and I hadn’t thought to put on a coat. The sun had already set, and it would be nine in about an hour. I was supposed to be getting ready to go out with Logan and Alyssa, but I decided then and there that I was going to make up some excuse to get out of it.
I wasn’t in the mood for parties or clubs.
With my mind made up, I looked around for my Disaster, but there was no sign of him. The chaise lounges by the pool where he often sat and smoked were all empty.
I frowned as I paused in the middle of the patio and looked over at the pool house. The light was on, which meant…
A sudden bout of nerves made my legs tremble.
I had no positive memories of that building, which was where Neil used to go to be with his lovers. I vividly recalled the two episodes I’d witnessed in there, and I definitely didn’t want to repeat that experience.
I sighed, undecided about what I should do. I knew that he was furious, and I just wanted to make him feel better.
Wait, though…
Who in the family would have torn his drawings up?
It seemed impossible and yet someone had done it and incited all his fury.
Almost without noticing, I had brought myself to the front door of the pool house. I clenched my hand into a fist and raised it, ready to knock and alert him to my presence, but then I hesitated.
What if Jennifer opened the door in sexy underwear or, even worse, completely naked?
I let my hand fall slowly and took a step back because I knew that Iwouldn’t be able to take a sight like that. My disappointment would have been too obvious. I might have even cried, and that bitch would have just laughed at me.
No, it had been a stupid idea to go looking for him in the first place. I needed to get out of there.
I looked down at the bag of pistachios I held in my hand for him, and I felt so small. Just a girl trying to act like a woman with a man who carried his own hell around inside him. It was one of those moments when I vacillated between full courage and complete insecurity. I took a deep breath, trying to remind myself of all the things that had driven me to come back to New York, even if only for a weekend.
Then I managed to make myself knock. Three soft, fast raps, and I hoped deep down that there wasn’t a woman in there. It made me feel pathetic, and the wait that followed was all the more terrible for it.
How much time passed? Two, three, or four seconds? And yet it felt like forever.
I shrugged and was about to leave when…
The door opened, and Neil stood before me in just his black boxers.
He radiated a rare beauty and an eroticism so intense that it completely annihilated my ability to speak.
I opened my mouth, intending to say something, anything, but his seminude body was just too distracting. I couldn’t get a single word out as my eyes roamed over every bit of him, ending on the only piece of clothing he was wearing.
I forced myself to look up at his face and found him staring back at me.
