I grit my teeth. “Annika, take your models and your… party… somewhere else. I’m not in the mood.”
Annika pulls a face. “You suck.” She turns, cupping her hands to her mouth. “Turn the music off! We’re moving to another floor!”
I glance at Erik, who is staring at Annika’s barely covered ass so hard that it’s a miracle it’s not on fire. The look of longing on his face is an emotion I know all too well. It’s the exact look I used to give Margot, before we fell into bed together.
I reach out and shove him. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
He glances at me, his eyes widening. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
Erik starts pushing his way past the models and the runway, trying to get to the door of my study. I’m right on his heels, shoving him again once we make it into the study.
“On top of all the shit that I’m dealing with right now, the breakup with Margot and the upcoming coronation… I have to worry about you trying to fuck Annika?”
He pins me with a hard gaze. “Jesus. No. I swear. It’s just been too long since I’ve gotten any pussy, that’s all.”
I glare at him. “That had better be all. You know better than to fuck around with Annika. She’s only eighteen. Barely an adult.”
“Stel, come on. Even if I was tempted — and I’m not saying that I am — I’m not stupid. Our friendship is more important than any crazy ideas my libido might have.”
Getting very close to Erik’s face, I stare him down. “Ithas better be. Twenty years we’ve been friends. Longer than Annika has even been alive.”
“Ja. I know. I wouldn’t do anything to mess that up, okay?”
I scan his face for signs of deception, but I come up empty handed. Shaking my head, I push past him. “You’d better remember that.”
He gives me an odd look. “You really are fucked up right now, you know that? You should be more focused on making some kind of decision.”
I throw myself down into one of the overstuffed leather chairs. “A decision about what, Erik?”
He takes a seat on the corner of my highly polished desk. looking down his nose at me. “It seems like you either need to call Margot, or you need to find some other way to deal with the breakup.”
I scowl at him. “I’m not calling Margot. Things between us are done and dusted.”
He shrugs a shoulder. “Okay. So let me throw a party. I’ll invite a ton of girls and we’ll all have a great time. You can have this weekend to party and recover, then be on your feet again by Monday.”
This idea of throwing a huge party leaves a bad taste in my mouth. “I’ll pass.”
Erik checks his watch, then stands and wanders over to the bar setup that we always have on hand. He pours two glasses of whiskey, sauntering over to hand one to me.
I take a sip, though it can’t be past two in the afternoon.
He drinks a little, looking at me. “You need to relax.”
“I don’t want to relax,” I fire back, feeling prickly.
“What do you want to do, then? Huh? You can’t spend any more time brooding.”
Sitting back, I stare at the whiskey in my glass. “I don’tknow. I just don’t want to feel like this anymore,” I admit to him.
“Great.” He walks over to my desk and sets his tumbler down, pulling out his phone. I watch him texting for a minute.
“Who are you texting?” I ask.
He looks up at me. “You said you don’t want a huge party. So I am arranging for something more private and intimate. You, me, a couple of girls, a discreet evening.”
Draining the contents of my glass, I stand and put the glass next to his. “Just give me a few days by myself, okay? I just… I need time.”
His eyes narrow on my face. “To heal?”
