“Which ones do you want, or should we just get all of them?” I ask.
Wrinkling her brow, she shakes her head. “I already have copies of them.”
“So? You don’t have these copies.”
“Maybe I could just get one,” she says, more to herself than me, her fingers hovering between a copy ofJane EyreandThe Secret Garden.
Rolling my eyes, I move her to the side and pull both books from the shelf, adding them to the pile of textbooks in my arms, before I lead her to the cash register to pay.
“Thank you,” she says, sweetly.
Biting my tongue, I manage not to tell her that a couple of hundred dollars on books is pocket change, considering the necklace fastened around her neck cost eighty grand. “You’re welcome,” I say, reminding myself how lucky I am to have found this woman, and making a mental note to order her the rest of the books in the series, and to build her a library to store them in.
Carrying the bag of books in one hand, I take her other hand and entwine our fingers together, leading her out of the store and back into the quad that is now full of bustling students.
“Coffee?” I suggest.
“Coffee sounds good,” she says, like it’s a brand-new idea and not like accidentally bumping into Courtney is the entire reason we’re here.
Chuckling to myself, we saunter across campus toward the small coffee shop that is heaving with people.
“Would you like me to order for you, sir?” Josh asks politely.
“No, you don’t—” Starling starts, but I speak over her, interrupting her.
“That would be great. I’ll have a double espresso, and my wife will have a large caramel macchiato.”
“Sebastian,” Starling hisses, “They’re bodyguards, not servants. We can get our own coffee.”
Leaning down, I cup her cheek with my palm, sliding my hand down until I’m gripping her neck above the necklace. Tipping her face up toward me, I press a possessive kiss to her lips, then slide my lips to her ear and whisper. “Courtney is to our right, sitting at a table.”
Starling makes a noise of understanding, then does a barely perceptible nod. Loosening my hold on her, I take her hand and stride toward an empty table, two tables down from where the bitch is sitting sipping a frou-frou coffee and scrolling on her cell.
When we reach the table, I pull out the chair facing Courtney for Starling, making her step around me and closer to the bitch before she can sit down.
“Court?” Starling says, quietly, then louder. “Courtney, is that you?”
Courtney’s eyes go wide, then harden, as she turns to look at my wife, her ex-best friend, and the woman she recently decided to blackmail.
“Starling?” Courtney says, sounding almost pleased to see her.
“Oh, my goodness, it’s been what…a couple of years? How are you? I can’t believe I forgot you go here,” Starling gushes, sounding so bright and fake that it takes all of my focus not to laugh.
Forgoing the chair I’m holding for her, Starling moves to the chair opposite Courtney, pulls it out, and sits down. “Sebastian, look, it’s Courtney from high school.”
Courtney’s assessing gaze moves from Starling to me, then back to Starling again, cataloging the Dior clothes and the Cartier necklace.
“Courtney,” I say, acknowledging her coldly as I lift Starling from her seat, then sit, placing her back in my lap.
“Sebastian.” Courtney’s lips seem to curl around my name in a flirtatious way that makes my skin crawl.
“So much has happened since we last saw each other. God, when was that? I think it was at the start of our freshman year. Did you hear that Sebastian and I got married? We just celebrated our first anniversary in the summer,” Starling boasts, holding her hand out so Courtney can see the huge diamond I had to bully my wife into wearing.
“I think I remember seeing the announcement. Congratulations,” Courtney says.
When the table behind Courtney empties, I signal to James and our security team to surround us. It’s over the top and ridiculously dramatic, but it forces Courtney to acknowledge the full team of guards we have with us.
Just as Courtney opens her mouth, Josh appears with our drinks, placing them in front of us before retaking his position in the circle of security.
