He wants her.
“Rhett’s not a bad guy,” Riko says, reaching out to take my hand. “He’ll do right for the baby. I know he will.”
Honestly, as much as I want to argue, I know he’s right. Rhett picked me up from the cops, paid my tab, and is now securing me a place to stay. He may not want anyone to know he got me pregnant, but I don’t see him abandoning the baby at this point.
“Come on,” Riko says, pulling me to my feet. “I’ll show you to your room.”
The thought of ripping off my shoes and laying in an actual bed versus a couch sounds like heaven.
I jolt awake when I feel an intense presence. Rhett looms over the bed, glowering at me. His jawline is sharp and I distinctly remember licking him there, too.
“What?” I ask, voice groggy from sleep.
He gestures angrily at my feet. “What happened?”
I sit up, grimacing when my back zings with pain, to look at what he’s pointing at. Blood stains the socks in a few spots. My feet are rubbed raw from all that running.
“Blisters,” I say with a shrug. “Poor choice of shoes. You should always wear athletic shoes when you dine and dash.”
He sighs heavily as if I’m the most obnoxious person he’s ever had to deal with and then disappears.Whatever, asshole.I lie back down and am almost asleep when I hear him clear his throat. This time, when I blink my eyes open, he’s kneeling on the floor, a first aid kit open beside him.
“What are you doing?—”
My words are cut off when he picks up one of my feet and gently begins peeling off the soiled sock. It hurts, but the tenderness in his action has me frozen, unable to look away from him.
“Men want virgins,” Angela says, voice sweet despite the cruelty in her words. “Especially good men.”
An old memory of something my sister once said to me takes this moment to assault my mind. I want to focus on the careful way Rhett tends to my bleeding blisters, but I can’t get the past out of my head.
“That’s a mean thing to say.” Humiliation burns hot through my veins. “Why would you say that?”
Angela narrows her eyes at me. “Just pointing it out so you don’t get your hopes up.”
“Am I hurting you?” Rhett asks, voice deep and husky, drawing my mind back to the present.
“What? No.” I shake my head and blink back stupid tears. “I’m fine.”
Am I, though?
Rhett watches me for a long beat as if he can read my mind.Have fun with that.It’s a wild, chaotic tornado of a brain. When he goes back to his task, my memories keep flooding in.
“That wasn’t my fault and you know it. I didn’t want it.”
“Right,” Angela says lightly, though her eyes still flicker with disgust for me. “Remind me why didn’t he go to jail then.”
She’s goading me at this point, and I refuse to let the wretch make me cry. We both know, in our world, you can pay to make anything go away. He certainly did and our father would do the same if the roles were reversed.
“You should ask Dad for a nose job for your birthday,” I blurt out rather than answering her rhetorical question. “I guess technically it would be from my hush money. You’re welcome.”
I ignore her snarls of outrage as I slip out of the ladies’ room at the country club. A few guys walk by, but the one with the curly blond hair and cruel slant of his mouth is the one I let my eyes linger on.
“Abby.”
The past fades but the same handsome guy stares back at me. The one my sister secretly had her sights set on. The one she alluded to whom wouldn’t want “damaged goods” like myself.
“Yeah?” I murmur.
He places the last Band-Aid on and cocks his head to the side. His curls are cut short, therefore nonexistent, but he’s as good looking as the day I first saw him. Maybe more so since he’s filled out with more muscle lately due to college sports.
