Page 15 of Filthy Rich Ex's Brothers

“I don’t know,” I murmur, staring at the envelope in my hand. “Have I been served?”

“People can lace letters with contact poison,” Georgia says, gaze flitting between me and the letter. “Maybe we should get gloves?—”

“Oh, shutup!He saidOnyx!” Lillie pushes past Georgia and to the front of the group, her cool fingers wrapping around my wrist. “You have to open it, Serena!”

The group goes quiet, and I realize they meanhere. Now.

I shift uncomfortably. If I had the choice, I would have been here alone to collect this and locked up tight in my room to open it. But slinking off now would be rude, especially since I was more than ready to spy on Sid when I thought he was the one with the visitor at the door.

Slowly, I slide a thumb under the flap. It’s impossibly smooth, the paper strong. When the envelope is open, I reach in and pinch the contents, pulling them out.

A blank key card and a note. When I turn the card over, I reveal a shiny, looping label:Onyx Hotels.

The card reads,Room for you. Be there at eight. T.

“Holy shit,” Lillie whispers, a squeal punctuating the end of her sentence. “Holyshit! You got a calling card from a rich suitor! This is?—”

“Nothappening,” I scoff, shaking my head, even as the card feels heavy in my hand. Even as my core tightens and I remember the way Travis looked at me in his office yesterday. Like he’d had to hold himself back. Did I imagine that?

Does this mean it was real? What else could this be other than a lavish—and incredibly direct—invitation to share a hotel room with him?

All at once, they start talking again.

“You can’t go,” Georgia is saying, shaking her head. “It’s unsafe?—”

“How did they know our address?” Sid asks, still looking at his phone, brows drawn together.

“Wait…” Grayson’s brow draws together. “Are we talking about Oakleys, like that rich family…?”

“I swear to god, you are so dense sometimes,” Lillie says, smacking his bicep. “Yes, like her ex-boyfriend? Serena’s boss is his older brother.”

“Which is another reason this isn’t happening,” I say, firmly, loudly, over the top of them.

“Why not?” Lillie wraps her arm around mine and tugs me out of the entryway, holding her hand up to the ceiling of our living room like she wants me to imagine the possibilities. “Think about it, Serena—what better way to get back at that fuckwad than to sleep with his brother?”

“His attractive,wealthybrother,” Georgia seconds, following behind us, and my head turns sharply. Didn’t she just tell me not to go - that it’s unsafe. She’s the last person I was expecting to get on board with something like this. I blink at her, and she just shrugs. “I’m not saying youshoulddo it. It could be risky. But when you examine the situation, think about the potential for revenge…”

“Why is there even a question?” Grayson asks, plucking the card from my hand and whistling at it. “Look at the quality of this card stock! This is sugar daddy territory.”

I rip it back from him. “Notlooking for a sugar daddy. This is strictly professional. He probably just needs pictures of the room for… something.”

They all stare back at me.

“Ri-ght,” Sid says, stretching out the vowel.

“Well, then, if you think it’s something more, I’m not going!” I sound—and feel—like a petulant teenager but just talking about the possibility that Travis Oakley might want me in a hotel room with him is making my blood pressure rise.

Lillie holds her hands up, and the rest of them take a step back.

“Okay, okay.” Lillie presses her lips together, then shoots me a mischievous look. “You got a fancy invitation to a fancy hotel, where you could rendezvous with a hot, successful guy. But you hate fun, so you’re not going.”

“ShouldIgo?” Georgia asks, tucking a stray hair back from her face. “I could use a sugar daddy. Pay off my student loans. I’ll have Sid come and stay outside just in case the guy is trying to traffic me.”

Grayson frowns, and I mimic the motion. Why does the sound of that make something twist in my chest? I don’t want anyone going in my place. Don’t want anyone else alone in a room with Travis Oakley but me.

“No.” I shake my head and push through them, splitting the crowd. “Let’s just forget about this.”

There’s a beat of silence, then Grayson says, “You know what will help us forget?” Quickly, he snatches the remote from Sid’s hand and bounds toward the living room. “Figure skating!”