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‘Rejected for a dog.’ He smiles, overshooting the need to look cute. ‘Bit of a ridiculous name for a dog, isn’t it?’
‘I’ve heard worse.’ I’m not going to get into how unchivalrous he is.
‘Well, this is me,’ I say once we reach the fancy street. ‘Home, for now, at least.’ The sun shines, and the wind whispers through the trees. A man has walked me to my front door after a very enjoyable afternoon. That should make me happy, right?
Then why does something feel amiss?
Then, as the parking gates at the end of the street begin to slowly open, and a midnight blue car drives towards the building’s parking bay, I do feel the stomach fizzing sensation of excitement I’ve been looking for today.
Or maybe it’s not excitement. Maybe it’s entirely something else.
Chapter Twenty-Three
WILL
The peculiarly instant burst of pleasure I’d felt at seeing Sadie in the street is short lived. Short lived because of the prick she’s standing with. As I sit behind the darkened windows of my car, my mind runs over our phone call this morning. She said she’d be busy today but didn’t say what she was doing.
Was she purposely vague because she had plans todohim?
And she’s made no mention of Julian at all—not since Saturday. What the fuck has changed between then and now?
As they talk, he seems to making moves to get a little closer, whether trying for a goodbye kiss or a welcome fuck, I can’t be sure. Either way, it’s not happening on my watch.
Unfolding my frame from the car, I shut the door with a solidthunkthat draws Julian’s attention. From the other side of the street, he frowns unhappily as my legs quickly eat up the space between her and me.Because he’s inconsequential. A fly in my ointment.
And fuck that for a game of soldiers if he thinks he’s got a chance.
‘Sadie, sweetheart.’ Placing my palm low on her back, I bend and press my lips against her cheek like it’s the most natural thing in the world. And while it might be dressed up prettily as a greeting, Julian knows as well as I do that this is the human equivalent of a dog pissing up a tree.
Mine.
‘I didn’t ask how you knew Will,’ Julian says evenly, though I can see the calculation in his gaze. I can also see the space between their bodies, postures speaking without the use of words; he’d wanted to get closer, but sweet Sadie was having none of it.
‘Yes, well . . .’ she begins, disconcerted.
‘We’re old friends. Aren’t we, Sadie?’ I shoot him a friendly wink even though every muscle in my face aches.
‘He means we’re neighbours,’ Sadie qualifies, refusing to rise to my bait. ‘For the summer, at least.’
‘And you just love being under me, don’t you, love?’Take that how you will, Juju. Don’t let me stop you crying wee-wee-wee all the way home.
‘Will!’ Along with her rebuke, Sadie nudges me with her elbow. But my hard gaze isn’t for her. It’s for him. What the fuck is he doing here? And how has he wormed his way back in?
They’re an unlikely coupling, for sure. Sadie isn’t cheap, or easy, or into kink, as far as I can tell, unlike his usual conquests. Then it strikes me—those labels could just as easily be applied to me. Except I’m a little more discerning, I’d like to think. And I have relationships. Occasionally... briefly. Admittedly, they last weeks rather than months, but they’re more than just connections of flesh and tongues.
I like women. I even have female friends. Well, I have Ella. She’s my friend. Even if I did try to lure her away from Mac. But it was a half-hearted attempt. An infatuation that lasted five minutes.
And it’s not entirely my fault I’m a bad bet. That’s just the hand life has dealt. On the surface, I look like the eligible type, but scratch the superficial shine, and you’ll see something else.
‘How’s your father?’ Julian asks.Same circles and all that. Plus, our fathers are friends.‘I heard he had the Ivanoffs visiting last week. Have you met Will’s father, Lord Travers, I mean?’ He turns to Sadie, who shakes her head. It all sounds like a polite enquiry, but the bastard knows I wouldn’t have Sadie within the same square mile radius as the man. I imagine he’s also betting on my not having mentioned the old man’s title. So now I look like I’m hiding things.
‘You haven’t visited Travers Hall, either, then?’
Fuck, it just gets better and better. Look at the smug bastard rattling all my familial chains.
‘You aren’t missing much,’ I interject. ‘It’s a great mausoleum of a place.’
‘Americans love a castle,’ he says with a gleam. ‘Maybe Sadie would like to visit. It’s in a beautiful part of the highlands, or so I’ve heard... ’ His taunting words trail away.
