Page 108 of Wicked Angel
“What? No. Not likethat.”
He made a growly noise. “I don’t like him.”
“Why?” I tried to read between the lines of the testosterone fueled vibe he was giving off. Much like the other night; that whole scene over Dean Slater. “Because he fucked me for almost four years?” Guys were so weirdly territorial about that, even with girls they had no right to be territorial over. Like,You’re talking to me right now, don’t talk to him.
“Yes,” he said bluntly. “And he broke your heart.”
I looked away, slipping off my heels, trying to ignore the way my heart was pounding. And the way his neck muscles were straining under his tattoos. Why was he getting all protective again? Just like he did at Champagne…
It was really fucking hot.
This hate crush was getting more annoying by the minute. I kept trying to lean into the hate part, yet I kept getting sucked back in the other direction whenever he did sexy stuff. Which, unfortunately for me, was way too often.
Johnny O’Reilly was one of those rare guys who was sexy even when he was being a dick.
Maybe this is why Shayla keeps warning you about him.
“Take off your shoes, okay? Mom is obsessive about her floors.” I watched as he removed his Fendi low-tops. “And if you must know… I kinda broke his heart first. It’s complicated. Most relationships are.”
Johnny stood to his full height and looked down at me, his eyes dark and penetrating. “What, like the ones that don’t work out?”
“Yeah. I’m sure you know a lot about those.”
I turned to head into the house.
He caught my arm, stopping me in my tracks in the entryway. “You broke it off with him?”
“How is it your business,” I asked him, squirming out of his grasp, “who hurt whom in my relationship, and you won’t answer the same question about your ex-wife?”
He stared me down. I stared right back.
“I didn’t break her heart.”
Bullshit. Definitely not what I’d heard.
My sister didn’t trade in gossip, so even though she and Dylan were tight, she’d never dished to me about his wife’s ex-husband—even though she’d probably heard some things. However. I’d definitely heard from several of my girlfriends, including Talia—Johnny’s buddy Lex’s wife—who’d heard from Amber herself, that Johnny had done a number on her. Something about cheating.
Big surprise.
I startled out of the eye contact vortex that Johnny had somehow sucked me into when I heard someone coming. The entry hall lights that I hadn’t even noticed were off flicked on. We’d been standing, bickering, in the near-dark. Like some grouchy couple.
“Well, look who I found whispering in the dark,” my mom said, with obvious intrigue, looking from me to Johnny.
I scrambled for words, feeling weirdly defensive. Like my mom had barged in on me while I was watching porn or something. “Mom. I told you I was bringing a…” Wait. What did I tell her? “Um, Shayla’s brother.”
“Yes! Johnny, right? Come on in.” My mom ushered us in, giving me a hug. “What a pretty dress! Your hair looks so beautiful.” She ran her fingers over my loose curls. I tolerated it like a cat who didn’t really like being touched but secretly enjoyed the attention and fucking loved being fed. “Did you curl it?”
“Well, tiny cartoon birds didn’t spring forth from the depths of my closet to curl it for me. So, yes.”
Mom laughed like she truly appreciated my humor. “Is she this sarcastic with you?” She turned to Johnny.
I looked at Johnny too, willing him to be nice. Even if he’d rather be honest.
“All the time.” The way he said it, with a charming smile for my mom, it felt like a compliment.
Hmm. Wasn’t so sure how much I liked him being nice. Not if it meant charming the shit out of my mom so damn fast. The man was knock-your-panties-off gorgeous when he smiled. He really didn’t do it enough.
“Johnny is my client,” I blurted out, before Mom could get any ideas; I saw the way her eyes dipped over his tight jeans, the tattoos and all the gorgeousness. “My first client, on my own. You know, because of Shayla. He’s taken me on to do some publicity work for him.”
