Page 73 of Affinity

“Agreed.” My lips tipped up at the corners as a thought came to me.

“What’s that look about?” She nudged me with her elbow.

“Now, I can officially make one meal.”

“More like you can make one dessert, but it’s an awesome dessert that you’re going to have to make at least once a week.”

“Deal. At least at home, I have fire pits that I can easily use.” I spied a bit of white cream at the corner of her mouth. “You’ve got a little something right here.” I leaned forward until we were nose to nose. “Let me get it for you.”

“Okay,” she answered breathily, her big brown eyes becoming heavy-lidded.

Slowly, I licked the corner of her mouth. I’d never tasted anything better. Tasting her again, I dipped my tongue inside her warm, sweet mouth and tasted every inch of her. Devouring her mouth, my hands roamed over her bare back. It took everything in me not to pull her onto my lap. I had to remember her leg was broken, her brother was somewhere out there, and I had to keep my dick in my pants.

A deep voice cleared from behind us. “Get your fucking hands off my sister.”

Abbi and I jumped apart, laughing. “God, your brother is a dick.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Abbi

When we pulled up to Alex and Luke’s house, I expected to be greeted with smiles, but we were met with nervous looks and odd glances. Jenner went on high alert as he helped me across the driveway and into their house. The second he helped sit me down on their couch, he rounded on them, pacing back and forth. “What’s going on?”

Alex looked nervously from Luke to Jenner and back to her husband again. “I don’t know . . . there’s no easy way to say this. Poppy went to some gossip rag and spouted a bunch of shit about you and Abbi.”

He stopped pacing in front of them, and his body went rigid. “What did she say?”

Pulling his wife against him, Luke, the formidable blond, wasted no time spilling what Poppy had said. “She says you were both drunk out of your minds when you got married, and that you went to rehab for cocaine use instead of alcohol.”

Luckily, Paul was asleep in the back of the RV, or he would have been able to read the truth on my face at Luke’s words.

Stepping to me, Luke held out his hand to shake. “I’m sorry, we haven’t formally met. I’m Luke.” His accent was more pronounced than it was on screen, and I hated how much I liked it. Accents were damn sexy, and I couldn’t help it. I only hoped I didn’t blush around him every time he spoke.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Abbi,” I greeted back as I shook his large hand.

“This is not how I wanted to start your stay. I’m so sorry, but I thought you should know what’s being said. I don’t think you need to worry about anyone taking her seriously since she’s a known drug user, but you should probably call your publicist.”

Sitting down heavily onto the couch beside me, Jenner hung his head. “Catherine is not going to be happy.”

“No, but it’s her job. You can’t let people slander you in the press,” Luke interjected. “You’ve worked too hard to get yourself into good standing with people in the industry. You can’t let them start to have questions about you.”

His elbows were on his knees, and he gripped the hair on the top of his head and pulled. “It’s all true, though. I never wanted you to find out because . . . ” He lifted his head, and the pain in his eyes caused my heart to constrict in my chest. “I never wanted to see you look at me like you are right now.”

“I don’t understand. Why would you lie to us?” Alex’s steps faltered as she tried to sit down. Luke helped her and then sat next to her. He held her hand in his, giving her his support.

I couldn’t believe what I’d heard. Of course, I knew what went down in Vegas since I was there, and my life had changed irrevocably after that. All this time, I’d thought Jenner had gone to rehab for alcohol abuse only to find out it was something much worse.

When he looked up to make eye contact, his eyes were shimmering with remorse. “Because I’m ashamed of how far I fell. Now you’ll never look at me the same way again. I’m sorry for coming here and ruining everything.”

“I think we all need time to process this new information,” Luke blew out a breath. “I mean we knew about the circumstances with you and Abbi, but—”

“Do you want me to leave? I can leave if you’re uncomfortable with me being here. I can promise you that I haven’t used since I got out. God,” he groaned, “I hate how that sounds. I’ll tell you anything you want to know, but please don’t hate me. You three mean the world to me and . . . ” Jenner let out a choked breath before he jumped to his feet. He looked back at me with sadness radiating from his eyes. “Are you okay here? Sitting there? I need to get some fresh air.”

Luke stood and placed a hand on Jenner’s shoulder. “If she needs anything, we’ll take care of her. Do what you’ve got to do.”

Jenner gave Luke a manly back-slapping hug before he slipped outside and disappeared.

Leaning forward, Alex looked at me and asked. “Did you know?”

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