Page 37 of Knotting Hill
“Necessary,” he growls and follows Storm out of the bar.
We are quick to catch up.
“Go away!” Storm bellows as he catches up with her. “You had no right to do that. I’m not your girlfriend. You don’t get to be jealous.”
“We don’t,” I say, drawing to a stop beside them. “But we are. We are jealous fools of any man who gets to spend time with you that isn’t us. You have bewitched us, Storm Rivers. We are going to prove to you that we are three men you can rely on and need in your life.”
“What?” she asks, desperately looking around. “Why? You don’t even know me!”
“Then let us get to know you, Storm.”
We lock gazes, the tension searing the air between us.
“Let us know you, and have you know us back. We want you, Storm, and we are willing to do whatever it takes to make you ours.”
Twenty-Three
Storm
“You’re all fucking crazy!”I exclaim, pulling my gaze away from JP’s piercing blue eyes.
Josh takes a step forward, drawing my attention to him. “Crazy for you,” he says, a triumphant gleam in his eyes.
I narrow mine in fury.How? That has to be a coincidence, right? He couldn’t possibly know…unless someone told him.
I back away slowly. “You need to stay away from me,” I say. “I don’t want anything to do with you. We are not compatible.”
“We are, more than you know, Storm, and we will prove it,” JP says, gripping Josh’s arm to stop him from following me. “You’ll see, Storm.”
“Whatever,” I growl and turn to walk quickly away, hoping they don’t follow me and find out where I live. Unless they already know that as well.
With my hands shaking with trepidation, but also something else that is lurking under the surface that I don’t want to acknowledge even for a moment, I focus on the anger that they ruined my date and my plans for a good shag. I’m sure Francoknows what he’s doing in the sack, and I’m disappointed I don’t get to find out.
With a sigh, I kick off my shoes when I enter my flat, and smile at the memory of throwing my drink in Josh’s face. As far as swills go, that one will go down as one of Knotting Hill’s best. I’ll make sure of it.
The following Monday, after a weekend of hiding out in my flat, eating, watching movies and sleeping, not wanting to set foot outside in the pouring rain, I know that I have to make a move to work. The sun is weak, the clouds scudding along the pale blue sky with the cool wind. The weather seems to fit my mood as I make my way to the coffee shop in the hopes of seeing Franco to apologise. Nothing will come of it, but what Josh did was so rude, and I won’t be a party to it.
I practically skid to a halt when I see Russell leaning casually up against the wall next to the door, his black sunglasses perched on his face, even though the sun is hardly glaring this morning.
When he spots me, he straightens up and smiles shyly, holding out a takeaway cup of coffee to me.
“No!” I say, holding my hand up. “Just no!”
Ugh! Why? Why are they stalking me? I can’t even grab a coffee and issue an apologyon their behalfwithout them lurking in the shadows. Okay, out in the open, but still.
“Please?” he asks, taking a step closer.
“No. Leave me alone.”
I turn and walk as quickly as my mid-sized heels will allow in the direction of the doctor’s office.
With my head down against the wind that is blowing directly into my face, I don’t see Josh until it’s too late.
He is outside the practice with a lemon muffin, probably in the hopes that I would’ve accepted the coffee from his packmate.
“I’m telling you the same as him,” I say, all anger at this setup leaving me. I just don’t have the energy. “No. Leave me alone. I don’t want this.”
“What is it you don’t want, Storm? Tell us so we know. We are trying here to be the men we know you deserve.”
