Page 56 of Falling for Red
He’s been off lately, and he’s not fooling anyone. Chris used to be the guy with the best marriage advice. I need to check in with him later.
“Gotta grab another cold one since no one’s here to tell me otherwise,” he says before wandering off.
Shaking my head, I look back at Claire. “He’s an asshole, but he’s our asshole.”
She smiles, tilting her head. “Cassandra?”
“The last person I dated.”
“Do you have a thing for girls with names starting with ‘C’?” she teases.
“Maybe.” I pull my phone from my back pocket, opening the vibrator app with a smirk. “Do you really want to fuck around and find out here?”
She bites her lip, and I tap the lowest setting. She flinches, and I bite my lip, loving this.
“That’s the lowest setting,” I say, my voice low.
“I’ll behave,” she breathes, but I tap the pulse setting, and she sucks in a sharp breath. “I will!” she squeaks.
“Good girl.” I turn it off—for now.
Her chest rises and falls as she steadies herself, biting her lip. It’s impossible not to do anything but smirk at her reaction. Before I can say more, I catch Nicholas out of the corner of my eye for a brief moment, stepping onto the patio. A white button down. That’s not what Nicholas would wear to a barbecue. This is happening. He’s going to propose.
35
Isqueeze Jake’s hand, loving this secret game we’re playing. “I think you’re breaking your rule,” I intentionally taunt, because fuck it. I only have a few more hours until reality strikes.
He looks down at me, arching a brow.
“No phones on dates.”
He grumbles. “May I have permission to use my phone for one sole purpose on this date?”
“Is that sass?”
He leans down and kisses my neck before whispering, “I will not fuck you here no matter how much you taunt me.”
“I need a water.” I’m so turned on. “Want one?”
He chuckles, nodding. “I’m going to catch up with Anna and Chad.” He gestures toward the server from La Nonna and the guy she’s with.
“See you soon.” I giggle and step toward the drink troughs on the other side of the patio.
“Taylor, right?” I ask, recognizing the brunette chatting with a guy in front of the water bottles. We had a virtual meeting about encouraging guests to post about High Five on social media.
“Yeah. Claire?”
“Yeah.” I look over at the guy next to her.
“Brandon. Brandon Dubois.”
Dubois.I wonder if he’s related to Kent Dubois. The gallery I used to work at facilitated his four-hundred-million-dollar donation to the Art Institute of Chicago.
Get it, Taylor, I chuckle inwardly, but rich kids are a breed of their own. Is Taylor rich? I have too many nosey questions. But before I can dig into any of them, a sudden pulse between my legs nearly makes me drop the water bottles.
Fuck.
I flinch, too shocked to continue this conversation. Managing a polite “Nice to meet you,” I hurry back to Jake.
