Page 165 of Rebound
Crystal (Reese)
You’re a depraved sexual act.
Destiny (Holden)
My dream come true.
There are a lot of messages like that, so I scroll all the way to the bottom, leaving them unread.
Angel (Roman)
On the off chance you’re talking about me, I haven’t been kidnapped.
Crystal (Reese)
He’s alive!!
Trixie (Ford)
Told you he wasn’t kidnapped.
Crystal (Reese)
He could be! Maybe the kidnapper is using his phone to distract us!
Angel (Roman)
I’m in New York. With Lavinia.
Sassy (Drew)
Hang on while I warn my sister about your sick obsession with her.
Angel (Roman)
Don’t worry. She knows.
Under the blanket, I squeeze Lavinia’s thigh, and she makes a humming noise of pleasure. I put my phone on do not disturb and set it aside.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly. It’s the what?” Jules leans forward in the chair, her focus on me instead of the movie we’re watching.
“The HoBros.”
She looks at Lavinia, who’s covered head to toe in a blanket, holding a soup bowl in one hand. I was trying to feed her and got told off because it made her feel like an invalid. “Does this make sense to you?”
“It’s the team,” I explain.
Lavinia gasps lightly, which devolves into coughing. Quickly, I reach for her water and bring the glass up to her mouth, helping her take small sips.
“You’ve been talking to the boys, and you didn’t tell me? Do you even want to be married?”
I laugh it off, even though there’s a damn good reason I didn’t tell her. Lavinia’s making more content than she did when she was with Josh and any idiot can see she’s back to being the confident woman who won Olympic medals. If the HoBros have accepted me, that means our bargain is over. Doesn’t it?
Lavinia and I don’t need to stay married if we both got what we wanted out of this relationship. What unhinged behaviour will I have to lower myself to make her stay? It will have to be truly devious.
“I was going to tell you when I saw you before I found out you’re sick,” I say.
“A likely excuse,” she accuses, as she suspiciously sips her soup.
