Page 8 of Pride
Silicon Valley sounded impressive to a girl who’d never left the U.K.
“And finally, there’s Alex Kingston, the one with the tattoos. He’s the seventh Duke of Sunford, can you believe, although herefuses to use the title he inherited. He’s loaded, though.” Lloyd said the last past on a whisper as if the walls had ears.
So there was money on top of money here tonight. It didn’t surprise me looking at the price tags on the art.
Lloyd tilted his head, continuing to whisper conspiratorially. “Kingston’s a bit of a renegade.” His head came closer to mine as he said, “I think he loves the cash, but hates the trappings. But he’s one of our biggest investors and the best client on our books. Alex Kingston collects art like most people collect...”
“Stamps?” I ventured when Lloyd stalled.
“I was going to say something more twenty-first century, but yeah, stamps, I guess.”
“My dad used to collect stamps,” I said on a shrug, trying to claw back a little dignity.
“And he stopped when he found out they were lame?” Lloyd laughed at his own weak joke.
“No,” I replied plainly. “He stopped when he died.”
“Fascinating.”
I just stared blankly at him.
Lloyd wasn’t listening. He wasn’t fascinated. He didn’t care. I’d just told him my dad had died, and he hadn’t reacted in the slightest. He was only interested in the trio across the room.
“Would you like to meet them?” he asked, staring at them longingly as he ignored how dumbfounded I was.
I wasn’t sure.
Did I want to meet three wealthy men who might make me feel even more inferior than I did right now?
And one in particular, who I wouldn’t be able to look at directly, because I’d forget what my own name was?
“Erm,” I didn’t get a chance to respond, Lloyd was already walking over to them. “That’ll be a yes, then,” I muttered under my breath sarcastically, and reluctantly, I followed him.
As we got closer, Lloyd announced his arrival by puffing out his chest and saying, “Gentlemen.” In what I’m sure he thought was a manly and commanding way.
It wasn’t lost on me that Alex Kingston, who’d make any girl’s knees go weak with his dark hair and piercing green eyes, rolled those eyes as Lloyd approached, and the trio opened up their small circle to allow him to stand with them. But when his gaze landed on me, his eyes widened. The glass he was holding in his tattooed hand, that was so close to his lips he was about to take a sip, froze, and he stared at me for a second, before lowering the glass, leaving it untouched. I didn’t get an eye roll, but I did see him swallow and take a deep breath.
“I’m so glad you could all make it tonight. It promises to be quite the event,” Lloyd stated, a smarmy smirk on his face as he glanced around the group at each man. But Alex Kingston didn’t take his eyes off me. And I felt heat rising in my cheeks as I blushed and tried not to stare back.
“It’s been quite the event already and it hasn’t even started,” Tobey Falstead replied, and then turned to give me a dazzling smile as he said, “I don’t think we’ve met.” Thrusting his arm out to shake my hand.
“This is Tobey Falstead,” Lloyd butted in. “Creator of Linto, heir to the Hanby fortune and... oh God, forgive my ignorance. I can’t for the life of me remember where you ranked on the Forbes list this year.”
I heard Alex Kingston curse under his breath beside me and I tried to hide my grin. He clearly had the measure of Lloyd and couldn’t take his fake flattery.
“Good God, man,” Tobey scoffed, holding in a laugh. “Is that how you introduce everybody?” Then he turned to address me again, “I’m pleased to meet you. I’m Tobey.” He gave Lloyd a look, and with a raised eyebrow, he added, “Let’s leave the Forbes bullshit to Alex, yeah? I don’t factor on that list quite yet.”
I heard a whispered, ‘Oh fuck off’ from Alex Kingston’s direction and I suppressed a laugh.
“Right.” Lloyd blushed but continued to smile confidently to cover it up. He obviously thought he was tighter with these men than he was.
“What makes you think I’m involved in all that bullshit?” Alex Kingston cut in, and I turned to look at him now as he glared at Lloyd with disdain while Lloyd grinned back, oblivious to his blunder.
His skin was flawless, and he had the most delicious stubble on his jaw that made me want to reach out and touch it. Then there were his full lips that looked so fucking kissable. And not to mention his green eyes, the kind that could penetrate right through your soul. When he spoke to denounce Lloyd, the deep reverberations of his tone made my insides flutter, and my skin prickle with awareness that I was standing so close to a man who was more handsome than anyone I’d ever seen in my life. This man was even more beautiful up close than he had been from across the room, if you could call a man like him beautiful. He was rugged but in a perfectly polished way. But he had a fire in him, that much was clear to see from the way he was currently conducting himself. He took no bullshit.
“Don’t play coy with us, Kingston,” Tobey joked. “We all know how much you love to see your face in the news.”
Alex Kingston took a sip of his whisky, and I stared at the tribal tattoos on the back of his hand as I tried not to moan. Hand tattoos were a weakness of mine.
