Page 66 of Her Devil

“Erm, we’re gonna have to agree to disagree there, I’m afraid,” Leo replies, an amused smile on his face. “And you know there’s a sauna and steam room just over there… right?”

“What?”

“Yeah, if you follow that path, it takes you straight to it. It needs half an hour to warm up, but there are instructions on the door. It’s not complicated,” he explains.

“Next time we want to go for a dip, we’re totally adding that into the plan,” she replies with a nod.

I wait at the side, watching Charlotte, Aimee and Leo move through the water, the silent conversation happening between Leo and Jacob amusing as he joins me at the side. Leo’s gaze flicks from Jacob to me, an interest there that makes heat sizzle under my skin.

He’s hot, they both are, but I have a feeling that Jacob is less interested in me than he is Leo, and there’s little to no chance that Nick is interested in sharing. Not that I’m going there again. No, now the itch is scratched I can put that behind me and work out how the hell to get through this year.

“Is Olly here?” Stephanie calls.

“He’s inside,” Jacob replies. “I can text him…”

“Yeah, would you mind? I left my phone back at the house.”

“Sure.” Jacob shrugs, jumping out of the pool and pulling his phone from the table.

“Are you ladies staying for dinner?” Leo asks, coming back to join me.

“I’ve got lasagne in the oven,” Aimee replies. “But there’s plenty if any of you want to join?”

“I’m in,” Jasper replies. “But only if you’ve got garlic bread. I’m not here for that side salad bullshit that girls like.”

The guy has a six-pack that even movie stars would be proud of, and I’m not the only one that’s noticed, if Penelope’s comment on it is anything to go by.

“I’m bulking, babe,” he replies, flexing. “I didn’t realise how scrawny I looked until I had to eyeball this lot on the daily.” He laughs, mimicking throwing a ball to Leo, who catches it with a leap and a splash.

“Happy to keep raising that bar, brother,” Leo jokes, throwing that same imaginary ball to Jacob.

He doesn’t join in with them, instead shaking his head as he gets back in the pool, sending a tidal wave of water in his direction. Unsurprisingly, he returns it, and I make a swift move to get out of the way, hiding with Charlotte and Aimee at the side while they generally act like the overgrown kids they are.

The glass door bangs closed, catching my attention as Oliver comes out, a surprised smile on his face as he stalks his way towards us, throwing his shirt on the nearest bench and sitting on the edge of the pool. Stephanie swims up between his legs as the two of them start a conversation I can’t hear over the water fight.

Not that I’d want to, whatever she needed him for must be private. Maybe she just wanted to check he was still here after the whole George revelation? I don’t know. But as Nick follows him out of the doorway, he pauses, his eyes narrowing on Jacob and Leo before zeroing in on me.

With a shake of his head and a disappointed slump to his shoulders, he goes back in, regret a sinking stone in my stomach. He’s doing the right thing, we need distance between us right now, but it still smarts.

“Say that again,” Oliver says, his sharp tone catching my attention.

Stephanie must repeat whatever she said quietly enough not to carry, but Oliver’s agitation catches Leo’s attention as well as mine as he calls over, “Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine,” Stephanie brushes off with a tense smile as she attempts to intervene.

“Like fuck it is,” Oliver says, cutting off anything else she had to say. “I’ll bury the little fucker. Did Taylor not make it clear enough the other week? Off-fucking-limits.”

He gets back up, starting to pace as I head towards Stephanie. She might not be someone I’ve known my entire life, but even I can tell she’s worried and needs a friend right now.

“I’ve told him now, I’m sure there won’t be any more problems,” she placates. “Come and jump in, we can swim it out or whatever.”

“That’s not happening.” He huffs out an unimpressed laugh. “He knows you’re an Angel and he still thought it was okay to single you out and corner you. I don’t fucking think so.”

“What’s this?” Penelope asks as we all go towards them. “Who did what to you?”

“It’s nothing, just one of the guys in my math class caught me at the end. He wanted me to get a coffee and wasn’t taking no for an answer,” she attempts to explain, turning to face the rest of us.

“And…” Oliver seethes. “Go on, tell them.” He drops down on his haunches behind her, his elbows resting on his knees as his fury ripples across the space, almost a physical embodiment of the demon he’s supposed to represent.

---