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Lily ground her teeth. I could tell she would have much preferred to stay here, ripping Brax a new asshole for daring to show up with a slut like me, but good breeding and manners superseded righteous fury. Instead, she threw one last poisonous glare in my direction before allowing Mateo to sweep her away into the crowd.
All of us breathed a long sigh of relief.
“Are we done here?” Harley asked.
“Yeah. I need a stiff drink,” Brax declared as he reached for my hand.
Chapter 88
Stella
I snapped awake with a start. Harley lay on his back on one side, Quinn on the other with his arm around my waist. Both of them were fast asleep, probably hungover. Last night had turned into a huge blowout. For them at least. The boys had cut me off after four drinks, telling me it was for my own good. It annoyed me at the time, but I was having too much fun dancing to be mad for long.
Even Brax had partied like he was actually enjoying himself, although the tension from our encounter with his grandmother and the mysterious Mateo never really left him.
Unlike Quinn and Harley, who embarked on a game to see who could down the most stupid cocktails without puking, Brax mostly stuck to bourbon. He was our designated bodyguard for the evening, which was just as well as by the time we fell into our suite, the other two were so drunk they could barely stand.
The pair of them had talked up a storm about continuing our party in bed, then promptly passed out. It was hilarious really. I had hoped things between Brax and I might have progressed a bit, but he’d bid me good night with a peck on the cheek and disappeared into the other bedroom.
The scent of coffee pulled me out of bed. I managed to extricate myself from Quinn’s heavy arm without waking him and padded out into the living area, wearing Harley’s shirt and nothing else.
Brax stood by the large window overlooking the city, a mug of instant coffee in his hand. His black hair was still damp from the shower, and he hadn’t bothered pulling on a tee, so I took a few moments to soak up the view.
God, he was sexy. He made my lady bits swoon in anticipation of something we had yet to explore. Although, I was beginning to think the stars were never going to align on that front.
While some of his walls had come down, he was still keeping me at arm’s length. Not that I blamed him.
“I made a pot of coffee,” he said without turning around.
“Thanks.”
I poured myself a mug and grimaced slightly at the bitter flavor. It could use a shot of cream and vanilla, but the mini fridge had neither.
“This is disgusting,” I complained.
“I’m surprised you’re awake.”
“I always wake up early. Habit, I guess.”
He finally turned around to face me. “Before Dad died, he and I would often sit on the terrace watching the sunrise. He always said it was his favorite time of the day because everyone else was still asleep and he had some space to think.”
“Is your mom not a morning person?”
He snorted. “God no. She never gets up before 10 AM. My sisters are the same when they aren’t at school. Once they went away to prep school, mom often stayed in bed until noon and then went for a late brunch with her friends.”
“Sounds like your mom and dad didn’t have a lot in common?”
“Not really,” he admitted. “She was a cocktail waitress when they met. They had a fling and she got pregnant with me. What a cliche, eh?”
His words were devoid of emotion, but I caught the hidden sub-text. He always felt like the mistake that ruined his parents’ lives.
I could relate. I had spent a lot of my childhood blaming myself for killing my mom when I was born. It took years before I accepted that my truth wasn’t the truth.
I placed my coffee down and moved closer. For once he didn’t back away. He allowed me to wrap my arms around his waist and rest my cheek against his chest. We stood like that for ages, neither of us talking, both of us taking comfort from the other.
Then the bedroom door clicked open and Quinn appeared, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Our moment was broken and Brax stepped back.
“There better be some coffee,” Quinn groaned.
