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I shot Selena a glare. She laughed, unbothered. “Thanks for that.”
“You’re welcome, babe. Have fun,” she said and gave me a wink, closing the door behind her.
No. Stop. Come back. Don’t leave me alone with this man.
“She loves to kid around,” I said vaguely.
Trent leaned a hip on the window ledge and watched me, eyeing me from head to toe. “I heard. It’s a shame what’s happened to that family since her dad died.”
“What’s happened to them?”
“They’re poor. Struggling…lost and alone, without our help.”
Trent sauntered toward me, and I edged behind a wingback leather armchair, casually keeping it between us.
Trent stopped and raised an eyebrow at me.
“Your help?” I repeated. “Do you mean Invictus H.H Group?”
Trent smirked. “The Fitzgeralds are Invictus H.H Group in Hade Harbor, especially since your father got too busy to keep up with local affairs.”
“Selena and her family seem fine to me,” I said stiffly, returning to the subject.
Trent nodded. “I heard that about you. Not very observant, or maybe just self-absorbed.”
I swallowed hard, cringing from the insult. Did I not notice things going on right under my nose? I’d buried my head in the sand to avoid getting hurt for so long, I had no idea what was going on in my life.
“Did you come here just to talk about Invictus H.H Group? Do you have a membership flyer or something? Next time just leave it at the door,” I said in a clipped tone. I didn’t feel safe alone with Trent. I felt dirty, his filthy, appraising stare crawling over my skin like spiders.
Trent chuckled, but it was cold as ice. He didn’t like to be made fun of. Men like Trent were all the same. What he lacked in dick size (I assumed), he made up with a supersized ego.
“Funny. You’re a funny girl, Winter. Your dad told me something funny earlier this week,” Trent said.
I held my tongue. When I failed to ask him what the hell he was talking about, he continued.
“The funny thing he told me was that you have a boyfriend. I had a good laugh about it, your dad, too, when I explained to him that you were joking.”
“I’m not joking,” I said quickly.
He tilted his head to the side. “Of course you are. My father has always planned to merge our families, and you and I are in the ideal position to achieve that.”
“Good thing we don’t live in the eighteenth century and we can choose for ourselves,” I retorted.
Trent shook his head. “That’s where you’re wrong. I live in the present day. You might as well still live in the eighteenth century, for the amount of difference your opinion will make. If I want you, if I choose you, Winter, that’s all that matters. Pretending to have a boyfriend isn’t going to do anything but delay the inevitable. Your dad will realize that there’s no boyfriend, and then…I’ll get to have you.” His florid face had turned pink from the heat of the fireplace.
I could smell his stale sweat. I felt sick. His tone was so confident. So damn infuriating, but there was nothing I could do about it. Trent’s dad was one of my father’s oldest friends, and I didn’t want to ruin that friendship. I hated upsetting my dad in any way.
“That’s a nice little misogynistic fairy tale you’ve spun there, Trent, but unfortunately, I do have a boyfriend, and it’s serious. That’s reality, and my dad respects it.”
Trent glared at me for a long moment. He didn’t like being refused; he wasn’t used to it. He started forward, coiled violence in every step, just as the door opened.
“I brought you guys some lemonade,” Selena said, stepping into the room. Sure enough, she had a tray with three tall glasses of cloudy lemonade.
I could have kissed her at that moment.
She set down the tray. “So, what are you guys talking about?”
Oh my God, please don’t mention the boyfriend, I suddenly prayed. Selena would want to know what the hell Trent was talking about, and then he’d never believe me.
