Page 133 of A Vicious Love

Before, Jamison’s cruelty had been familiar. I had a place for it. It hurt, but it made sense. He was grumpy, and busy. He did not like being touched. He had never wanted the merger.

But the kiss had made me believe there was another version of him beneath all that.

A version that one day… might of wanted me.

A version I could reach. I held back the scoff. Maybe there was lots of women had reached him for a night and learned better than to call it anything else.

Weston watched me approach.

He did not ask what happened. That kindness nearly made the tears harder to control. Instead, he offered my cocktail back to me and shifted slightly so his body blocked me from the worst of the terrace, from the people pretending not to watch, from Jamison’s table behind me.

“Ready to leave?” he asked.

I blinked. “Leave?”

“If you want to.”

I looked toward the table. “Dinner isn’t finished.”

“Dinner ended twenty minutes ago. We’re in the part of the evening where men repeat the same business conversations louder because they’ve had whiskey.” Weston leaned a little closer. “My brothers have a better plan.”

Elias appeared behind him with his jacket thrown over one shoulder and a grin that suggested the plan would be a terrible idea.

“Midnight surfing,” he announced.

I stared at him. “In suits?”

“Absolutely not.”

Lucille joined us, holding her heels in one hand. “We keep clothes at the St. Cross beach house.”

Amara appeared beside her husband, smiling. “Swimsuits. Towels. Food. Dry clothes. Everything civilized enough to keep this from becoming an actual disaster.”

Callum looked toward Elias. “That is optimistic.”

Weston’s eyes returned to mine. “Come with us.”

The invitation felt reckless.

I looked down at my champagne dress, then toward Emmie, then back at Weston.

“Surfing?”

“You don’t have to surf,” Lucille said. “I mostly float near the shore and judge everyone else.”

“She is excellent at it,” Elias added.

Amara touched my arm gently. “You can swim. Sit on the sand. Whatever feels good.”

Whatever feels good.

I had spent the entire afternoon doing what looked right. I wanted to go.

“I’d love to,” I said.

Weston smiled.

We collected our things from the table. Lucille linked her arm through mine while Amara made a side bet with her husband.