I leaned against the wall and folded my arms. I didn’t see Iris anywhere, and my thoughts immediately went to the worst. Were they fighting? “I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but if you need to talk, I’m listening.”
“It’s just . . .” Cade frowned, then popped a grape in his mouth and chewed it before speaking again. “I mean, where the fuck are snails even going? Like where would you be trying to go in that situation? You look like a wet booger, you move at the speed of drying paint, and, I mean, let’s be honest—if sex is on your mind, you can’t seriously be too excited about getting your snail dick anywhere near some snail booty, can you? Do you think that’s it? Maybe they’re all just slurping around, looking for love? Do snails even know what love is, or is it just about the sex to them?”
I sighed, pushing off the wall. “Do you know where Nick is?”
“What does that have to do with snails? Were you even listening to me?”
“Just answer the question.”
“Nick is probably avoiding everybody, if I had to guess. Maybe upstairs in his sex dungeon, or something.”
“Nick has a sex dungeon?” I asked.
Cade smirked, popping another grape in his mouth. “All right, all right. I was just messing with you on that. I mean, who knows if he’s got a secret door somewhere, but no. As much as he’d like to be avoiding everyone, he’s probably convincing somebody they should invest their life savings in our newest business. He can get you thinking the most logical thing in the world is to give half your money to a bunch of billionaires if you give him a few minutes. It’s kind of scary.”
“Right. Thanks.” I started to leave but stopped, putting my hand on the wall and then looking back toward Cade. “If I ask you a question, can I trust that you won’t ever tell Nick I asked?”
“You can trust that nobody believes half the things I say.”
I grinned. “I guess that works. Does Nick ever talk about me?”
Cade sat up suddenly with a mischievous look in his eyes. “Oh. Oh my. I didn’t see it until now, but it’s so clear.” He walked over and started circling me with this goofy expression on his face. “I think I smell infatuation on you. Well, that and dandruff shampoo.” He took a pinch of my hair and held it up to his nose, but I pulled it away before he could sniff again. “No shame in a little bit of dry scalp, though. I’m not judging.”
“What kind of person can detect that by smell alone?” I said.
“The kind of person who knows when somebody is thinking about doing the nasty to his little brother.”
“I’m not thinking about ‘doing the nasty.’ I just . . . I wanted to get a better handle on what’s going on in his head. One minute, I think he hates me. The next, I’m not so sure anymore.”
“If you want my professional opinion, Nick is lonely. He’s too smart for his own good, and he gets bored with every woman I’ve ever seen him date. Let me put it in the simplest terms I can think of: Some men like a nice, big, luscious ass. Others want boobs they could fall into from a ten-story building and live to tell about it. But Nick? He’s got a boner for big brains. Not literally, obviously. Wait . . . what if that’s what the snails are really after? An intellectual connection. Do you think that could be it?”
“You really are an idiot,” I said with a grin. “And thank you.”
Cade did a little flourish of a bow and nodded. “Anytime you need my expertise, just ask. You’re also a shitty listener, for the record.”
I found Nick just as he was walking away from a group of smiling businessmen. I was about to approach him, but I noticed he seemed to be heading somewhere with a purpose. Curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to follow him at a distance.
Nick wove through the crowd, smiling and exchanging a quick greeting with people as he passed. He eventually headed up the twisting staircase that led from the main room to the series of balconies that made up the second floor.
Within a few steps, the sounds of the party had faded away. Following Nick suddenly felt much more stalkerish and a lot less innocent, but I persisted. He disappeared into a room near the end of the hallway a few moments later.
I paused, taking a deep breath and trying to think hard about the smart thing to do. None of my usual single-mindedness for work was compelling me back down to the party. I knew I would typically dive into the task Nick had given me, aiming to blow him away by how many investors I’d be able to bring to our cause, but then again, I hadn’t really felt normal lately.
My heart was pounding as I reached for the door handle. I didn’t know why I should expect to find anything but him grabbing something from a closet or anything equally innocuous, but my skin was prickling with anticipation. Maybe a stupid, hopeless part of me was hoping he’d turn around, lock those bright eyes of his on me, and confess that he’d had feelings for me his whole life—that he just never knew how to tell me.
I shook my head. Stupid. Wild, childish fantasies were not going to help me do the job I needed to do. And neither was peeking inside this door, but I found myself pushing the handle down and moving my head to peer inside all the same.
Inside, I saw Nick and a young, beautiful woman standing together with their lips locked. As soon as I saw them, my eyes widened, and I clicked the door shut, forgetting to be quiet in my hurry to get back downstairs.
Chapter 6
NICK
I pulled back and fought the urge to wipe my lips with the back of my hand. I couldn’t believe she’d kissed me.
I heard the door open a moment after the kiss and turned my head just in time to see Miranda’s wide eyes. She pulled the door shut without a word.
Shit. I wanted a line in the sand, and I guessed I couldn’t have asked for a sharper stick to draw it with than this, could I? But that didn’t help push back any of the overwhelming guilt I felt.
“Laine . . . ,” I said slowly. “I’m sorry—”
She was breathing heavily as she looked up at me. She let her eyes fall and sighed. “God. I’m an idiot.”
“Hey,” I said. I awkwardly reached out to touch her shoulder but thought better of it. I’d apparently sent enough mixed messages already and didn’t want to make it any worse. She was pretty, with shoulder-length black hair and a freckle-specked nose. I pulled my hand back and let it flop to my leg. “It’s okay. I’m just not . . . interested in you that way.”
I had dated her briefly a few weeks back. I hadn’t heard from her until a few minutes ago when she’d sent a text telling me she’d come and needed to talk to me about something important upstairs. I’d assumed she was going to ask for a favor, but when I’d come in here, she’d confessed that she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about me and kissed me before I knew what was happening.
I think part of me had suspected something like this was going to happen, and maybe I’d even wanted it to. Getting back in a relationship with Laine would’ve simplified my Miranda problem immensely. I was a lot of things, but disloyal wasn’t one of them. Dating somebody else would put Miranda from my mind, but it would’ve also been an extremely shitty thing to do to the woman I’d decided to date as a distraction. Once Laine kissed me, I knew I couldn’t go through with it.