“What are you doing?” he hisses, and I want to be anywhere but here.
No wonder I was so nervous.
“Yes, what is going on?” Brett stands, and suddenly, I can’t breathe because as usual, he doesn’t look happy to see me. My heart is in my throat as my eyes take in his appearance, which pretty much screams rough night. He’s still in black dress slacks, his white dress shirt hanging open like he just threw it on to come outside. My eyes travel down to his tan eight-pack, then up to his bloodshot blue eyes and bedhead hair, which looks like he’s been running his hands through it.
“What? I’m going shopping with Alex.” She smiles and tugs at her wrist.
“Raven.” Jett sighs and looks at Brett, who hasn’t moved, minus the tic under his right eye.
“That… this”—he lets go of her wrist, and she puts her hands on her hips—“is not a good idea,” he says, reaching for his Bloody Mary.
“Really? Why not?” She stares down at him, then over at Brett, whose gaze hasn’t left mine.
“Let them go, Jett.” Brett sits in the chair, leaning his head back on the cushion.
Raven smiles. “Thank you, Brett. Not sure why we need permission from you two, but thanks.” Her sassy tone makes me stifle a grin.
Eyes closed, Brett snorts, and Jett stares at her, his lips inching their way into a smile.
“Fine. Iain will take you.” He grabs his phone as she leans down to whisper something in his ear, then kisses him, and that pang of jealousy flows over me again. They are so in love it kind of takes the air out of me.
“All right, we’re off.” She kind of sings it, grabbing my hand.
“Alexandrea?” Brett’s deep voice stops us both, and I turn.
“Yes?”
He raises his head so his eyes lock with mine. “Be good.” And my core instantly floods with need.
“Oh, wow,” Raven mumbles, smiling at me, then back at Brett. “Don’t worry, I’ll take perfect care of her.” She walks us back into the mansion.
“It’s not you I’m worried about,” Brett says, which is insulting because I was such a rule follower and good girl before I met him.
“This is actually perfect. We have Iain driving us, which means we can have champagne. You like Cristal?” she calls over her shoulder as she takes a right.
I keep walking, trying to calm my breathing and my pulse. It’s like he has some voodoo hold on me that I can’t break free of, even if I wanted to.
“Alex?”
“Sure,” I call out, staring at the giant painting. This can’t be a real Jackson Pollock, can it?
“Amazing, right?” Raven walks over to stand next to me, one hand holding a gold bottle of champagne, and the other with two glasses. “You like art?”
“I love it.” I nod, looking at the painting and the colors. The sheer size alone makes it intimidating, awe-inspiring, reminding me of Brett… Jesus, I’m so fucked. I can’t even look at art without thinking about him.
“Next time you come over, I’ll show you Jett’s whole collection. He has a Monet that’s unbelievable.” She smiles.
“I’d love that.” And I almost say let’s skip the shopping for the art, but I need to get away from Brett and these feelings that I can’t seem to control. He pushes my buttons. Like he didn’t have to say behave. What could I possibly do while shopping?
“Come on.” Raven brings me back to the now, and I follow her outside. A sapphire-blue Tesla is running with that same man from the front gate holding the back door open for us. Climbing in, I smile at him, but he looks around as if he’s expecting to see something, and Raven gets in next to me.
“I want to hear everything.” She pours champagne into a glass. “Because I have never seen Brett like this.”
When she hands me the glass, my stomach flips at her words.
“Do you love him?”
I almost choke on the champagne as my eyes drift to the suited man driving us.
“Don’t worry about Iain. He’s family.” Raven waves her hand and turns sideways to face me. I glance out the window. Lavish green yards blur past us. I look back at her. Do I love him? Is wanting to be with him 24/7 love? Knowing that he’s the one man who truly understands me? That every day I love him more than the last?
“Yes.” I nod, then close my eyes because it’s true, and I’m done lying to myself. Opening my eyes, I look at her. “I think I fell in love with him the moment I entered his classroom. I dropped my water bottle, and he walked over to me and I looked up and saw…”
“What? Saw what?” She reaches to squeeze my hand supportively.
Smiling, I shake my head. “It sounds ridiculous, but I looked up and saw my future in his eyes. I don’t know, it’s like whatever’s inside him is the same inside me?” I cringe, bringing the champagne to my lips and guzzling the whole glass like water.
“It’s not ridiculous. I knew Jett was it the moment I saw him.”
I bring the glass down, and she instantly refills it.
“Was Jett off limits?” I snort.
“Um, yeah.” She looks at me like I should know this. “Alex, Jett was engaged to my mother, so pretty off limits.”
I stare at her. “Wait, what?”
“I’m surprised Brett didn’t tell you.”
My cheeks heat, and I shake my head. “No, I just knew he was crazy about you and thrilled his brother was finally happy, but that… Oh my God.” I’m shocked, and maybe it’s the champagne, but if they can be together, maybe Brett and I do have a chance?
“Yeah, I’ll get into the details another time. Right now, we need to focus on you and what your plan is.”
“I don’t have a plan.” Still shell-shocked and with my mind spinning, I take a sip of Cristal.
“You need a plan,” she states. “I think you need to confront him, then tell him how you feel.”
“Well, is that what you did?”
“Yes, kind of. Listen, Brett’s not Jett.” She takes a sip and recrosses her legs, looking out the window, then back at me. “And I can tell he’s in love with you. It’s just hard for them. They’re so… powerful and stubborn. They can’t admit that they can actually fall in love.”
I roll my eyes at her. “He’s not in love with me. He’s also going to be head dean. God, what am I talking about? He’s already a dean. He’s my professor.” I cover my mouth because when I say it out loud it sounds really bad.
Raven laughs like it’s nothing.
“If we get caught together, he’ll be fired, humiliated. The man is a genius.” I shake my head at her.
“Brett won’t get fired, trust me. They need him too much.”
She smirks as I glance out the window. We’re on the famous Rodeo Drive, and I can’t even enjoy it because I’m so fucked.
“Oh, let’s go to Jimmy Choo. Pull over, Iain.”
The suit guy glides the Tesla over, turning to us to say, “I’ll be right here, waiting.” His eyes scope everything out again. I’m starting to wonder if he’s like Raven’s bodyguard or something.