“Every. Damn. Time.”
Her eyes flare, her pupils dilate. I lean closer to nuzzle her neck. I don’t care who’s looking at us. My dick is so fucking hard, I’m ready to drag her off into one of the eighty-five thousand rooms this monstrosity of a house has, and just fuck her until we both forget our own names.
Of course, as soon as I think that, I hear someone clearing a throat behind me. I sigh, irritated with the interruption, but I know that my fantasy isn’t going to come true. Not at the moment. I pull back and turn to find Estella standing there, her son and former daughter-in-law on either side of her.
Nancy looks a lot like Estella, in stature, and they share the same shade of blue eyes. Her father doesn’t look like either of them and, from everything I remember, favors his father. He’s a tall, thin man with dull brown eyes and gray hair. He always looks constipated. Her mother is blonde—I think. God, I can’t remember what her real hair color is. It’s scrapped back from her face so tight; I don’t know how it doesn’t hurt. She’s done a lot of things to her face, including too much Botox. It has that plastic look people get when they do it too much. She’s dressed in a black dress, a little too tight in my opinion. I have no problem with a woman wanting to be sexy no matter what her age, but if you’re going to have a boob job, let the tops of your dresses out so you’re not spilling out of it.
“Nancy,” Estella says. “I didn’t know you and Travis were a thing.”
And she doesn’t like it. Not at all. I can feel her dismissal of me, but I don’t let it bother me. There are people like Estella, and a lot of Nancy’s other relatives who look down on me. I might have money now, but they will always see me as the poor kid his drug addict mom abandoned.
“I guess I could have texted you now that you know how to do that,” Nancy says.
“Well, I invited Reggie Andrews.”
“That sounds like a mistake to me,” she says. “I mean, you are keeping tabs on him, right?”
“Why would she have to worry about that?” Nancy’s father asks.
“Date Rape Reggie loves to corner women at events like this.”
Her mother and father sniff their disapproval, but her grandmother’s expression doesn’t change. I have a feeling there is something else going on here. “I would like to talk to you privately, Nancy.”
Both her father and mother glance at Nancy’s grandmother. I don’t miss the fact that they weren’t invited and, apparently, they didn’t either. I’ve always felt that Estella might not like Nancy’s life choices, but she has a little bit of respect for what she has done with her life. Her son and his former wife—not so much.
“Do we have to? Don’t you have some puppies to go kick for your birthday wish?”
Her mother opens her mouth, but Estella holds up her hand. “You can leave when we are done.”
Nancy sighs. “Fine.”
She turns to me and I lean down closer to hear what she has to say. When she speaks, she whispers in my ear. “Behave and don’t beat up Reggie if you see him.”
“He deserves it.”
“He does, but if you do, then you have to deal with the fallout. Right now, we cut our loses and get out of here as soon as we can.”
I smile and kiss her forehead. “Deal.”
Nancy pulls back. “Let’s get this over with.”
Estella says nothing but turns and walks away, her cane stomping across the floor. Nancy’s father steps closer to me and frowns.
“Don’t think you can get Nancy’s money out of her. She would have to sign a prenup.”
I laugh in his face. “You do realize that we have the number one show on the network, right? I don’t need your daughter’s money, and if you think that is the only reason I would want her, you don’t know her at all.”
“And you do?”
“Yeah, I do. She’s funny, kind, and hard-working. There isn’t another person I would want in my corner when things get tough.”
He says nothing else but turns and marches off, his former wife had already abandoned us.
“Good job, Fillmore,” a sardonic voice says from behind me.
I turn and see Jon Howard approaching me. Jesus, what is it with this family and the way they seem to come at you from behind? And what does it mean for someone like Nancy who is sweet and kind?
“Surprised you made it here, Jon.”
He makes a face and sips at some kind of punch. He’s a little shorter than me, lankier in build, with a serious face and those same eyes Nancy and her grandmother share. I know he’s some kind of a genius, and he has that look. He’s got a Gucci suit on, but his hair is untamed, a little overgrown, and he’s wearing a pair of tennis shoes. He keeps looking around as if expecting an attack, and now that I’ve spent some time here with his family, I kind of understand it.
“I just have to avoid that LuLu. If I can get out of town tomorrow morning without her seeing me, I’ll be fine.”
“She’s been grounded,” I say with a chuckle.
“She works for the caterer. I don’t think she’s on staff tonight, but you never know.”
Of course, he would know that. With his background, he probably knows too much about everyone.
“I wish those people would have just left me alone,” he mutters, but I’m not even sure he’s talking to me.
“Is that why you did it? To be left alone?’
He nods. “I kept getting emails and messages from people. I have work I need to get done, and I don’t need all of Juniper Springs, especially those LOLs, bothering me. This seems to have made it worse.”
“Good thing you live in California.”
He says nothing, but I sense a stillness in him and look over. His jaw ticks as if he’s grinding his teeth.
“You still live in California, right?”
“I have a house there.”
“That really doesn’t answer the question, but hey, you can have your privacy.”
He shakes his head. “Anyway, I already kissed the ring, so I’m going to stay here for about fifteen more minutes, then I am out of here.”
I don’t know Jon that well, but I do know from what Nancy and Syd say, he’s the only family member Nancy likes. He didn’t go to school with the rest of us, mainly because he entered college at thirteen. I can’t even imagine that horror.
“So, you and Nancy, huh? Do I have to have a talk with you about how I will ruin your life if you hurt her?”
I smile at him, but he doesn’t return it. I can’t believe he just threatened me. I have about fifty pounds on him. Granted, he’s not scrawny, but I don’t think I would have a problem taking him down. I open my mouth, but he shakes his head.
“I’m not talking physically, but if you don’t want to end up broke and have fake news splashed across the tabloids, don’t hurt my cousin. She’s the only relative I like, and I’ll do anything to protect her.”
I study him for a long moment, weighing if I should tell him or not. Part of me knows that he doesn’t need to know, but it’s not like he’s going to go squeal to the rest of the family. I glance around and know from the one or two times I have been here that there’s a small room just a few steps away. I motion with my head and then start off without looking around to see if he’s following me. I reach the door and realize that Jon is still standing there and looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.