Page 59 of Blackmailing the Bad Girl

Was that love?

“Why didn’t Dad come after her?”

“Your father was waiting for the terrible twosome to turn up.”

His twin sisters. Twenty years old and crazy as shit. They were both at college in the States and were flying back for their mother’s birthday.

“Anyway,” Harry continued, “I offered to come after her. And here I am.”

Nik drank his coffee, feeling Harry’s gaze on him. He clearly had something to say, and Nik was guessing it was about Summer. He didn’t want to hear it.

At least she’d agreed to the party, so he would see her again. Though he wasn’t so sure how he felt about her mixing with his family. They weren’t exactly normal, and he didn’t want anything else—other than the blackmail—to put her off him. She clearly had no high opinion of people with money.

Could there be more wrong between them?

All he knew was, he didn’t want to let her go.

“So,” Harry said. “You and Summer.”

“What about me and Summer?”

“I knew all along you wanted her. All that crap about rehabilitation. You just wanted to get into her pants.”

“Fuck off.”

“The interesting thing is, you know what I said about you going through the motions?”

“No. I wasn’t listening. I never listen when you talk rubbish.”

“Well…” Harry ignored the interruption. “The only time since your crap marriage that you haven’t been going through the motions was that month or so when you were having your little secret meetings with Summer—or rather Sarah. I knew something was going on. It was like you’d been switched back on.”

“Is there a point to this?”

“I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

“What?” He put his mug down and looked at Harry. He appeared to be serious.

“I thought when I found her that you’d get her out of your system and move on. But no. And here she was, all nice and cozy, in your home.”

“Is that such a bad thing?”

“Actually, I like her. But whatever else she is, she’s a thief. There’s no doubt about that.”

“People can change.”

“Do you think she has?”

“Yes.”

“You sound almost too certain.”

He turned away for a minute to get his thoughts together. The thing was, he wasn’t sure she needed to change. There was something about Summer he didn’t understand. The big “why.” Why had she stolen? It certainly wasn’t for a love of money or material goods. “She’s hiding something,” he said. “I don’t know what, and she won’t open up to me.”

“You want me to restart the investigation into her? See if I can dig anything up?”

“No.”

What he wanted was for Summer to talk to him, to tell him what she was thinking and feeling and… Jesus. He was a mess.

“Christ, you’ve got it bad. She’s going to break you, just like Jocelyn did. And I’m going to have to pick up the pieces.”

Nik ignored the reference to his ex-wife. She hadn’t broken him, just bent him out of shape a little. But she’d changed him. This situation, however, was totally different. He knew what Summer was, what she wanted from him. Didn’t he?

“No, you won’t. Because I know what Summer is.”

“Do you?”