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The guys do go talk to someone, to sell the charade or because they actually needed to, I don’t know. I’m not really paying attention either way.
I can’t believe I let Wesley get in my head again. I spent so much time tuning him out, trying to shake off the way he treated me and the way that made me feel about myself. I remember how he never listened to me or cared about the things I liked or the things I wanted. How he always managed to make it seem like he was doing me a favor by being with me, so I could never complain about anything he did or didn’t do.
Someone like that shouldn’t have any sway over how I feel, and yet…
I find myself replaying his words in my head and dwelling on the way he looked at me so dismissively. Like I wasn’t even worth his time.
All the happiness I’d been feeling before has basically evaporated, leaving me feeling deflated and self-conscious. Maybe all those people were looking at me earlier because theythink I look stupid. Maybe they were all judging me, wondering how someone like me managed to land men like Tristan, Xavier, and Dominic.
I’m too in my head to pay attention to anything going on, and I follow the men around the ballroom in a daze.
Xavier asks if I want to dance, and I shake my head. “No, I don’t think so.”
He frowns. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
It’s not convincing if the way the three of them exchange looks is anything to go by.
“I could go back and knock his head in,” Dominic mutters under his breath.
“Dominic, don’t,” I say. “It… it’s fine, okay? That’s how he is, and he’s not even wrong?—”
“Excuse me?” Tristan cuts in, one eyebrow raised.
“What?”
“What did you just say?”
“That he’s not wrong. It’s not like I belong in this world with you, and I can put on a fancy dress and a tiara, but that doesn’t mean it fits for me. That doesn’t make me…” I trail off, not able to say it.
But I don’t need to. All three of them realize what I mean, and I suddenly want to shrink away from the intense way they’re all looking at me.
Xavier’s the one who grabs my hand, but the other two are right there with us as he pulls me through the crowd of people and into a small, private room off to the side of the ballroom.
It’s a sitting room of some kind, with a fancy couch along one wall and a chaise in the middle of the room. There are beautiful paintings on the wall as well. Or at least I think they’re beautiful. My attention isn’t really on them.
Dominic brings up the rear, closing the door behind us.
“What are you doing?” I ask them.
“We’re not letting this stand,” Xavier says. “Your shitty ex shouldn’t have anything to say about you, and his opinion doesn’t matter. If you can’t believe us when we say that you’re beautiful and we want you here, then we’ll just have to show you exactly how true it is.”
Chapter 37
Penelope
My heart races at both his words and the conviction behind them. A quick glance at Dominic and Tristan shows that they both look just as determined, and I swallow hard.
“H-how are you going to do that?” I stammer, looking between the three of them.
They each wear nearly identical heated looks, and Dominic moves in closer, closing some of the distance between us. “How do you think we should show you?” he asks, that heat curling around his words and making me shiver.
I lick my lips, taking a second to think about it. We’re in a public place, which is risky, but there’s something thrilling about it too. I think back to how Dominic wanted to stay home before, and my stomach flutters. I could probably ask them for anything right now, but we all have the same thing on our minds, clearly. I’m bold enough now to ask for it too.
I meet their eyes and find my voice. “I think… I think you should fuck me like you mean it.”
Tristan groans, and Xavier and Dominic have their own reactions to my words.