Page 30

He chuckled, and a smile ghosted over my face. I wanted to see him in person. I had the sudden urge to wrap my arms around him and put my tongue in his mouth. He was an incredible kisser, but his tongue was even better when his face was buried between my legs and he was kissing something other than my mouth. He wasreallygood at that.

“My pretty girlfriend,” he murmured softly. “What do you think you’re doing without me? I heard word you went on a shopping bender without me. Way to hurt my feelings. Now I’m mad at you.”

Just freaking great.

That prick, Tyson, was responsible for this phone call and Damien’s hurt feelings. I bet my traitor BFF texted Damien as soon as he’d delivered that last package to my living room, likely on his way downstairs.

What an absolute dickhead.

And what kind of BFF did that to his girl? We were going to have words, that was for sure.

“Listen, sweetness,” I started in a voice so sugary sweet it even made me cringe.

Damien laughed, and this time the sound was loud and oddly full of joy. Someone sure liked the thought of me squirming and trying to cover my own ass.

Why were these boys all so damn rude? I was thinking about maybe smacking them all upside the head. They deserved it.

“How does it feel to know that your boy Tyson sold you out?” He tsked. “I think it’s time you got yourself a new best friend, don’t you, girlfriend? I’d like to volunteer myself for the position. I think I’m the best person for the job. What do you think about that, Ariel Kimber?”

What I thought was that he might actually have a point where Tyson was concerned. In this stirring the pot business, Tyson had surely gone too far this time.

I had to fire him immediately.

But no way was I just handing the position over to Damien. If he wanted it, he’d have to work for it.

When I didn’t respond, he laughed even harder. Yeah, he wasn’t suitable for the job either.

“Tell me what’s inside all those packages. I need to know these things, and it feels shitty when you keep me in the dark.”

I was very much regretting having answered this phone call.

I sighed. “Damien, you do realize I’m allowed to buy things without your permission, right? I don’t actually have to tell you anything.”

“Ariel, don’t make me come over there,” he threatened.

That was it, I’d had enough of him.

“Don’t you dare,” I snapped before hanging up on him.

It immediately started ringing again, so I did what any sane girl would do and I powered down my phone.

I hoped like hell he wouldn’t follow through on his threat, because I knew there was no way he’d come alone. He’d already proven to me in the past few weeks that he could do nothing without bringing Julian along for the ride, and I really did not need both of them showing up today to cause a scene. I’d never get my date night with the twins then.

There was a knock on my door, and before I called out a greeting, it pushed open and Dash stuck his head inside. I appreciated him not just barreling on in like a lot of the others would do.

He grinned at me as he held up his cell phone. “Causing trouble, are you?”

I groaned loudly. Damien didn’t disappoint, that was for sure.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I blatantly lied.

He shook his head, and I was happy to notice his smile remained in place. It did my soul good to see it. Apparently sex really could change a man’s outlook on things. A fact I wouldn’t forget anytime soon.

“Whatever you say, you little troublemaker. You’ll get no judgment from me and you know it.”

Yeah, I did know that. He never passed judgment on me. It was nice to have my beautiful broken ginger back where he belonged.

“I’m headed out for the night and wanted to let you know where I was going. I’m going to be spending the night at the cottage with my dad. Binx is already there with him. I honestly don’t know if the damn cat will be coming back anytime soon. It’s getting harder and harder to get the little guy to leave my dad and come back here with me. I’ve decided not to force him any longer. Just thought you should know.”