Page 96 of Handsome Devil

“Hmm.” Calla tapped her lips. “That certainly seems like ayouproblem.”

“It’s Gia’s problem more than anything. I’ll bury her legally for breaking our contract if she doesn’t turn a corner.”

“Okay, first of all? That’s agreatway to win a woman over.” Dylan mimicked a gun with her fingers, pointing at me with a wink. “Keep doing that. You’re in the right direction, Romeo.”

How did Rhyland marry this woman? I knew warts more lovable than her.

“I’m not trying to make her fall.”

Dylan pulled a worried face. “I wonder if you believe your own words. You let her buy a private jet and a whole-ass island.”

“She did it without my knowledge.”

“Yeah,” Dylan snorted. “And your punishment for her was two orgasms.”

For Pete’s sake, women talked abouteverything. I was never going to accept the double standard of men not being able to talk about their sex lives.

“What is she saying?” I stirred Dylan back to the topic. It felt like herding cats.

“Not much.” Dylan scrunched her nose. “I think she needs some cheering up, though.”

“No fucking shit, Sherlock.”

“There’s that charm again.” Dylan smiled big, resting her cheek over her hands and batting her lashes dreamingly. “Tone it down a notch, or Gia will have some real competition. We’ll all be vying for your affection.”

“How does Rhyland cheer you up?”

Dylan squinted to the distance, giving it some thought. “Usually? Anal.”

Not very helpful, considering I hadn’t evenfuckedmy wife yet.

“What about you?” I turned to Calla.

She pinched her lower lip. “Honey-glazed chicken nuggets. But I think Gia is a seafood kinda girlie.”

I shook my head. They were utterly useless. “Get out.”

As much as I wanted to berate my former PA for screwing me over, this was one of those times when I’d probably catch more bees with honey. She needed something to lift her spirits. I’d lost my parents long before I knew what it felt like to have them in the first place, so her pain was foreign to me.

I searched the internet. Some seriously idiotic suggestions popped up, but a few sparked an idea in me.

At three in the morning, I found myself driving to a storage unit on the outskirts of the city where Gia had stored her mother’s belongings. I sorted through boxes full of impractical junk the majority of the night until I found what I was looking for.

At ten thirty in the morning, my work was done. I knocked on Gia’s door. There was no answer.

“Gia.” I braced an elbow against the doorframe, fighting the urge to kick it down. “There’s something I need you to see.”

“I saw it already.” She whimpered, hiccupping on the other end. “And I heard what Dylan said. But you, sir, won’t be getting any backdoor action with that size of yours.”

My mouth quirked into a half-moon grin. Things were not so dire if she managed to crack an anal joke.

“You’ll take it everywhere, Apricity. All in good time. Now, open the door.”

“I’m not done sulking.”

“Nobody else is coming to save you,” I rasped. “It’s me or nothing.”

“I’ll take nothing then.”