Page 22

22

PENNY

I’m going to kill him. I’ll wrap my hands around his neck and enjoy squeezing the life out of him. Mama will probably be upset with me, but it’ll be worth it. I trusted him. What a mistake to make. All those years of friendship blown out the window.

Because Jameson Brady is now dead to me.

Dramatic much? Maybe. Am I still going to kill him? Maybe not. But I’ll hurt him that’s for sure.

He promised me. I specifically called and asked him if Ben was going to game night. He told me no. An outright lie. I would never have agreed to come here if I’d known, and he knew that.

I told him what happened with Ben—how I ran away like a damn coward, and how anxious I was about having to see him again. So what does he do? He sets me up. And no less than a couple of hours after the damn kiss.

My eyes lock onto deep chocolate ones, forcing my mind back to the elevator. Reliving the memory of his soft pillowy lips against my own. Tasting him, letting our tongues stroke against each other. Knowing he wanted me as much as I wanted him right there and then.

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and watch his eyes zero in on it, turn even darker, his stare scorching me from across the room.

“Penny?” Angie calls my name and I snatch my gaze from his. The glee in Jameson’s baby blues confirms he didn’t miss that little interaction, and now I’m definitely going to kill him. Sorry Mama, but your son is going down.

“Angie, Pen, I thought you’d never get here. Ben’s on a winning streak, we’ve lost enough money, and Jenson is pouting. Now that you’re here we can play another game. How about spin the bottle?”

He waggles his brows at me and I take a step toward him with my fists clenched. I’ll punch his pretty face in right here, right now. I don’t care who sees it.

“Um, dude, that won’t work. Angie isn’t kissing anyone but me and Penny’s related to us. I wanna kiss her about as much as I wanna kiss you. And in case that’s not clear, I don’t wanna kiss you at all.” Jenson grimaces and then shoots a worried look my way. “No offence, Buttercup. You know I love you and think you’re gorgeous, but the idea of kissing you makes me heave a little.”

The room’s spinning, and every time someone mentions kissing, my eyes flit over to Ben’s lips. And with every glance, his smirk gets more smug.

“Ugh. Enough, Jenson. I love you too, but I’m definitely not kissing anyone in this damn room.”

“Hey,” Angie scoffs. “You think I’m hot and you know it.”

I roll my eyes at her, wishing I surrounded myself with less annoying people. “Besides you, Angie. You’re the only kissable one here. Okay?”

Ben raises a disbelieving brow at me.

Smug, arrogant douche. Yes, I want to kiss him again, but like fuck will I let him know that. And definitely not in present company.

“I need a drink. Your manners are slipping, Jameson. And I’m telling Mama.”

Leaving the group behind, I stomp into the kitchen, grab the bottle of opened whiskey left on the counter, and screw the lid back on, mumbling to myself about having to clean up after the Bradys my whole damn life.

“A-hem.”

I roll my eyes and place the bottle back in the cupboard and grab a glass for my OJ, ignoring whichever one of them is behind me.

“I said, a-hem.”

Ah the British twat it is.

Yanking the fridge door open with much more force than necessary, I grab the OJ, pour it into my glass and slam the door. I’m not doing this right now. I don’t have the emotional strength to untangle that landmine, and I’m not doing it here with a dang audience either.

“Penelope, can we talk?”

“Nope.” The P pops as I march past him, only to be stopped by his hand on my elbow.

“Buttercup, please.”

Oh hell no. He doesn’t get to call me that.

“Don’t call me that. I’m not doing this now.” I know I’m being petulant, but I don’t care.

His eyes turn colder, his mouth taut against his teeth. “Fine,” he grits out, and strides back into the living room as I breathe a sigh of relief.

It’ll be okay. I’ll stay for an hour tops, then I’ll head home to plan Jameson’s demise. And figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do about all of these feelings swirling inside me.

“The first one’s a lie. There’s no way you bungee jumped off London bridge. I’m not stupid, Kitten.” Jenson’s booming voice vibrates off the walls as I scoff loudly at him. He narrows his eyes toward me as Angie laughs at the both of us. “Fine, little Miss Grumpasaurus. You go. Two truths and a lie. Not that you’ll be able to get anything past me and Jameson.”

Sighing loudly, I place my glass on the table and focus on my hands resting on my thighs, doing my best to avoid Mr. Scowly face sitting opposite me. Since I turned down his request to talk earlier, he has been in such a mood. Entitled douche. Doesn't get what he wants so he sulks the whole evening.

He’s irritating me. Partly because I can’t get our kiss out of my head, and partly because I want to repeat it over and over again. And I don’t like wanting him. I don’t want to depend on anyone for anything, let alone someone who can go from turning me on to annoying the hell out of me in a few seconds flat.

“Okay, first one is I won ten thousand dollars off the ‘town's saviour.’”

It was supposed to be a joke, but he grimaces and flicks his eyes to mine as the boys snicker on either side of me. I smile at him, but he just stares blankly back. I tried. I’m not going to let him ruin the evening. I’ll just ignore the heated looks, tension, and unsaid words lingering between us and carry on playing whatever stupid games the boys suggest.

“Second, I had a one-night stand with a football player and he rocked my world.”

Jenson groans and Jameson chuckles as Angie reaches over to high five me. But a set of brown eyes are fixed on me, brows drawn together and lips twisted in a grimace below his penetrating glare. I take a gulp of my OJ as he continues to stare so hard I can feel his annoyance through my skin.

“Last one, I have a massive crush on Owen Lockheart and can’t wait to meet him and his pierced member in person.”

“Hey, that’s my truth, sister.” Jameson laughs as I reach over and high five him.

“Mine too, bro, mine too.” Angie leans forward to see around Jenson and focus on Jameson, but Jenson pushes her back and shakes his head at her.

“Behave, Kitten. And I’m telling Jonny.”

Jameson throws his hands up in surrender as I stifle my giggles. All the while, cold, hard brown eyes are on me.

“Well we all know the two truths. Lockheart has a lot to answer for, and I’m sorry, Bossman, but she owned your ass at the carnival.”

“Like Angie owns yours every bloody day.” His quick, snarky response is met with awkward laughter, but Jenson’s too busy laughing at him to care.

“What is wrong with you? Time of the month?” Jenson throws his arm over Angie’s shoulder as I twist the hem of my top awkwardly, silently begging Jenson to shut up and not antagonise Ben into saying something we’ll both regret.

I trust Jameson not to bring up the elevator kiss in front of everyone else, but I’m not so sure about Ben. It’s not like the NDA includes a ‘making out with your boss in elevators’ clause. And I really don’t want Angie or Jenson finding out about it. Not until I’ve figured out what it means and whether it will happen again.

“Yeah, that’s the problem. Is it your go?” Ben takes another sip of his whiskey and my eyes dart to the tip of his tongue running along his bottom lip. Heat flushes my cheeks as he smiles smugly again. Douche.

“Okay. Number one, I have a huge crush on my assistant and I don’t know what to do about it.”

The son of a… Jenson Brady needs to die too. It’s okay though. Mama will still have Jaxson.

“Number two, I’m too stubborn to do anything about the crush I have on my boss.”

He looks pointedly at me, and if I could, I’d be shooting death lasers at him right now. Yep, he’s definitely going to die. After I’ve made him suffer first.

“And three, Angie gives the best head I’ve ever had.”

With a slap to his chest, Angie smiles and flicks her hair back, brushing off imaginary dirt from her shoulder.

“Well, based on Angie’s confident reaction, it’s safe to say the first two are a bunch of crap.” Ben leans forward and raises a brow at him, but Jenson just grins inanely.

“I wouldn’t say the first two were crap. Maybe they just aren’t my truths.” He turns his head to look at me as I glare back.

I’m still mad at Jameson, but Jenson has just established himself as my new favorite target. “So you’re prepared to admit you have a huge crush on Ben. Sorry, bro, but I think Jameson has a better chance. He is the better looking Brady after all.”

“I’m wounded. We all know I’m the better looking one. Tell her, Bossman.” Jenson’s theatrics thaw the ice a little, and Ben shakes his head with a grin on his lips.

This is better, less awkward, but his damn smile makes my legs turn to jelly.

“Neither of them are my type, to be fair. I’ve never been a fan of blonds.” Ben’s voice is dripping with amusement, and something else I won’t admit to.

I also won’t admit it’s ruining my panties. Nope. Not admitting that to anyone.

“Hey, blondes have more fun.” Angie grabs a handful of peanuts from the bowl on the table and winks as she shovels them in her mouth.

“Depends what you consider fun,” Ben asserts. “I mean, I had a hell of a lot of fun when I was stuck in the lift earlier. Probably more fun than I’ve had in a while, to be fair. And there wasn’t a blonde hair in sight.”

Another sip of his whiskey, a drag of his tongue over his lips, and a smug smile. I want to slap the arrogance off his face and kiss him till I can’t breathe again. What has my life turned into? A fucking circus, that’s what.