Page 53 of Worth Every Moment (Hawkston Billionaires #4)

ERICA

W hile the boys are away, Kate and her friends are having a pre-wedding hen do.

This is the last chance for a bit of relaxation before all the guests arrive and things kick off for real.

Supposedly, Kate took all her friends off on a weekend in Barcelona for her real hen do.

So, although this isn’t the real thing, it feels like it, and I definitely wouldn’t have been invited.

I’ve met Kate with Nico a few times, but we’re not friends.

I’m the random girl who’s tagging along because she’s dating the groom’s brother, and now that Seb’s off with the guys, no one knows what to do with me, so here I am in an air-conditioned therapy hut down by the beach.

We’re all getting treatments and drinking cocktails—mocktails for me, seeing as I’m sober, and Aries, who’s refused every alcoholic drink.

The island is equipped like a high end resort with multiple cabins and properties.

This particular one has wide glass doors that have been flung open so it feels like we’re getting massaged on the beach without actually having to get sandy.

Each of us is wrapped in a fluffy white robe, either having our feet soaked, scraped and rubbed, or some kind of facial or massage therapy.

A few cocktails in, and we’re playing truth or dare as the treatments take place.

Marie, one of Kate’s closest friends from university, a doctor of some description, takes a sip on her margarita glass as she stares at me over the rim.

Her dark hair is scraped back in a high ponytail like she’s about to scrub up for work, and the fact that she looks so uptight, and is simultaneously tipsy, is confusing me.

Then again, I don’t know her. Maybe she’s like this all the time, sober or not.

“Is Seb’s dick pierced?” she asks me. “I read that he had it done to please some woman he met in Texas. And now he has loads of sex because he loves pleasuring women.”

Maybe I should have chosen dare.

“You can’t ask that,” Kate says, but her voice is tight and constricted because she’s wearing a face mask that will crack if she moves her mouth. She’s got beautiful bone structure, even caked in green goo.

“She chose truth,” Marie quips before turning back to me, an eager expression on her face. “So, does he? Does it feel good? Is it big? Oh, my god, I bet it’s huge. He looks like he has a huge dick.”

“That’s way too many questions,” says Aries, sending me a sympathetic glance, her red hair bright against the white robe around her shoulders. “You can’t ask that many.”

“Fine. Just the one,” Marie concedes. “Is his dick pierced?”

Panic floods my body. I don’t know. I’ve never seen Seb’s dick. But everyone is looking at me apart from Kate, who’s reclining on a treatment bed as her face mask dries.

“We’re supposed to be relaxing,” Kate murmurs. “Talking about whether my future brother-in-law’s dick is pierced or not is not relaxing.”

Marie leans in towards me. “Make it quick, then. Pierced or not? Yes or no?”

Come on Erica. Say you won’t share. Say it’s private. Say —“Yes. It’s pierced.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. Why? Why, why, why?

“Ooh. Juicy.” Marie clenches a fist and pumps it the tiniest bit. “What kind?”

“That’s too many questions,” Aries says again.

I have no idea what Marie means. What kind of pierced dicks can guys have? Where do they even pierce them? Must be painful. Just the thought makes me wince.

“Oh, come on,” Marie urges. “Prince Albert or Jacob’s ladder?”

“You do not have to answer that,” Elly squeals, flapping her hand at me.

She’s Kate’s oldest friend from school, a music artist with wild blonde hair that cascades down her back.

I know her a little better than the others because she’s a singer and has done a couple of shows with Amy, but we’re still not close.

She’s sweet though, and I like her. She’s dating Jack Lansen, Kate’s brother.

She’s the one he was picking all the orange Smarties out of the tubes for on the plane.

She points a finger at Marie. “No more cocktails for you.”

Marie snorts and repeats her question.

Jacob or Albert? What do either of those even mean?

Anxiety has me scratching at the palm of my hand.

I’m going to rub it raw. Marie is staring at me so intently, I think she can tell I’m lying, but she won’t let up and is too tipsy to care that I’m uncomfortable.

I’m going to kill Seb when he gets back.

I shouldn’t even be here, and because of this crazy fake dating scheme, here I am hanging out with all of them like I’m one of the inner circle.

Well, Seb can deal with the consequences.

“Jacob or Albert,” Marie whispers at me as though she’s sharing the world’s dirtiest secret.

Prince Albert, like Queen Victoria’s husband? Did they get their dicks pierced back then? Jacob sounds like someone from the bible. That’s probably a better option. A holy dick piercing that’s a stairway right to heaven. Sounds good to me .

“Jacob’s ladder,” I confirm before I can think too hard about what I’m committing to.

There’s a collective gasp.

Marie lets out a cackle that sounds like a bird’s caw. “I knew it. The dirty fiend. You can see it on his face.” She sighs. “God, I bet it feels amazing. Does it feel amazing? Vaginal orgasms all night long.”

“Stop it,” Elly interjects, sitting up from the treatment bed she’s lying on and glaring at Marie before focusing on me. “You don’t have to tell anyone anything.”

“It’s part of the game. Don’t be such a killjoy,” Marie hisses, swirling the dregs of her margarita in the glass.

Elly folds her arms over her chest, lying back like a vampire settling into a coffin so the beauty therapist can massage her eyebrows. “Jack would kill me if I started sharing stories about his dick.”

This makes me feel incredibly guilty, but a retching sound from Kate distracts me. “If you start talking about my brother’s penis, I’ll kill you.”

Everyone laughs at this and, thankfully, we move on to the next person’s turn in truth or dare.

Soon there’s a disturbance further down the beach, and I notice a yacht anchored further out at sea.

Seb and the others aren’t due back until tomorrow, so it can’t be them, although at the idea of Seb returning, my heart does a little leap.

I thought he might climb into bed with me last night, even if it was only to snuggle, but he didn’t.

I’m sure it wasn’t intentional, but he seemed a little cold, and I don’t like how we left it last night.

Out at sea, a smaller boat is making its way from the yacht to the jetty, where five members of staff are lined up in their uniform, ready to greet the newcomers. I squint, trying to make out who’s arrived, but I can’t see. It’s Kate who suddenly curses and bolts upright. “Shit. It’s Nico’s dad.”

Pinpricks assault my skin. I’ve never met old Mr Hawkston, but I still remember Seb’s first comment about him the first night we properly met.

A raging narcissist. Seb doesn’t talk much about his parents, and I don’t think it was a happy home to grow up in.

Kate hops off the treatment table, roughly wiping at her face mask with a damp flannel she grabs from the therapist. “I gotta go greet him,” she says, chucking the flannel aside and tying her damp hair up in a ponytail.

For some reason, we all follow her down to the beach.

As we approach, I can make out an elderly gentleman with white hair stepping off the boat.

He must be Seb’s dad. Behind him is a slightly younger blonde woman with expensive hair, who must be Mrs Hawkston.

She’s elegant, wearing a floor length white dress with long sleeves, which looks almost like a bridal gown.

With them is another man, perhaps in his fifties, and a girl who is either his daughter or a young wife.

She’s blonde too, pretty, and emanating an appealing sort of confidence as she stands bolt upright and looks around.

The four of them proceed up the jetty surrounded by staff, two of whom are definitely bodyguards. Tall, well-built men in all black, who stand either side of the newcomers. I’d put money on it that there are guns strapped beneath their jackets.

“Who are those people with the Hawkstons?” Elly hisses.

Kate shrugs. “I have no idea. Must be Nico’s side because I don’t recognise them.”

“You didn’t invite them?” Marie asks.

“I don’t think so,” Kate says.

“You think Nico’s dad brought someone you didn’t invite to your wedding?” Marie snarls. “That’s so rude. What an arsehole.”

“He does own the island,” Kate replies. “We have to allow him some leeway.”

“Gosh, she’s pretty,” Elly says, squinting at the young blonde woman, who’s wearing a short dress and heels. She looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t place her.

“Maybe Nico’s daddy has a new toy,” Marie drawls.

“Gross.” Kate elbows her and Marie rubs at the point of contact, grimacing as though it really hurt.

My heart is racing as the group reaches us.

I want to linger out of the way, but I’m so much taller than most of the others that I stick out like a giraffe.

Kate’s the only one whose height nears mine.

Sometimes I really wish I was short. I can’t believe I’m meeting Seb’s parents for the first time like this; my hair damp and tied off my face, no makeup, and wearing a robe.

I really wanted to make a good impression.

“Do you know Erica?” Kate says, introducing me to Seb’s father after she greets them all. The disdainful look he gives me grates against my spine, and all hope of making a good first impression disintegrates like a sandcastle against the wash of the waves. “She’s Seb’s—”

“Miss Lefroy.” The low growl of my name cuts her off and makes me internally shudder. Despite the heat of the sun, I feel chilled to the bone. Kate recoils, her eyes darting to Elly as if to say, ‘ what’s going on?’

“Mr Hawkston,” I reply. “It’s a pleasure to—”