Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance 2(137)
Trisha’s lips lifted in an equally thin smile. “Like I said, I just had to make quite certain that it was true and not just some joke. But then I watched Nick place the ring on your finger so…”
Her smile seemed almost genuine as she added with satisfaction, “Well, at least now it gives me a chance with the man I love.”
Keyonna frowned. “You mean Mark?”
Trisha merely smirked, her eyes turning cold. “Years ago I watched you ensnare him in your net. When he joined the military and left the country a part of me felt almost glad that he was out of your reach. I’d hoped he’d forget all about you but instead, he returns and proposes to you,” Trisha muttered with a bitter twist of her lips.
“I refused, remember?” Keyonna said bitingly. “And now I’m married to a man and feeling things I never could feel for Mark.”
Trisha’s lips twisted in a little sneer. “Aww. Looks like you’re in love. Question is, does he feel the same?”
Keyonna’s eyes darted as she wondered if Trisha knew anything about the clause in Nick’s father’s Will.
Keyonna found herself seeking Nick out in the crowd, as if she felt in need of protection from Trisha’s vindictive prodding. She saw him standing by the side of a strikingly beautiful redhead dressed in an exquisitely tailored peach trouser suit. Keyonna blinked in surprise as she watched the strange way the woman was gazing up at Nick as they spoke. Who was she?#p#分页标题#e#
“I see Nick’s stepmother has arrived,” murmured Trisha, and Keyonna glanced sharply at her.
“That’s Nick’s stepmother?” Keyonna couldn’t help asking in disbelief. She hadn’t even known Nick had a stepmother before he mentioned her a few minutes ago. The flame-haired beauty didn’t look much older than thirty, with her sleek figure and glowing, tanned complexion.
Keyonna’s confusion must have been evident to Trisha who let out a mocking chuckle. “I can see you’re in the dark about a whole lot of things,” said Trisha with a dramatic sigh. “Unlike you, I make sure to follow the lifestyles of the rich and famous. I guess being adopted I’ve always been intrigued to know how the other half lived – you know, people who were actually born into big money. Or maybe I simply find pleasure in reading about rich people making asses of themselves.”
“I’m sure you’re getting closer to the point,” Keyonna said with as much patience as she could muster.
Trisha gave another one of her chilly smiles, taking the time to reach out for a glass of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray. She sipped appreciatively from the fluted glass before finally continuing in a slightly bored voice, “It just so happens that when Gio Vitale, Nick’s father married Lena she was twenty-five years younger than him and just a couple of years older than Nick. Of course sparks were certain to fly and story goes that Nick became infatuated with his new stepmother. One angle claims he even asked her once to divorce his father and marry him. Talk about youthful exuberance. But naturally the old girl knew on which side her bread was buttered and told him to forget it. Tortured, Nick moved out of his family home to settle down on his own, swearing never to love again. No one knows if his old man ever guessed or found out what was happening. I mean, how would he ever have suspected that the young wife he married secretly had the hots for her handsome stepson?”
Keyonna’s eyes were narrowed as she took in Trisha’s airy words, wondering how much of it was true or just malicious bullshit. “Just what are getting at, Trisha?”
“I’m just saying,” the other girl murmured with a shrug. “Most people know that Nick still carries a torch for his delectable stepmother. And now that her husband, Nick’s father has passed on, bless his soul…” She shrugged again.
“You’re mistaken. I surely would have heard about something like this,” Keyonna said stiffly, wishing she could smack the sneer off Trisha’s face.
“Not everything makes it to the gossip columns. Besides, you can’t have known Nick that long. I got these tidbits from Marilyn; she’s always been close to the Conte’s and the Vitale’s and you know how she gets her nose into everything.”
Keyonna was shaking her head though she knew Trisha wasn’t far wrong about one thing. Marilyn, Mark’s aunt and Trisha’s adopted mother, had a way of getting into the secrets of her friends or rivals. She was always on the lookout for a weak spot that would help her lord it over others. Keyonna also remembered that Nick had attended Mark’s party with Rachel who must have been invited by Marilyn.