“Well, I don’t want him. So …”
“Really?” she huffs. “Next time I see you both together, I’ll shoot you a nice video to watch later.” I shake my head at her, but I can tell she’s not going to stop anytime soon. “How would you feel if I made a move on him?”
My gut twists. What is that? Jealousy? It can’t be. I hate the man with a vengeance. I shouldn’t care if he fucks Mandy or anybody else for that matter, but for some reason, the ache still comes.
Mandy—the ever observant one—notices my shift in mood and smirks at me. “I thought as much.”
“It doesn’t mean anything,” I snap. “Sleep with him for all I care.”
“Okay then. I will.”
“Fine,” I answer through gritted teeth.
What the hell is wrong with me? I’m acting like a child rather than a nearly eighteen-year-old girl.
Luckily, all goes quiet after that, and I think she’s finally stopped when she suddenly speaks again. “I heard he’s killed people.”
Rising up out of my seat, I start walking to the trash to throw the rest of my ice cream in. “For fuck’s sake, Mandy,” I hiss. “Will you give it a rest?”
“I’m just saying.” She frowns, looking at the rubbish bin. “Hey, I could have finished that.”
She looks like a child who didn’t get her toy. It’s so comical that I start to laugh. When I start, so does she. “Come on,” I say, gathering my bags and wrapping my arm around her. “Let’s go watch a movie or something.”
Turning around, we’re about to head out of the mall when we almost collide with a very solid chest. We step back in a daze, and that’s when I notice he’s standing there. “Ladies,” he says as he greets us with that stupid handsome smile of his. It doesn’t help matters that he’s wearing a very expensive-looking black Armani suit, a crisp white shirt, and a black tie. His jet black hair is gelled back slightly with spikes at the front. He looks like he hasn’t shaved for a couple of days, and I hate to admit it, but it really suits him.
A little too well.
Standing here with my blonde hair back in a messy ponytail, a pair of tatty jeans, and a t-shirt which reads, “No means no,” I look positively scruffy next to him. I don’t know what he sees in me.
Drake notices the t-shirt, and of course, it makes him smirk. He knows I wore it just for him.
“Wow. I mean … hi, Mr Salvatore. How are you? We were just talking about you actually.” I nudge Mandy to shut up. I really don’t want to encourage him.
He looks smug at the thought. “Really? And what things were you saying? All nice I hope.”
I nudge Mandy again, silently telling her to shut up, but of course she doesn’t. “In a nutshell, I was just telling Evelyn how nice you two look together.” I roll my eyes and notice Drake’s smile growing wider.
Nice one, Mandy. Nice one.
I decide to get her back. “She also said she’d heard that you killed people.”
She gasps. “No, I did not!”
I shrug my shoulders. “Whatever.” I turn my attention back to Drake, who’s staring at me. He’s always staring at me. For some annoying reason, it never seems to be in a creepy way, though. As much as I hate to admit it, I like it when he stares at me.
“What are you doing here?” I try to sound more bored than anything, but it’s hard when I have Mr Distracting standing in front of me with that handsome face, gorgeous body, and delectable smell. I don’t know what aftershave he’s got on, but man he smells good.
“I was thinking of buying some new shoes, so thought I’d stop in here for some.”
“Well, don’t let me keep you.” I try pulling Mandy away, but she’s stuck in place, staring up at Drake as she flutters her eyelashes at him.
“I see you two have been shopping.” He obviously chooses to ignore my remark and instead gazes down at our shopping bags. “Pick up anything nice?”
“Oh, yes,” Mandy gushes. “Evelyn got some beautiful lingerie.”
Snapping his head to me, Drake smiles widely. “Did you now? I’ll look forward to seeing it on you once you move in with me. In fact,” he suddenly snaps his fingers and a couple of his men come over, “why don’t I just take your lingerie for you? That way, it will be there waiting for you once you do move in.”
His two henchmen come over, retrieving not just my lingerie bag, but all of my bags. I’m too pissed and Mandy’s too shocked to say anything about this.
“You’re moving in with him?!” she shouts.