The One Addicted(25)

“Earth to Lulu! Where’d you go?”

“Sorry - I was just juggling some things around in my head. It all sounds very exciting doesn’t it? But before we go away we have The Ashton Launch weekend and I for one can now really look forward to it.”

“Ooh yes, Nathan and I are booked in to share a room - together; eek!”

I smile at her exuberant facial expressions but understand how important it is to her, as it’s the first time they’ve stayed in a hotel, together. “I know you daft thing - I arranged it. I know James Marcell has spent a small fortune on this do, and invited only the elite of the elite for the evening soiree but the rest of the weekend, we’ll be able to spend time together, just the gang.”

“That sounds fab and just what we need. Are you ready for that with Sebastian so soon after reconciling?”

“Honestly, I don’t know but I want this, Abs. I need this. I’m just scared, you know?”

“I understand, Lu but you can’t shy away from love forever just because your ex cheated on you. Sebastian is NOT Niall, he’s just a hell of a lot more irresistible to women, especially psycho bitches.”

I smile fondly at her. “Well, Friday night we arrive and have Dinner. Saturday is a day of enjoying the facilities on offer and chilling as a group. Colin said there’s Clay Pigeon Shooting, off-roading and Falconry planned, before the party on the evening. Two night stay with plenty of play.”

“Sebs and Na and no Toni or Ray!”

We clink glasses and settle back to begin our movie for the night. I flick through the Sky box office movies and hover over one, then a second consecutively. “So, what we going for? Thriller or Rom Com?”

“Thriller - no brainer.”

“Denzel it is.”


“Fuck! Fuck! Fuuuck!” His blasphemy reverberates around his office. That fucking friend of hers needs to go – she’s always meddling and in the way! Every time he wants to be close to Lu for a “meeting or even just a drink” of late, she seems to be… well, there - hanging around like a bad smell! Maybe she bats for the other team?

She had given him some nice little tidbits of gossip though - so wasn’t totally useless. So, they were going to Dubai? How the hell was he supposed to compete with that - flash bastard! He knew about the hotel launch but didn’t think Lucia would be going - she had a kid! Silver went away on business without her all the time. And how was he going to stand being away from her for a week? Maybe he was due a holiday - maybe he could get himself invited on the trip, encourage them that his talents would be required to drum up business for them? He could speak to Lucia or Seb? He’d probably be left at home to pick up the pieces like always.

It was time to step it up – the listening devices had been fun, helpful even but he craved more, needed more information and he couldn’t seem to get close to Lucia, not in the way he wanted to. He was tired of watching her from afar. Oh to be next to her; to taste her – to experience every part of her that that bastard Silver seemed to be enjoying. Just the thought of the two of them together made his teeth grind together and fists clench. The fucking flashy prick had it all – swanning around in his expensive cars, partying in the big showy house and now he was supposedly about to make gafucking-zillions on the latest Silver Construction project in Dubai. Of course he was – it always came easy to the most undeserved and sanctimonious of men. He was the one who did all the work around here – he should be the one coining it in.

He clicked onto a file on his desktop, and Lucia’s face opened up to him with a smile. Her sexy green eyes were sending him that secret knowing message – he knew it – full of desire, only for him. It was a photograph from the night of Suzie and Gino’s 80’s themed party – he’d taken it without her knowledge and spent some serious hours photoshopping himself in beside her so that they looked like a happy couple. He’d been there that night, spent some time with her but no one had taken a picture of him, with her by his side - with anyone for that matter. No it looked like they’d been there as a couple - were a couple.

“She looked damned hot in that dress, it was so short you could almost see her pretty little cunt winking out the bottom – she’d done that for me - it was her way of showing me that whilst she fucked someone else, she was thinking of me!” he murmurs slyly to the empty room, his voice escalating as he becomes more sure of his opinions.

No, Lucia was obviously seeing Sebastian to make him jealous and it would never last – rumour had it that this was all just a proposition anyway. Why would she degrade herself like that though, when he could offer her so much more and had made it clear to her that he was interested?