Victoria’s Secret Wish(76)

Did Carmyn send you the link?

Before she could reply, he sent her another message:

Poor chap, David. He can’t seem to escape the media.

Whatever. Sooner or later, the poor chap would need to figure out life under the magnifying glass. She replied:

He better get used to it, or else get a real job.

Carmyn, meanwhile, sent her a new IM:

Damn he’s a hottie, huh? I kinda like thinking of him as bi.

Of course David wasn’t bi. He’d gone out partying with Griffin. Sure hadn’t been licking his wounds. Or had he? He had seemed genuinely guilt-ridden when he’d left the suite yesterday.

Her phone chimed.

Bitter much?

Not really, no. She’d expected to be hurt, sad…maybe bitter. But no. Pretty much she was just…

Fuck him, she replied. He doesn’t want us to care about him or worry.

He’s just a kid, Vic.

A kid? Well, for a kid, he’d done a damn good job of naming off good, adult reasons for breaking it off with them. And then he’d gotten in some mighty mean jabs, acted like they’d meant nothing, just a good time to him. He’d deliberately hurt them. Might’ve felt bad about it later, but it was definitely on purpose. For that, he deserved to writhe under the magnifying glass a little.

So maybe she was pissed.

Carmyn sent her a new IM.

Are you OK? Put the camera on so I can see you. You seemed so…down yesterday when we split.

She didn’t feel like turning the webcam on, but Carmyn would pester her all day until she’d satisfied her worries.

“Hey, Car,” she said once the camera was linked, Carmyn’s pool glinting in the background. “See? I’m fine. Just busy as hell.”

Carmyn squinted at the screen. “How clean is your apartment?”

“God.” Truth was, she’d gotten up at four to clean the kitchen and living room from top to bottom. In one word, her home was sparkly. In two words? Anally clean. Carmyn had her pegged, but she didn’t have to admit it. “We got in late last night, and I’ve been up working since early this morning.” All true–she’d just left out the part about what type of work she’d been doing. And seriously, their place had been a mess. With all the travel getting ready for the FCS launch, the place had gotten disastrously dirty.

“Oh-kaay.” Carmyn didn’t look entirely convinced. “It just seemed like you all were getting pretty close.”

“Well, like Britt says, David’s just a kid. Probably won’t know what he wants for at least another ten years. And since he’s a guy, he’ll change his mind ten years after that.”

Carmyn laughed. “Surely you don’t think that about all guys?”

Not Mark–he seemed like he’d always known what he wanted. And not Britt. He’d made up his mind and waited a long-ass time for it. “Britt and Mark are quite a bit older. Time makes all the difference.” Time and integrity–which she honestly believed David had in spades. He just had other priorities. “Anyway, I’m just bitchy today because of all the work we’ve gotta catch up on.” And she couldn’t seem to focus on any of it. “Guess I’ve got a little vacation hangover. Now I know what it’s like for clients to go home after coming here. The trip back to reality is rough.”

Carmyn’s eyebrows bounced. “The sex is great though, huh? We’re always hot as hell for a while when we get back to just each other.”

Hot as hell? Well, it had been good…and comforting, last night. Someplace safe to fall back. Maybe it was always hot between her and Britt, though, and she just took it for granted.

“Tori?”

“Hmm?”

Carmyn pointed at her camera.

Victoria looked over her shoulder to find Britt standing there, listening. God, had she said anything less than flattering? She hoped not.

“Hullo, Car.” Britt put his chin on Victoria’s shoulder. “Don’t expect Vic to be forthcoming, but we’re a bit of a trike missing its third wheel just now. She’s been cleaning like a madwoman again, and thinks she can work herself numb. As usual, yeah?”

Victoria shrugged her shoulder away from him. “Forgive Britt. He enjoys sensationalizing. Before he moved here, he used to work at the Law Offices of Mountain from a Molehill.” Maybe Britt had fallen for David more than she had. Maybe not. Either way, she didn’t want him thinking she was all broken up over David, and getting some complex about it. “I think we’re gonna go now. It’s almost lunchtime, which means we need to have some hot as hell sex.”

“All right,” Carmyn sighed. “Guess I’d better get back to lounging by the pool all alone. Nanny took the kids to Art class. You guys still planning on a visit next weekend, to come take Joey to Disneyland again?”