Page 72 of Bad Boy Crush

“Yes.”

“I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to run over there and defend my honor.”

She chuffed in protest.

“I mean it.”

“Fine. Tell me.”

“He offered me a job.”

“A job?” She glanced across the patio at her father and instantly wanted to march over and do what she’d just promised Ant she wouldn’t.

“Technically an internship. It could turn into more if I keep my nose clean. That’s a direct quote.”

“Unbelievable. I hope you told him where to shove that offer.”

“I told him I’d think about it. Just to be polite. I think I’d die if I worked in an office. I’m like a houseplant. I’d wilt under fluorescent lighting. I need direct sun.” Despite the joke, hurt outlined his handsome features. “I don’t fit in here, Lou. Your dad knows that. So does your mom. She was trying to set you up with that Miller kid, wasn’t she?”

Nothing got by him. She instantly felt bad for leaving him to talk to Dolan. “Our parents have been trying to set us up for years. We’re friends and they can’t accept that. They want me to go out with him more than ever now that he’s a physicist.”

“Of course he is.” Ant’s chuckle was dry. “Do they know he’s gay?”

“Picked up on that, did you?”

“Look, I don’t hold your parents to blame for this shit. Most rich people prioritize education and careers and money.”

“Ant, you are wildly successful. They should be able to see that.”

“Yeah, but they don’t.” He glared over at the posh crowd. “I feel like the fucking help. It’s obvious to everyone that I don’t belong here with you.”

She folded her arms, offended. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He faced her, his eyebrows drawn together. When he spoke, his voice had an angry undercurrent. “It means that Liam fit with you. Fit in with your parents, your friends. They didn’t laugh when he told them what he did for a living, did they?”

“Who cares what they think? Cathy and Carrie Paretti are a pair of rattlesnakes.”

“I don’t care what they think of me,” Ant said. “I care what they think of you. I didn’t come here to make your life harder, Lourdes.”

“I invited you.”

“I know. I think you overestimated your peers.”

“I want you to listen to me very carefully, Anthony.” She poked him in the chest. His expression stayed hard. “They are not my peers. I’m not part of this world any longer. I don’t want to be. And I don’t want to be here with Liam. I don’t want to be anywhere with Liam. I choose you. I want you. I’m proud to be here with you. You’ve treated me better in the last couple of months than Liam did during the entirety of our marriage. You’re fun. And you’re hot. And I have no idea why we’re standing around this snoozefest of a party instead of getting naked in bed in our mansion worth ten times what this dump’s worth.”

His mouth twitched at the corner. Amusement and heat mingled in his burnt-caramel irises. He gripped her hips and tugged her so that her breasts grazed his chest. “You’re being sweet again.”

“I’m also being honest.” She palmed his cheek. “Stop talking about how you don’t belong here. You belong with me. That’s what matters.”

He kissed her, moving his mouth slowly over hers. Behind them, the ocean sang its nightly song, the waves swishing in and out. Music from the party carried on the wind and was kicked out to sea. He rested his forehead on hers. She shut her eyes and pulled in a lungful of the salty ocean breeze.

“Take me home,” she whispered.

Without warning, he scooped her into his arms. Everyone watched as they strode to the edge of the party, collected their shoes, and walked out. She told him he could put her down, but he refused.

Rather than apologize for their garish exit, she threw her arm in the air and waved like mad.

* * *