by K. A. Linde
Her phone started buzzing again, and she grumbled under her breath. How distracting!
She went to silence the ringer when she noticed that Gates was calling, not her stepmother. She rolled her eyes but answered anyway.
“Merry Christmas,” she said faux-cheerfully.
“Bri, where the fuck are you?” Gates asked.
She froze. Gates sounded freaked out.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I just got a call from Celia. You haven’t answered your phone all morning, so she called your mother.”
“She what?” Bryna shrieked, sitting up in her lounge chair.
Jude’s head popped up out of the water at the commotion. He wore a concerned look on his face. “Everything all right?”
She covered the phone to hopefully muffle any noise and nodded at Jude. She hoped she didn’t look as terrified as Gates had sounded. Because this was fucking terrible. “Yeah. Just a call from home,” she told him, trying to hold on to a smile.
“All right,” he said. His brows furrowed, but he went back to swimming. At least there was one benefit of his sneaky conversation this morning. No questions.
“Who are you with?” Gates demanded.
“It doesn’t matter. I cannot believe Celia had the audacity to call my mother. What a bitch! How dare she question me like that and reach out to my mother just because I didn’t answer some stupid phone call. You would think she suspected me of doing something wrong!”
“Well…aren’t you?” he asked.
“Whatever,” she said. “Wait, how do you know all of this?”
“Because when Celia realized that you weren’t, in fact, spending Christmas break with your mom, she went off the deep end trying to find out where you actually were and called me.”
Bryna’s stomach dipped. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. “Why would she call you?”
“I don’t know, Bri,” he said exasperated. “Maybe because I’m the only friend you have.”
Bryna rolled her eyes again. “Please.”
“And I’m your ex, so it would be reasonable to assume that we had snuck away together, which is what I told Celia when she called.”
“You covered for me?” She breathed out a sigh of relief. Thank God!
“What the fuck was I supposed to say?” He groaned and muttered curses under his breath. “Fuck, Bri. I don’t want to be in the middle of this shit. You’re obviously with some other fucking guy somewhere, and here I am, still covering for you with your family.”
“Cut the shit. You didn’t have to cover for me. I know you too well. You did it because you want something. What is it?” she asked. She was grateful that Gates had told Celia they were together, but he hadn’t done it out of his own good grace. He was a schemer much like she was, and if he had done something generous, it was because he wanted something from her for the favor.
Gates exhaled softly into the phone. “I did have to cover for you. While you might choose to believe you have other friends, I know that you’re the closest thing to a real friend I have. Even if you are a total psycho sometimes, Bri.”
“How charming.”
“Come with me for New Year’s.”
“There it is,” she muttered. Of course. She should have known. “I knew you wanted something out of this.”
“You already knew I wanted you to come with me.”
“You have to fucking promise not to tell anyone about me being gone,” she insisted.
“It’s not an I’ll-fucking-tell-if-you-don’t kind of thing,” Gates cried. “I told Celia you were with me, and you will be until you get back. I’m a man of my word.”
“Good, because if that isn’t the case, be sure to remember that I know about you and Chloe.”
“Jesus, Bri!” he griped. “You don’t have to blackmail me to keep a secret.”
“Just making sure.”
She couldn’t let anyone find out about her being away with Jude. Things were finally starting to get on the right track, and she couldn’t risk anything going wrong. As much as she wanted to trust Gates, it was always easier to have dirt on the other person to ensure that they kept their mouth shut.
“Well, are you going to come with me?” Gates asked.
She glanced back down at Jude slicing through the water. He had said that he would be out of town for business on New Year’s. It wouldn’t hurt anything to go with Gates. “Fine. I’ll go but just as friends.”
“Sweet,” he said, excitement in his voice. “Have fun on your trip.”
“Yeah, thanks. Tell Chloe I said hi,” she said, laughing lightly at the end.
“Don’t be a bitch, Bri.”
“All I know how to be.”
Sometime later, Jude hoisted himself out of the pool. Water dripped down his body, and his soaked shorts clung to his legs. Bryna couldn’t tear her eyes away. He lazily smiled at her as if he didn’t already know that she was staring at him with desperate need.
“So,” he said, taking a seat on her lounger. He planted a kiss on her lips, and water trickled down her white bathing suit.
“So,” she muttered. She ran her fingers up into his dark wet hair and tugged him back down for another kiss.
“I might have planned something for you today.”
She arched an eyebrow. “You took me on a private plane to Saint Barts. I don’t think you need to plan anything else!”
“But I like to,” he said, looking meaningfully into her eyes. “You appreciate it.”
“I do.” Their fingers interlocked, and she leaned into him. “I love this.”
He kissed the top of her head. She didn’t need any other plans if they could do this all day. Being here with him was enough.
But he did have plans, and she wasn’t going to keep him from them if he had made them for her.
“So, what are we doing?” she asked.
“You are going to the spa. I have a car waiting to take you into town, and when you come back, put on something nice.”
“And what will you be doing?”
“That is a surprise,” he said with a devious smile. “You’ll find out when you get back.”
More surprises? This man is full of them. “A spa day does sound pretty amazing.”
“I thought you might think so. The car will be here shortly.” He stood up and helped her to her feet. “I can’t wait to see you when you get back.”
He kissed her until they were both breathless, and she considered skipping the spa to stay in the bedroom. But he reluctantly pulled away with a chuckle and scooted her toward the house. She wistfully looked back at him, and then she scurried inside to change before meeting the car waiting for her downstairs.
Bryna spent the entire afternoon at the spa. The resort spa took comfort to a new level. They needed this kind of heaven in Los Angeles. By the time she left the place, she felt more relaxed than she had in years.
When she returned, a butler directed her up the back stairs to the bedroom. The spa had blown out her hair and done her makeup. She opened up the closet and pulled out a shimmery gold dress. It was the fanciest piece she had brought with her, and she hadn’t ever thought that she would have a place to wear it on this trip, but she had wanted to be prepared for anything.
The form-fitting material clung to her body like it had been made specifically for her. It dropped to her knees and had a tiny button at the back of her neck with a long open slit down the middle of her back. She paired it with black Jimmy Choos and clasped the gold buckles around her ankles.
After assessing herself in the mirror, she grabbed the Christmas present she had gotten for Jude from her suitcase before walking out of the bedroom and into the living room. Her eyes nearly bugged out when she saw everything he had done.
The room was completely decked out in Christmas decorations. A tree—a real freaking Christmas tree—sat in one corner with red ornaments and a star on top. She had no fucking clue where he had gotten that on an island in the middle of the C
aribbean. Red and green pillows were on the furniture, decorated wreaths were hooked to the windows, stockings hung from the built-in bookshelves, and candles burned everywhere. The television was even set to appear as if an open fire was blazing in the fireplace.
Jude was standing in the middle of the room in a tuxedo, drinking a glass of scotch. He smiled at the shocked look on her face. “Merry Christmas, beautiful.”
“What is all of this?”
“Well, I didn’t exactly bring you somewhere that is very festive. Since we didn’t end up in New York City or Paris where we could do Christmas activities, I thought that maybe I could bring Christmas to you.”
“It’s…amazing,” she breathed. Truly, she was mesmerized.
“I’m glad you like it. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. I used to go to Tahoe and go skiing with my parents when I was younger. But once I grew up, I usually worked too much around the holidays to really enjoy myself. So, thank you. I’m enjoying Christmas this year because of you,” he said, pulling her into his arms.
“You did all the work.”
“But you made it worthwhile.”
She stared up at him, speechless. How did I get so lucky on that night at Allure to go home with this incredible man? She’d had no idea what she was getting into, and she didn’t regret a minute of it. He was handsome and charming. He took care of her, appreciated her, enjoyed her company. In fact, her company was enough for him, which was something she had never experienced before.
“Before we go into the dining room to eat dinner, I do have a Christmas present for you,” he told her.
“Me first,” she said, remembering that she was holding his present in her hands.
He laughed and took the small box from her. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I wanted to.”
After setting his scotch down on the glass coffee table, he pulled back the gold-and-silver wrapping paper and opened the box to reveal a silver Rolex with a black face.
The week before, she had been frustrated while looking for a present for him. She had wanted to get something extravagant, something to match the gifts he had gotten her. But she wouldn’t have access to her trust fund until July, and she hadn’t wanted to draw attention to her credit card with an obscene charge. She could chalk up a Rolex as a gift for Gates.
He slipped the watch out of the box and slid it on to his wrist. Then, he wrapped his other arm around her waist and crushed his mouth down on hers. She smiled against his lips.
“You’re amazing. Thank you.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
She had been unreasonably afraid that he would toss the watch aside because it wasn’t up to his standards. She had known the idea was irrational, but it had still eaten away at her. She had never felt like this before, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it, except that she liked him enough to care about his opinion.
“My turn.”
He reluctantly released her before picking up a slender red-wrapped box. She slowly tore away the paper to reveal a navy-blue box with HW printed in gold on the top.
She swallowed and anxiously looked up at him. “Harry Winston?”
He took the box from her hand and pried it open for her to see the contents. Inside was a cursive B gold pendant inlaid with a series of exquisite diamonds on a slender gold chain.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
Jude removed the necklace from the box, and when she reached up to pull her hair off her back, he secured it at the nape of her neck. It rested against her skin just below her collarbone.
He pressed his lips to her shoulder. “There. It’s perfect.”
“You’re perfect,” she murmured before kissing him.
Dinner could wait.
“BRYNA! How was your trip with Gates?” Celia asked as soon as Bryna stepped through the door.
“Great,” she said hollowly.
She dropped her Louis Vuitton luggage in the foyer.
The plane had landed only an hour ago, and already, she was feeling jet-lagged. The remainder of the trip had been a dream come true. She and Jude had spent seven full days together, and in that time, she had found that she liked him even more. She liked him so much, in fact, she felt his absence like a weight in the pit of her stomach. Leaving had been a true test of control. She was already desperate to return to her slice of paradise.
She just wanted to drive back to his apartment and stay there for as long as she could.
Unfortunately, Jude would be leaving the next morning on business, so that wasn’t a possibility. Somehow, between the time she had left Jude’s place for home to when she would leave with Gates to go to the Chateau Marmont New Year’s party, she would have to come down from the high she had been riding on cloud nine.
“I really wish you had told me that you were going to spend time with Gates,” Celia crooned. “I would have preferred you were with family for the holidays, of course, but I understand that you wanted to spend time with your boyfriend.”
“That’s great, Celia,” Bryna said dryly.
“So, what did you do? Did you two have a good time? I’m sure you’re mother missed your terribly. I know we did here, and your father as well.”
Bryna sighed dramatically. Coming down from this high was going to be easier than she had thought. “Can we talk about this later? I’m really tired. I didn’t get much sleep while I was gone.” She let the implication of her words sink in.
“Oh, uh…sure. I’m glad you’re home,” Celia said.
“Yeah.” That made one of them.
Bryna ascended the steps and crashed into her bedroom.
She slept for a couple of uninterrupted hours and only got up because she was starving. When she came downstairs to scrounge up something for dinner, Pace was in the kitchen. It was hard to believe that she had been eating incredible meals with Jude in St. Barts just this past week.
“You look tan,” Pace muttered before biting into a peanut butter sandwich.
Don’t engage. Retract claws. “Yep.”
She reached into the fridge, and she pulled out an apple and a bottle of Pellegrino. She wasn’t going to waste any more time in the kitchen if Pace intended to stick around. Eating out sounded like a better option.
“You weren’t really with Gates, were you?”
She bit into her apple and didn’t respond. She didn’t want to have this conversation. She tried to imagine herself back in the villa—lounging beside the pool, Jude swimming, the feel of his body pressing against hers as he took her in the cabana. Soon, that would be her life, and she wouldn’t have to deal with Pace anymore. She would get into LV State and spend her weekends with Jude in Los Angeles.
Her fantasies were distracting her enough that she missed whatever Pace had said.
“I don’t know what you just said, but I really don’t care.” She started toward the exit.
“I saw Gates on the Today show for Broken Road. That show is in New York City.”
“Really?” she said. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open in mock shock. “Groundbreaking. Who knew that the Today show was in New York?”
“It was snowing.”
“And?” she snapped. God, can’t he just spit out what he’s trying to say?
He eyed her curiously. He clearly thought he had her all figured out. “How did you come back from Christmas in New York with a tan?”
Bryna shrugged, nonplussed. “Ever heard of a tanning bed?”
“I have. I don’t think you use them.”
His eyes traveled down her body, and she shuddered at the attention. He made her feel so disgusting.
She snapped her fingers at him. “Would you cut that shit out?”
Obviously realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere with that line of reasoning, he changed tactics. “Where did you get that necklace?”
Her hand immediately reached for the diamond necklace at her throat. A smile spread on her face at the thought of Jude’s Christmas prese
nt. “Gates got it for me,” she lied.
“Gates has never gotten you a present before and certainly not anything with diamonds in it,” he said suspiciously.
“Whatever, Pace. Just because you’re jealous doesn’t mean you have to be a dick and call everything into question,” she snapped at him.
“Is that what you think?” he asked, moving forward until he was standing in front of her. “That I’m jealous of your boy toy? I’m jealous of your perfect life?”
She glared up at him. “What else could explain the slimy way you look at me? The way you try to tear apart my life? You’re jealous because you will never be anything but Valley trash. You’re an imposter in my world. You don’t have the money that you flaunt, and you’ll never have me.”
“The fact that you think I want you, Bri, just shows how much of a conceited bitch you really are. You and your world disgust me more than you could ever know. But if you think I’m flaunting now, then just wait.” He smirked down at her. “I finally get it now. Game on.” He walked through the door and then thought better of it. “Have a good New Year’s. I know I will.”
Then, he was gone. She glowered after his back and mulled over what he had said. Had he not even been part of the game? Why else had he told her coach that she had skipped practice to go out? He knew what he was trying to do. She wouldn’t let him sabotage her life. There was no way he could compete with her schemes.
Anyway, the fact that he could look at her with a straight face and say he didn’t want her or any part of her world was laughable. He stalked her like a predator after his prey. He played quarterback at Harmony. He wore two-thousand-dollar suit jackets. He clearly had a warped sense of vanity.
But if he was going to finally play her game, then she would be ready to take him down when the time came.
BRYNA STEPPED OUT of Gates’s limo and onto the red carpet leading into the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. She wore an Oscar de la Renta black-and-white dress and Chanel pearl heels with black tips.
Photographers lined the event, frequently stopping Gates for pictures, as reporters asked him questions. Once they reached the end of the line, he tightly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from the cameras. “You ready for this?”