Moonlight Scandals

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Why in the world was she this nervous?

  Everyone had left except Nikki. She hung back as Rosie did the final makeup touches. In other words, she was one more coat away from making her eyelashes look like spider legs.

  Nikki leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed loosely over her chest. “What are you thinking, Rosie?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know.” She glanced down at the tube of mascara. “Can I ask you a question? Do you think this whole thing is absurd? Me going out with Devlin? Me?”

  “I think it’s pretty far up there on the list of things I never expected to happen. That has nothing to do with you, but mostly Devlin. I have a hard time picturing him going out on a date with a cardboard cutout of someone.”

  She shot Nikki a look. “You know, he’s not that bad.”

  Nikki raised her brows.

  “Okay.” Rosie grinned a little as she returned to her reflection. “He can be difficult, but he’s far from boring and he’s . . . well, he’s just different.”

  “Indeed,” Nikki replied dryly.

  Rosie laughed as she lifted the wand. “It’s weird, Nikki. I mean, we did not get along, but there’s something there between us. Anyway, any advice?”

  “It’s you usually giving me advice,” she stated as Rosie swiped the mascara over her lashes. “How the times are changing.”

  Rosie snorted. “I know.”

  “The only advice I can give you is that these brothers, these men, haven’t exactly had the easiest of lives even with all the wealth and power,” she said. “They all are complicated, and I have a feeling that Devlin is the most complicated of them all.”

  Rosie lowered the wand and shoved it back into the tube, thinking that even Nikki, who grew up in the shadows of the de Vincent brothers, didn’t know exactly how complicated Devlin was.

  Chapter 31

  From the moment Dev saw Rosie in that stunning dress that picked up those flecks of green in her eyes to this very second while she was scouring the dessert menu, he was absolutely and irrevocably entranced.

  And he’d never felt that way about anyone or anything. Unlike his brothers and even his sister, he didn’t have any special hidden talents. He wasn’t good at painting or working with wood, and even though Gabe claimed Dev could sing, it wasn’t something he did often and couldn’t even recall the last time he had. But in this moment, he found himself wishing he had Lucian’s talent. His fingers itched to capture the striking lines of her face and the fullness of her mouth. He wondered what colors he’d have to mix to replicate the shade of her eyes and her skin.

  Dev was beguiled by the way the candlelight flickered over the curve of her cheek and how she dragged her teeth along her lower lip when she was thinking hard about something. She toyed with her hair a lot, brushing this rebellious little curl that kept ending up in her face no matter what she did. He sensed a nervousness about her that he found . . . adorable, which was a word he didn’t use in his normal vocabulary, but he’d never seen Rosie nervous before. He’d seen her irritated and angry. He’d seen teasing and relaxed. He’d seen her aroused and satisfied, but never nervous.

  Rosie was this beautiful, confident, and strong woman he’d believed was incapable of nervousness. But she was, and that didn’t make her seem weak or delicate. It made her . . . adorable.

  He couldn’t remember ever being so engrossed in someone before and actually enjoying sitting back and listening to them talk. During the course of the dinner of crab cakes and pan-fried Cajun shrimp, he learned a lot about her.

  How she’d met Nikki. Why she’d decided to go to the University of Alabama, which turned out to be a side effect of wanderlust, and he found her ability to make a decision like that and leave inspiring, especially when he often felt . . . trapped here, with his name and his legacy. He’d learned about the first time she saw a full-bodied apparition, and he was fascinated by the way she leaned forward when she spoke about it and the way her eyes lit with interest and eagerness. The excitement in her gaze and tone did the most inappropriate things to him.

  Sitting in Firestones, he became hard—so hard he’d spread his legs as far as he could. That physical reaction made dinner fairly uncomfortable, but he wouldn’t have changed a damn thing.

  And never once during this was he bored or distracted by anything going on in his life or with his family. That part of him that had to . . . do things to ensure the safety of his family didn’t exist when he was with her, but strangely, he wanted her to see that part of him, too.

  Placing the dessert menu on the table, she glanced up and her gaze flickered away from him for a half second and then returned. “People are staring again.”

  He picked up his glass of water as he glanced around the restaurant. There were a few stares, mainly from those who were familiar with him. “I think they’re just curious.”

  “Because you coming here and eating food is something to be curious about?” she asked.

  Dev grinned. “Because me coming here with someone as beautiful as you is something to be curious about.”

  “Oh that was smooth.” Rosie laughed softly as she reached for her wineglass.

  He lifted a brow. “It was, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, but I know what Sabrina looks like. She’s beautiful.”

  “I guess you could say that.” He lifted a shoulder. “But whatever beauty that woman possesses is only skin-deep. She’s . . .”

  “What?” Rosie asked.

  Dev drew in a shallow breath as he placed his water back down. They were in one of the more private booths, where their conversation wouldn’t be overheard.

  Her teeth moved on her lower lip again. “You don’t have to answer that. I’m sorry—”

  “She was in love with Gabe,” he answered. “Well, obsessed with him. Ever since college.”

  Rosie’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

  “You didn’t know that?” he asked, curious. “I’m surprised Nikki hadn’t told you.”

  “Nikki doesn’t talk about that kind of stuff.” Rosie knocked the curl back out of her face. “I have to ask. If you knew she was into Gabe, then why in the hell did you stay with her?”

  And there was the million-dollar question. His gaze dropped to the tea light candle. “It’s a long story.”

  “We have time, right?”

  A faint smile curved his lips. “We do.” There was a quick pause. “How much did Nikki tell you about Gabe’s past?”

  “You’re talking about his son and the mother of his child? I think she died in a car accident a few months ago? I can’t remember her name, but yeah, I know about that.”

  “Her name was Emma. They had this on-again, off-again relationship that was pretty intense. Something happened to her in college. She was assaulted.”

  “No,” she whispered, placing her hands in her lap.

  Dev nodded. “Gabe had a pretty strong reaction to it—to the guy who hurt Emma. It did not end well.” He paused, lifting his gaze to Rosie’s. He waited to see if she had a response to that. Rosie was a smart woman. She knew what Dev was alluding to, and other than the initial reaction to the news, she wasn’t throwing her napkin down and rushing out of the restaurant. “Emma must’ve shared that with Sabrina.”

  “Why would she do that? Didn’t she know how Sabrina felt about Gabe?”

  “Emma was a very kind soul, the sort of person who never met a stranger,” Dev replied, thinking of the woman. “She believed the best in people, and unfortunately that didn’t always work out for her. Her trusting Sabrina gave Sabrina the upper hand. She knew things about Gabe that could be a problem, and Lawrence was pushing for a Harrington to marry a de Vincent, even back then. Sabrina wanted Gabe and would’ve used what she knew to force him. He would’ve been stuck with her, and that was . . . unacceptable to me.”

  Her brows snapped together. “Wait a second. Did you . . . ?” She placed her hands on the table. “Did you agree to be with her so she’d stop going after Gabe?”

&nbs
p; Uncomfortable, he shifted in his seat. “I was with her because I believed that the merger of our business with her family’s would be a smart endeavor.”

  “And because it got her attentions off of Gabe?” she insisted.

  “Well, I thought it did, but it really didn’t in the end. Sabrina was still obsessed with Gabe. You know what happened between Nikki and Parker.” He picked up his water. “And it’s worse than that.”

  “How can anything be worse than Parker attacking Nikki?” she whispered.

  “Parker said something to Nikki during that attack that leaves us with the impression they had something to do with Emma’s accident.”

  She folded her hand over her mouth. “Dear God . . .”

  “Luckily, Parker is no more and I . . . I don’t think Sabrina is going to be a problem any longer.”

  “Did you all go to the police with that information?” she asked and then immediately rolled her eyes. “That’s right. The de Vincents don’t go to the police.”

  “Not usually. Besides, none of us wanted Nikki involved any more than necessary and Parker is dead and Sabrina—”

  “Is somewhere out there?” She picked up her wineglass. “She shouldn’t be out there, waiting to become someone else’s nightmare.”

  “I agree, but I just learned that Sabrina is dead. The news hasn’t broken yet, but I’m sure it will shortly.”

  “What?” Her eyes widened.

  Dev told her a somewhat edited version of what had been told to him. “I don’t know what happened to her,” he said, and even though that was partly the truth, there was a festering of guilt. Something he’d never quite felt before.

  “I don’t know what to say. I feel for her and Parker’s family, but I can’t . . . I can’t find any sympathy in me for her or her brother. Both sounded like terrible human beings.” She took a sip. “Does Gabe know this? Why you really were with her?”

  “Like I said, I was—”

  “What you said is bullshit, Devlin. Maybe a part of the reason was because of her family’s companies, but you were trying to save your brother from a terrible future . . . by sacrificing your own. That’s pretty . . . amazing.”

  Feeling his face heat, he looked away. “I’m not a white knight, Rosie. Or some kind of selfless human being.”

  “I know.” She studied him for a moment. “There’s still something I don’t understand. If Sabrina was obsessed with Gabe, why would she be with you? I mean no offense, but—”

  “No offense taken.” Dev had to really think about how to answer a question he wasn’t quite sure about himself. “I think . . . I think Sabrina thought by marrying me she’d be close to Gabe. That the proximity would eventually work in her favor. Sounds utterly ridiculous.”

  “It does.” Rosie nodded.

  “But she obviously didn’t see things the way they truly were. Sabrina was spoiled by her parents. So was Parker. I guess she thought she’d eventually get her way.” He lifted a shoulder. “Other than that? I honestly don’t know.”

  Rosie stared at him for a long moment and then whispered, “All you . . . all you rich people are just weird. Legit weird.”

  It happened.

  Just a small curve of his lips, but it quickly turned into a grin that became a smile. Dev laughed. Tipped his head back and laughed loudly and he didn’t care who saw him or heard him.

  She was grinning at him when he looked back at her. “You have a nice laugh,” she said. “You should do it more often.”

  “Yeah, I should,” he said, aware of eyes on them again. “So, what I told you doesn’t bother you?”

  Rosie didn’t answer immediately. “I feel like that’s a loaded question.”

  “It is.”

  The curl fell back across her cheek. “I try not to judge people, especially when it involves bad things happening to bad people. Maybe that makes me a bad person, but I can’t get too torn up over a rapist meeting an unsavory end.”

  Surprise flickered through him. “Really?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “I have this weird opinion on that kind of thing that a lot of people don’t agree with. I mean, I think there are some people who’ve forfeited their rights to live once they’ve taken another life or have done something heinous that goes beyond human decency, but at the same time, I wonder if any human has the right to decide to take another life. I go back and forth on this. I think . . . I think sometimes it’s understandable that when someone they care about is hurt horribly that a person has a break—they snap. Psychosis is a real thing and good people experience it under extreme distress. And people are weird.”

  That appeared to be an understatement.

  “Some of the most popular books and movies and television shows feature vigilante justice, whether it’s the ordinary everyday person next door or a superhero. People love that stuff, where the bad guys get taken down through violence or the legal system. And yeah, it’s fiction or made up, but what people enjoy speaks to their basic desires and fantasies. When you have a parent that goes after a molester, that parent is cheered. I mean, look at the Old Testament. An eye for an eye and all that jazz. That doesn’t mean going out there and killing people is okay, but I don’t know . . . like I said, sometimes you can understand why someone has done that. People are weird and they are complicated.” Rosie glanced at him. “A lot of things exist within a gray area. Some people just don’t want to acknowledge that.”

  Dev wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Anyway, the dessert here looks amazing, but I am stuffed.” Her lips twitched as she grinned. “That was a bizarre change of subject, right?”

  He barked out a short laugh. “It worked, though. By the way, chocolate is my weakness.”

  She lifted a brow. “Really?”

  His lips twitched. “Yes. I try to eat healthy, but you put a chocolate bar in front of me, I’ll eat all of it.”

  Rosie grinned. “I still can’t picture you eating pralines or having a hidden stash of chocolate in your drawer.”

  “You’d be surprised.”

  Her gaze met his again and held. “So, dessert?”

  Dev knew what kind of dessert he wanted and it was nothing that was offered on the menu.

  “I don’t want dessert,” he said.

  Rosie didn’t look away. “What do you want?”

  “I want you to come home with me.”

  There wasn’t a moment of hesitation. “Yes.”

  Rosie had never seen the de Vincent mansion at night. Granted, she’d only ever seen the section Gabe lived in and the part Richard had led her to when she’d brought the items she’d found in the closet to Devlin.

  She’d asked about those things on the drive to his home, if he’d found out anything about them. He’d told her that he’d been able to get the iPad charged and unlocked, but he didn’t elaborate beyond that. Rosie didn’t sense that he was holding back because of distrust, but more like it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about right then, and for that, she couldn’t blame him. Their conversation had already gotten pretty dark during dinner, and now she didn’t want any more darkness to seep into their night.

  And while there was definitely no love lost between Devlin and Sabrina, she suspected he was still processing news of her death.

  When she walked out of the garage and waited for Devlin to join her, she couldn’t get over how quiet it was here. “This is kind of crazy.”

  “What is?” Devlin joined her.

  She scanned the lit grounds. A floodlight had kicked on when they neared the garage and there was landscaping lighting dotting the property. There were outdoor lights placed between the windows of all the floors, casting a soft, muted glow that gave just enough light for you to find your way. Even now, she could see all the ivy climbing the home. “It’s just so quiet.”

  “A circus would be quiet compared to what you must hear every night where you live.”

  Rosie laughed as she glanced at him. He stood with his back to the shadows and it was almost lik
e he could seep right into them, vanishing. “True, but listen. I don’t even hear insects or animals.”

  Devlin was quiet for a moment. “Huh. You’re right. I’ve never noticed that before.”

  “Really?” Rosie figured that was something you’d notice right away. “How can you not notice that?”

  “I grew up here,” he reminded her. “This is normal to me.”

  That was a good point, but Rosie still couldn’t suppress the shiver that danced over her skin. It was common for animals and insects to avoid places with a lot of spirit activity.

  Without saying a word, Devlin took her hand and led her to the back outdoor staircase. His hand was cool against hers, the grip firm, and for some reason, she found herself grinning like she was sixteen again just because he was holding her hand.

  “Dinner was nice,” she said as they climbed the wide steps.

  “Just nice?”

  “Okay. It was more than just nice.”

  He squeezed her hand and she felt that in her chest. “I’m waiting.”

  She looked over at him as they reached the third flight of stairs. “For what?”

  “For you to admit that you were wrong.”

  “What exactly was I wrong about?”

  There was almost a teasing tone to his voice as he said, “You thought I was going to regret the dinner and it was going to be an absolute failure.”

  She dipped her chin, grinning. “I didn’t think it would be an absolute failure.”

  Reaching the third level, he let go of her hand as he pressed his finger to some kind of contraption above the lock. There was a clicking motion and the door unlocked. Super high-tech, right there. “Still waiting,” he said as he opened the door and stepped inside, flipping on the light.

  “Okay. You’re right.” Rosie laughed as she followed him in. “Happy now?”

  “Yes.” He tossed his car keys on a narrow, dark wood entry table. “Do you want anything to drink?”