by Malone, Nana
Confused, she blinked.
His sudden laugh transformed his face, making him even better looking, but also making him approachable and less cocky. “He’s my brother.”
Brother? Well that explained the common last name. And Lex had said his brother was a photographer. But she had a feeling like he’d deliberately not told her about Xander. Granted, probably many a girl got close to Lex hoping to brush against fame or something.
Now that she looked closely, she wondered how the hell she could have missed it. Alexi cocked his head the same way Xander did. Had the same almost-smiling uptick of his lips. And their bone structure was similar as well. Except Xander’s eyes leaned toward dark slate, and Alexi’s were a soft silver. “Oh. Small world, I guess.”
“Indeed.” He continued to study her. But again, his scrutiny wasn’t sexual…exactly. At least she didn’t think it was.
She stood there, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot to distribute her weight in the killer heels. She wanted to appear nonchalant, but he unsettled her. “What? Why are you staring at me?”
His grin flashed. Wow. It should be illegal for him to do that in public. The simple act of the smile made him look angelic and sweet. He was possessed of the devil’s charm.
“Relax. I already told you, I don’t sleep with students.” He shrugged. “Your face is interesting. I’m trying to figure out the best light to shoot you in.”
He thought her face was fascinating? Right. Didn’t mean she was going to let him shoot her though. “I don’t think so.”
He nodded absently. “Well, if you change your mind, I suppose you know where to find me.”
“I suppose I do.” She began to wonder exactly how many of his students he’d ‘photographed.’
His next question surprised her.
“What do you want with my brother?”
She wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. “Excuse me?”
“My brother—what do you want with him?”
Bewildered, she sputtered. “I-I don’t want anything from him. I barely know the guy. It was just a dance.”
Xander’s eyes were stormy as he leaned into her space. He smelled like Lex. They apparently had the same taste in the unique cologne. The scent swirled around her, and she had to shake her head to clear it.
“Bullshit. I can see it on his face. You intrigue him. Let me do you a favor. Steer clear of him.”
Heat prickled her arm. “I’m sorry, but as far as I’m concerned, I only need to take your advice in the classroom. Outside of it, I can take care of myself.”
He cocked a brow. “Who said I was worried about you?”
With open-mouthed shock, Abbie could only stare as Xander sauntered off to join the throngs on the dance floor. He was immediately joined by a blonde and a brunette, each vying for his attention.
Who did he think he was? She had a father, and she didn’t need to take advice from her professor, who looked more like a player than any teacher she’d ever seen. And if he wanted to steer her away from Lex, he’d just done the one thing likely to make her run toward his brother.
* * *
Lex forced his legs to move in the opposite direction of where Abbie stood. He needed to get as far away from her as possible. And he needed to start using his brain, right fucking now. If that fucking paparazzo had gotten a picture of his face, he was royally screwed. Not to mention the shitter he’d just put Gemma in.
He scanned the crowd for her and eventually spotted her chestnut mane by the chocolate fountain. She was deep in conversation with another woman. Even as he battled the crowd to get to his supposed fiancée, he felt Abbie’s eyes on him. It wouldn’t help him keep his head if she kept staring at him like that. “Hey, Gem, can I talk to you for a minute?”
She smiled up at him as he pulled her aside. “Yeah, Sure. Where did you vanish off to? For a minute, I thought you’d left the party, but I noticed Nick was still here.”
Unable to meet her gaze, he muttered, “Look, Gem, we have a problem.”
She arched a delicate dark brow. “Out with it, Lex.”
“I was on the roof. There was a paparazzo up there.”
“Are you serious?” She rolled her eyes. “They are such a pain in the ass. I’ll go talk to the owner right away. You shouldn’t have to deal with that shit on your birthday. Can’t they just fucking leave you alone, for once? It’s not like you were up there doing lines of coke or anything.” She frowned. “Were you?”
He blinked once, then again. “No. Fuck. No. Nothing like that, but, uh, there was a girl.”
Gemma blinked at him and nodded. “Sophie’s friend?”
She’d seen them dancing at Jaspers party last weekend and had pestered him for days until he’d told her about Abbie. “Yeah. She was up there with me, talking.” He shifted from foot to foot and jammed his hands in his pockets. “There might have been snogging.”
Gemma’s eyes widened, then she grinned, then as if dawning slowly crept in, her smile fell and she muttered. “Did he get a picture?”
Lex pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t fucking know. Soon as I saw the camera, I got Abbie out of there as quickly as possible.”
“Damn it.”
Lex exhaled as ice settled in his gut. “Yeah. I don’t know when, but it’s going to blow up in our faces. She doesn’t look anything like you, Gems. It’s going to get all kinds of ugly.” Of all the stupid moves. All because he’d wanted something real just for a minute, he’d put Gemma and her life up for exposure.
“Any chance she called them herself?”
He shook his head. “Unlikely. I don’t think she has a clue who I am. I only just met her.”
Gemma frowned, her ruby red lips pursing. “I don’t know. Max or Sophie could have said something. She wouldn’t be the first girl to use you to get herself some publicity.”
Involuntarily, he glanced in Abbie’s direction. She was leaning over the DJ booth saying something to Jasper. And the poor bloke looked enthralled. It made Lex want to hit something. “She’s American. She has nothing to do with them. I’m sure of it.” He hoped.
Gemma studied him. “If you’re sure. But we should probably make it a point to leave together.”
The weight that had been temporarily lifted while he was up on the roof, shifted and slithered back onto his shoulders again. He’d never minded Gemma’s cover before. But now it felt like a tightening noose around his neck.
Chapter 13
Abbie woke to the smell of fried eggs. Her nostrils flared just as her stomach rolled. From somewhere in the distance, she heard a voice talking to her and it was getting closer. “You’re a dark horse. You’d better get up and tell me all about it.”
Abbie rolled over and covered her head with a pillow. The only thing about this morning that she was at all thankful for was the grey and dreary weather outside. Perfect light to shoot in, if she could lift her head out of bed. “Tams, please I’m begging you to go away.”
“I can’t, love. What’s that old black and white sitcom? ‘You’ve got some ’splainin to do.’”
“Tamsin, my head feels like I’ve swallowed an entire herd of elephants whole and they’re running around playing polo in my skull.” Abbie rubbed her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Tastes like it too.”
Tamsin just laughed. “That, my dear, is your first London hangover. It’s to be celebrated. C’mon. Get up. I made breakfast. You’ll feel better once you eat and have a Guinness.”
Abbie peeked out from under the pillow and duvet. “Guinness? You really think it’s a good idea for me to drink again?”
“Well, I’m not asking you to get wasted again. You’re a lightweight. I mean, you only had what, the two shots of sake?”
“Don’t forget the stupid absinthe. I switched to water after that.”
Tamsin’s brow furrowed. “Yeah. Lightweight.”
“God, what are you? Part Irish?” Abbie grumbled.
“Now that you mention it, my mum is half
Irish. Now get up. I know you want to sleep all day. But you told me yesterday you have work to do. Besides, I’m dying to hear about you and that smoking guy you were talking to at the bar. Sophie already filled me in. I can’t believe I missed such a great party.”
Eventually, Abbie sat up and took the mug from Tamsin. She took a tentative sip. The bitter, fizzy liquid burned her tongue and throat, but the moment it hit her stomach, the rumbling and nausea quieted. She stared into the mug, surprised.
Tamsin just smirked. “Told you so. See, not all that bad.”
“I can’t believe that actually worked.”
After dragging herself out of bed and a quick round in the bathroom with her toothbrush and her mouthwash, she felt marginally better. Not to mention, she was starving. When she padded into the kitchen, the duvet clutched around her and her bunny slippers shuffling, she parked herself on one of the stools at the island. Tamsin placed a heaping plate of fried eggs, and baked beans with toast in front of her. “Damn, Tams, you didn’t have to make so much food. And you didn’t have to cook for me.”
“Well, I wanted to celebrate your first hangover morning. And I remembered your mushroom allergy. And don’t get used to this. It’s about the only thing I can cook.”
“Thank you for remembering. And don’t worry. I can handle cooking.”
Tamsin grinned. “I remember from school. If it hadn’t been for you, I might have starved in Uni.”
Abbie tucked in to the feast and nearly moaned with pleasure as she chewed her sausage. “Tams, this is exactly what I needed.”
“Glad to hear it. Now spill. I want all the details.”
Abbie had already made up her mind to keep things with Lex on the down low. At least for now. It was probably nothing anyway. Just a one night kismet kind of thing. And to be frank, she was so not ready for it to be anything anyway. “Not much to tell. I’d had too much to drink.” She pointed at her head with her fork. “Hung out on the rooftop for a bit. The guy at the bar was actually Xander Chase. He was there to photograph the party.”
Tamsin scowled. “Xander Chase was there in person? And I missed it to stay home and plan for the new Calice product? Coffee-flavored Vodka, yuck. Please tell me there was snogging.”
Oh God. “What? Between me and Xander? No!” Abbie laughed.
“Bit of a shame though. From the pictures I’ve seen of him, he’s well fit.”
“There is that word again. I get the feeling I’m taking it in the wrong context.”
Tamsin frowned. “What? Fit?”
“Yes. What the hell does it mean? Jasper told me I looked fit yesterday. I of course responded with thanks, I’ve been working out. And he just laughed at me like I was crazy.”
Tamsin laughed, causing her dimples to appear. “It means you’re hot.”
“Oh. Okay. Well. Then of course Jasper thought I was nuts. He’s a hell of a DJ, by the way.”
Tamsin giggled. “And apparently that crush of his is the real deal. Sophie says he talks about you all the time.”
Abbie wrinkled her nose. “Oh, I think he’s like that with all the girls. It has nothing to do with me, I promise you.”
“Jasper is shameless and a bit of a tramp. But he’s lovely outside of all his ridiculous flirting.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Then as subtly as she could, Abbie added, “So what do you know about Lex and Nick? They seem nice enough. And as you put it, they’re both well fit.” Yeah, real smooth.
“Dunno. I met Lex when you did. All I know is they’re part of the R&B set.”
Abbie was going to have to play catch up on the British slang, otherwise she’d never be able to understand her friends. “R&B?”
“Well depending on who you talk to, it’s either the rich and beautiful set or the rich and bratty set.”
Abbie raised her eyebrows. She’d gotten the feel of wealth around him, but she didn’t know it was a thing. “Come to mention it, last night was kind of a big baller night. It was like something out of Nicole Ritchie’s diary or something.”
“Welcome to rolling with Sophie.” Tamsin laughed. “I don’t go out too much with her friends, but every time we do, a celebrity sighting is nearly guaranteed. There are no lines, the men are beautiful, and the access is insane. I like to keep things a little more grounded though.”
So Tamsin wouldn’t be able to help her with the scoop. Not like Abbie needed the inside track to know Alexi wasn’t interested in her really.
She shook her head and focused on her friend. “Enough about last night. How is Mr. Irishman doing?”
Tamsin’s smile widened. “I get to see Liam in a couple of weeks. So far, so good. We’re just starting this long distance thing. In fact, this visit will be our test run to see if it works. Right now, we’re in the hazy long-distance lust fog. You know when you have Skype sex all the time and you’re in love.”
Abbie laughed. “No, I don’t know about that, but I imagine I’ll live every breathtaking moment with you…except for the Skype sex of course, because that would make for really awkward flatmate dinners later.”
“So what’s on the agenda today?” Tams asked as she started to clear her dishes.
“I want to get started on my photo assignment and explore the city a little. Want to come with and be my London guide?”
Tamsin looked out the window and studied the gloomy sky. “Sorry, love, I actually have to go into work today. I have a meeting with a client later this afternoon, which means I get to order coffee then stand around with my thumb up my arse as my boss takes credit for my work.”
“Ooh, sorry. I’ll try to have some fun for you too.” She had an assignment to ace.
Chapter 14
Abbie fiddled with her camera as she rode the tube. The energy on the train vibrated and shifted around her. The dark gray clouds of morning had shifted and given way to lighter gray ones, but there was no hint of sunshine to be seen. It was official—her good weather run had come to an end.
The Brixton Market was exactly what she was looking for. Located in South London, it was home to immigrants of all over the world but primarily Jamaicans and Haitians. As she passed fruit and vegetable stands, she took occasional shots for her portfolio, focusing on the rich colors and the lively, animated faces of the people she passed. Navigating through the market, she finally paused when she heard the sounds of Jamaican dancehall.
Following the thumping drum and bass tunes, she tugged the earphones out of her ears and smiled at the familiar Sean Paul song. Immediately, her mind went to the party last night. Abbie flushed at the memory of Lex’s hands on her ass, urging her body to fit against him as he stroked her tongue with his.
She had never been so reckless or stupid in her life. Ever. She didn’t make out with random strangers. No matter how beautiful they were. All the dating magazines and articles she’d poured over with her friends since she was old enough to be interested in boys said to play it cool. Act unavailable.
Of course, then, there were the Cosmo articles that taught women to take charge and go after what they wanted and how to seduce a man. She chuffed as she wove through the crowd. She was not the seduction type. She was the one who thought everything through. She was the cautious one.
Until Lex.
Abbie couldn’t help a little snort. It sounded like such a cheesy line. Except he hadn’t delivered it like one. Though, she had a good idea of the kind of adventure he wanted to lead her on. The way his lips had slid over hers expertly, coaxing her into compliance. That was a man who had experience with a lot of women. Certainly more than his fair share. Like he made kissing a personal pastime.
Tamsin said he was part of the R&B crowd, and there was probably no shortage of women ready and willing to be with him. Heat flooded her cheeks, and the irrational flare of jealousy irritated her. Not to mention he was rich and probably had the feeling of entitlement to go with it. If something happened with them and it went bad, it would probably get ugly for her.
She fi
nally found the source of the music and grinned. A group of young kids had taken over a corner of the market with an impromptu dance battle.
Grinning, she snapped several photographs. One by one, the kids came over after krumping their way to their friends and checked out the images she captured. With every click, she’d stopped time on a particular emotion or feeling. Their live energy. How they moved. Their feeling. How alive they were. She’d born witness to it all.
As the kids grinned and attempted to tug her into the dance battle circle, she laughed and shook her head. There was no way she was going to krump. But her new friends and fans didn’t want to take no for an answer. They dragged her in and immediately surrounded her. Abbie closed her eyes the let the sounds of Sean Paul and the voices fuel her movement as she enjoyed her moment in the middle of the dance circle.
With the music blaring, her body moving, the smell of fried plantains in the distance, and the sounds of laughter coming from her new friends, she knew she’d made the right decision. No matter how scary, no matter how stupid it seemed. No matter what everyone said, she’d made the right choice in leaving. Her family didn’t know or understand her. Evan certainly didn’t understand her. All she had to do was let go and open herself to every new experience here.
The act of letting go was the hardest thing she’d have to do. Her family was her family. She couldn’t change who they were, and the sooner she accepted that, the happier she would be. But she could let go of Evan. There was no returning from where they were. She didn’t ever want to go back.
With the distance, she could clearly see how their relationship looked. On the outside, they were perfect. But on the inside she’d completely vanished. She could be strong and take charge and have fun.
The music eventually transitioned to something else, and the kids howled and clapped for her. She waved goodbye to her new friends and took the slips of paper they handed her with their phone numbers so she could text them some pictures. Abbie headed back out of the market, feeling lighter than she had been in days.
