Page 16 of Trust
Yeah, he knew how to cut people down to size. Not because of his time in Hollywood. He’d learned it at his mother’s side. She had grown up poor, and she did not like pompous asses.
Anger flared in Bellows’ dark brown gaze. It was quickly masked.
“Rick Bellows. I’m surprised you don’t know who I am.”
How had she dated this asshole? Maybe she’d lost a bet. Perhaps she’d had a drinking problem he didn’t know about.
“I’m sorry. Is there a reason I should know who you are?”
The man’s cheeks turned ruddy. Another direct hit.
“I’m the number one surfer in the world.”
“Oh. Well, good for you.” He tried his best to sound patronizing. His gaze moved over to the blonde at his side. “And you are?”
She blinked, apparently surprised that he didn’t know who she was.
“Sienna Lawson.”
Her tone told him that he should know who she was. He did not.
These people. Seriously. He had a passing acquaintance with the future King of England, and he wasn’t as pretentious. And that was saying a lot.
“Nice to meet you.” Then he sat back down. Yes, it was rude, but so was how she stared daggers at Lani.
Sienna looked at him, then at Royal.
“I thought you and Sienna would have a lot in common, Jake.”
First off, where the hell did she get off calling him Jake? Also, the only thing he had in common with Sienna was blue eyes and the fact that they were both in the wedding.
“I wanted to catch up with Ben, plus, I wanted to touch base with Lani about the Pinnacle. Maybe doing a tie-in with Kingston Surfing.”
Yep, he threw his sister and her husband into the mix. His family owned the resort. He assumed his sister would be okay with it since she was the one who told him to follow his heart.
Without having any recourse, Sienna took the seat next to Royal. That meant Rick was free to sit next to Lani. Jakob did not like that. It wasn’t as if Lani was his date. Hell, most of the time, she acted like he annoyed the hell out of her. He had talked himself down from saying anything to Bellows until the idiot leaned over to whisper to Lani. Jakob wasn’t someone who wanted to control Lani, but she stiffened. Oh,fuckthat. It was all the indication he needed that she didn’t honestly like the man near her.
Jakob leaned over, grabbed the edge of her chair, and shifted her closer to him. Lani’s eyes widened as she looked at him likehe’d lost his mind. “Sorry, but we have things to discuss, and I don’t want people at other tables hearing them.”
Lani was biting the inside of her lip to keep from laughing. And he wanted to be nibbling on that lip before slipping his tongue between them…
Her eyes widened again, and he realized he’d probably broadcasted his feelings. He banked his need before turning to face the table.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here. Any suggestions?”
Lani stared at herself in the mirror. She’d escaped to the ladies’ room after dinner. She couldn’t believe that Rick had the nerve to show up with Sienna, of all people. Rick had never been accused of having common sense. He was a hell of a surfer, but he always seemed to screw up his life.
She knew all this before they started dating. But she had been at a low point. It had been reported that Jakob was dating Gwen Hastings, his co-star inGetaway Car.They were at all the red carpet events together. It had been stupid to give in to Rick. He had been after her for months, and she knew he only went after her because of her position at the company. And they might have made it if he hadn’t been fucking Sienna Lawson.
Drawing a deep breath, she exited the bathroom and found Rick waiting. What the hell had she done in her life to deserve this crap? She worked hard, loved her family, and did everything possible to make the world better.
“What are you doing here?” She didn’t even try to hide her irritation.
“I wanted to talk to you.”
“We don’t always get what we want in life, Rick.”
“I want to make this better.”
