Reluctantly, I reach my hand to the panel and flick the button. The sound of the lock mechanism makes Sarah let out a gust of air before cracking open the window. She turns her head to look at me. “I don’t have a habit of spilling my friend’s business, so I’ll be square with you, Ethan Wilder. You may be hot as sin, but you’re a horse’s ass. You’re a jerk for what you put Natalie through. In my opinion, neither you nor her familydeserve her. Natalie is sweet, hardworking, and a fucking gem of a person, and in my eyes, you’re all trash.”
My jaw clenches. “Anything else?”
“Yes.” She gives me a piercing look. “At the same time, I have a gut feeling you care for my friend. You wouldn’t have sat here for two hours like an idiot if you didn’t.”
“I don’t care much for insults, Miss Brown.”
“Well, if you want to get your girl, you’d better suck it up, Mr. Wilder.”
I glare at her. “I really don’t like you.”
“Oh, no,” Sarah retorts in a mocking voice. “How will I live with myself now? Ethan Wilder doesn’t like me.”
“If you have a point to make, Miss Brown,” I say through gritted teeth, “now would be the time.”
“Fine,” she snaps. “You’re clearly interested in Natalie. I want to know your intentions.”
“And I should share them with you because—?” I sneer at her, my dislike of the woman growing with each second.
“Because you need me on your side if you want to get anywhere near her heart. I have Natalie’s ear, and unlike her, I know the world isn’t filled with jerks. So if you can convince me, I can work on her.”
“What do you want in return?” I eye her coolly.
Her expression turns frosty. “As much as I like money like every other person, Mr. Wilder, Natalie is my best friend. Her happiness is more valuable to me than anything you could give me.”
I examine her, feeling a reluctant amount of respect building. “I’m not in the habit of sharing my personal business with anyone. But I do want to know about Natalie’s finances.”
Sarah bristles. “Her finances are none of your business. If you’re trying to label her as a gold digger, I clearly made a mist?—”
I cut her off before she offends me again. “I can’t protect herfrom her mother until I know how deep the woman is involved with Natalie’s finances.”
“Who’s to say she has any involvement?” Sarah shoots back.
“Miss Brown, don’t insult me. Her mother is taking money from her, and I have a feeling it’s not the first time.” My voice is hard, an icy rage seizing me. “I’m not going to let anyone take advantage of Natalie.”
“You took advantage of her once.” Sarah observes me carefully. “Why shouldn’t she be fair game for everybody else?”
I clench my teeth, shame and regret coursing through me. “You don’t know anything about what happened.”
“I know what Natalie told me. You took her virginity, then you tried to get her brother’s business secrets out of her. When you found out she knew nothing, you told her you wasted your time and left her in the hotel room. Did I miss anything?” she asks harshly.
I hadn’t known Natalie was a virgin until she had been under me. Regret had been instantaneous, followed by shock. Taking her innocence had rattled me to the core, and it had opened my eyes to what I was doing. But it had been too late. The words that had come later had been self-loathing, not directed at her. But how was she to know that?
I gaze ahead at a red car parked a few spots in front of me, trying to get my emotions in check. “I wasn’t trying to steal her brother’s business secrets. I was trying to get back what he had stolen from me.”
“That’s not what Natalie?—”
“Natalie wasn’t privy to her brother’s affairs. Her brother stole from me. He caused me a considerable amount of loss.” I pause, attempting to sort through my own conflicted feelings. “I do regret what I put Natalie through. And I returned to the hotel room an hour later, but she was gone. By the time I managed to find out where she lived, she had already moved out.”
“Not by choice,” I catch Sarah muttering under her breath, and my eyebrows lift.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
She glances at me. “Natalie is sure you want to hurt her again. Or that you want something from her.”
“I told her I don’t want anything from her?—”
