Perfectly Toxic (The Sterling Shore Series Book 9) (3 page)

Chapter 5

ETHAN

She’s nobody. She’s nothing. She’s just some random chick who judged me.

So what if I felt her damn hand on my cheek? That was probably a fluke. It’s happened before. Okay, so it’s only happened with one other person or when I’ve been surprised, but it was still a fluke. That’s all.

She probably thinks I’m some loser without a job who sits around all day in his underwear watching porn or something.

Okay, so I currently don’t have a job, but that’s because I’ve spent a decade killing myself for my father’s company. I even spent my twenty-eighth birthday working for nineteen straight hours, and had a slice of pie in between conference calls.

I have more than enough money to kick back and live easily for the rest of my life and then some. I also still have stock in the company that will generate a generous income as long as the company thrives.

Why am I sitting here reassuring myself? I’m not a fucking chick. This doesn’t bother me.

Damn her for touching me.

Groaning, I grab my phone and do something stupid. I acknowledge the fact that I broke a few boundary rules by texting her. Yeah, that’s right. I went into her purse yesterday—like an asshole—took out her phone, and called myself so that I’d have her number—like a creeper. To be fair, she should get a security lock if she doesn’t want random people using her phone.

ME: Are you with the virgin, or do you want to grab some food?

I’m pretty sure that’s not going to work, but fuck it. Gotta start the conversation somehow.

It takes about fifteen seconds to get a response.

BELLA: You have got to be fucking kidding me. Is this Ethan? How the hell did you get my number?

ME: Food or no?

BELLA: Hell no. And lose my hummer!

Hummer?

I start to question that, when she immediately sends another text.

BELLA: NUMBER not hummer! Asshole.

Why am I the asshole? I didn’t make her type the wrong word.

ME: I’m bored. Send me something dirty if you won’t grab some food with me.

When all else fails, go with humor. Chicks dig funny guys, right? I’m not really all that funny.

After a few minutes, I expect her not to respond. But she finally does, and I read with an arched brow.

BELLA: A pig in mud.

There’s weirdly a photo under it of a pig in mud. What the—
oh. Something dirty. Fucking hilarious
, I think dryly.

ME: Cute. Now send me the real thing.

BELLA: Go duck yourself.

That one has me smirking. Girl has some autocorrect issues.

BELLA: FUCK. Go FUCK yourself!

ME: Tempting… But I’d rather fuck you. What time am I picking you up?

BELLA: I should have sent you to the psych ward
.

My lips twitch, and I lean back, ready for some more. This is actually pretty fun.

ME: Chinese? Pizza? Delivery or takeout?

BELLA: Fine. I’ll grab dinner with you.

I sit up, a little wary. Hell, that was almost too easy—

BELLA: We’ll swim by the police station on the way to the restaurant.

BELLA: SWING by. Not swim. Stupid ducking phone.

It takes me a second to realize I’m laughing, then I shake my head.

ME: You’re less intimidating with typos, just so you know.

BELLA: You’re a total creeper, just so you know.

My phone rings in my hand, pausing the sparring match when I see Tag’s name flash across the screen. Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Yeah, I’m on my way” I answer, standing up and stretching before grabbing my keys.

How’d I forget all about him inviting me over? It’s the first time I’ll get to hang with the group as a whole since I’ve been back.

“You should have been on your way over an hour ago,” he grumbles.

“Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Just getting used to not having an assistant to remind me what to do for the day.”

“Not a good excuse,” he points out as I lock my door and head to my car, hurrying my pace.

“On my way,” I tell him before hanging up and getting in my car.

Smirking, I rev my new baby and drive like hell. Having a vehicle wasn’t feasible in Chicago, since I never had time to actually drive a vehicle. I lived right beside my company, and I pretty much lived there instead of my actual apartment.

Here, I had a BMW that I drove when I was visiting. Although I still have that one parked in the garage of the home I bought over two years ago, I also made a new purchase the second I landed back in my hometown.

It doesn’t take long before I’m arriving at his beast of a home. I don’t know how his son doesn’t get lost in this damn thing.

I hurry around the side of the house, because there’s no doubt everyone is out by the pool, judging by the splashing.

When I reach the party, Dane Sterling is the first I run into. He’s all smiles with a little girl in his arms, and I feel like shit because I’m struggling to remember her name. Dane is married to my cousin, our families are close, yet I can’t remember his adopted daughter’s name.

That’s how my life has been—a lot of important things forgotten because my world has revolved around business, leaving room for little else.

“Carrie, you remember Ethan, right?”

Carrie. Of course. How could I forget that?

She nods shyly, and looks away. Unlike the bouncing bundle of blonde curls who is tugging on my jeans. I look down just as the little girl tugging at me peers up, studying me with intense eyes.

“Daddy is looking for you,” she tells me, and I internally curse myself.

Wren’s little girl… I remember her now. Shit. How am I forgetting all of this? And her name is… Ah hell. This is pathetic.

I feel like I turned my head and everyone suddenly has kids in school.

My eyes come up just in time to see Wren waving me over, and I head toward his table, catching the tail end of Britt Sterling’s conversation about her college courses. Sadly, I don’t remember the name she had before she took her brother’s last name.

Maybe everyone needs to stop confusing me and just stay the same.

“I would have waited until the fall to start college. At least take the summer off,” Allie—Wren’s fiancée—tells her.

“The courses I’m taking are only summer courses,” Britt replies, actually smiling.

Yeah, I missed out on the college experience, so I don’t blame her for smiling and enjoying it while she can.

“So you’re finally home,” Wren says, grinning widely while he sits in his chair, relaxed with his arm around Allie.

“Finally,” I echo, sitting down on his other side and stretching out.

It feels like I weigh a thousand pounds less, now that the weight of my father’s company is off my shoulders.

Allie frowns, looking around, but her little girl is rounding the corner again, climbing right up in Wren’s lap. Looking at the six or seven year old girl resting easily against him, you wouldn’t think Wren had only been in her life for less than a year.

Shit, our group is all kinds of fucked up.

“What’s on the agenda?” Wren asks me, reclining back as his daughter tells her mother about something random.

My eyes move from him to his daughter, and a slow, daring smile quirks the corner of my mouth. “Sure you want me to announce my agenda for all ears to hear,
Daddy?”

He glares at me before rolling his eyes.

“Give me the PG version.”

Chuckling, I shrug. “No plans. That’s my agenda. My life has been nothing but consistent planning, down to the shi—I mean, the bathroom breaks I could take. All I want to do is kick back and live for a while.”

“Live like last weekend? Keg parties and psycho women?”

I cock an eyebrow at him. “Obviously that last part wasn’t on the agenda. But the parties, yeah. Why not? Unlike the rest of you, I had to miss that entire section of life when I had to take over the company. There wasn’t much wiggle room for fun, other than the few spare moments I could steal away a quick trip back home. Even then I had to temper my behavior because of the possible backlash it could have if any of that got back to the board, who have been chomping at the bit to take the business away for over a decade.”

“Why not just let them have it?” Britt’s voice has me turning to face her, realizing she’s brazenly admitting her eavesdropping. She doesn’t even falter, just stares me directly in the eyes as she awaits an answer. Hard to believe she’s just a college kid.

When I don’t answer, she goes on. “Obviously you didn’t want to run it, and now you’ve sold it. So why did you work so hard to keep the board from having it?”

She speaks like she knows exactly what I’m talking about, which hell, she may.

“Had my reasons,” I say with a shrug.

She seems disgruntled with my vague answer, but Dane calls to her, motioning her over with his head before she can press for more. When my eyes move back toward Wren, they linger over Allie, because she’s giggling at her phone.

“What’s so funny?” Wren asks as Angel climbs down from his lap and races after Carrie, who is waving dramatically at her to follow.

“Just Bella’s unfortunate autocorrect hell continuing. She really needs to get a new phone. She keeps turning off the autocorrect option, but it’s like her phone is haunted and turns it back on itself.”

It takes a second for that to register, but when it does, it’s like a slap to the face. How the ever-fucking-hell can that be? Surely there are not two Bellas? No. Too coincidental with the autocorrect thing.

I’d remember if Wren had mentioned her… Ah fuck that. I forgot Carrie’s damn name, and struggled to remember Wren’s daughter’s name.

“Bella?” I ask, unable to help myself.

Wren is laughing as he finishes looking at the phone, and I try not to act annoyed that I can’t see what is so amusing to them.

“Yeah,” he drawls. “Allie’s best friend. I told you about her.”

As if that matters. He, like all the others, assumed I was running a business the Sterling way or his way. No such luck. I was involved in all the decision making, all the details, and all the meetings. I was usually doing fifteen other things when they called to talk, so retaining any other information was a hassle.

“Remind me,” I say casually, acting as though I’m only mildly interested instead of a little overly obsessed.

I still have no clue why I can’t let this thing go.

“She moved here just before Allie, and she works at the hospital. Why?” he eyes me suspiciously, and I shrug.

Definitely the same Bella, considering the hospital remark. Judging by his gaze, he doesn’t like me asking about her. He certainly wouldn’t want me fucking with her head the way I am if she’s Allie’s friend.

“Just curious. Everything in the group is changing, so I’m just trying to keep up. Corbin is engaged, Dane and Rain are married, Rye and Brin are playing house, and Kade is also getting married. Lots of new names and new shit going on. Oh, and Kode and Tria? Seriously? How does something like that happen? Tag has a kid
and
another one on the way.
You
have a kid in school that you didn’t have a year ago. Maverick and Dale are all I have left.”

I sigh dramatically, and he grunts while shaking his head as Allie walks over to talk to Ash—Tag’s wife.

I feel like an outsider looking in, as though I was never really a part of this group.

“Shit changes, man. But you’re here now, so you can finally keep up with the rest of us.”

He claps me on the shoulder, and I lean back, deciding to focus on something that isn’t annoying me.

“So this Bella chick—”

“Don’t even think about going there,” he interrupts, giving me a pointed stare.

I hold my hands up in surrender, palms out like I’m innocent. “Just asking, dude. Not like that,” I tell him, only partially lying. I honestly have no idea what I’ll do with her if she lets me catch her, but I have to know if it was a fluke. Getting her to touch me again is on the top of list of things to do. “I was just asking what she is to the group,” I go on.

He relaxes as he rolls his eyes.

“Sorry. I’m on edge. Until I get a wedding ring on Allie’s finger, I’m a little paranoid that anything could go wrong. And you pissing off her best friend wouldn’t be in my best interest.”