Picture Perfect (16 page)

“You’re welcome,” I said, smiling and kissing her cheek.

“You should open mine next,” Brayden said, forcing his little box into her hand.

She blinked, surprised, then smiled at him and opened it. “Brayden!” Her jaw literally dropped as she ran her fingers over the diamond-encrusted bracelet. “My goodness, does it sparkle!”

Brayden’s chest puffed a little, and he gave me a smug smile.

I didn’t take his bait. I pretended like I hadn’t seen him, smiling down at Mom as she waved us both forward. “Thank you both, so much,” she said, hugging us. “Much as I love these gifts, it can’t compare to the joy of having you both home.”

Her gaze lingered on me, and Brayden’s smile stiffened. “Yeah, Devin, we missed you this past Christmas.” The murderous look returned to his eyes, though the smile remained on his face. “It does feel more like home
, having you here. I hadn’t noticed it before.”

“Stand down, Brayden,” Dad barked, walking behind Mom as her worried gaze flitted between the two of us. “There’s no reason to reopen old wounds that haven’t fully healed.”

Brayden chuckled, circling the punch in his glass. “Of course not, Dad. We’ll just push it under the rug, like we always do.”

Mom’s hand reached out to grasp Brayden’s, but he shoved it in his pants pocket.

“Don’t,” Dad growled, but Brayden cut him off.

“You have some nerve showing up here,” he said.

It never ceased to amaze me how he could make me feel small when I dwarfed him by several inches. “I was invited,” I said quietly, shifting my weight.

“Well, I’m uninviting you.”

“Brayden!” Mom cried out. “This is your brother!”

Brayden threw the glass into the wall,
where it shattered onto a portrait. The picture frame fell and broken glass exploded from it the moment it hit the floor. On the wall, red streaks ran from the spot of impact like blood. “He’s not my brother! Not anymore.”

A blur rushed past. A
second later, the sound of flesh smacking across flesh reverberated through the room, and Brayden lurched.

Dad’s hand lingered in the air, his face hard and cold. “For once, try to be a man and not ruin a family event with your selfish self-pitying.”

Brayden froze, eyes wide with disbelief, then finally cracked his neck and rubbed his now bright red jaw. “I’m not the one who ruined this family,” he said in a low voice, turning his burning gaze on me. Tears danced in his eyes.

There it was again, the tug to rush forward and hug my little brother, to tell him I was more sorry than words could express.

I was so terribly, terribly sorry.

“Brayden-” I started.

“No,” he hissed, stepping back. His eyes darted to Dad. Words leaked out of him, as if the slap had broken a dam of pent-up emotions. “You’ve always taken his side, your prodigy who can do no wrong. And you’ve always been too weak to do anything about it,” he told Mom.

Her face went white. S
he grew so still, I wasn’t sure she was breathing.

Brayden stared at the picture lying on the floor. “Delia would have stood up for me. She would have understood. She was left out too.”

Wiping his eyes, he turned and left, the front door slamming shut a few seconds later.

No one moved in the thick silence that followed.

Without meaning to, I looked at the portrait. It was difficult because glass shards littered the picture, but I could make out the sunshine-smile of a pretty blonde, her head resting on Brayden’s shoulder while he grinned at the camera. We were all smiling. We all looked happy.

And I destroyed that.

The air grew thin and I staggered.

“Allen?” Mom said, reaching out for me.

I shook my head, feeling panic and shame rise in my chest. “I can’t stay. I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m so sorry.”

“Son,” Dad snapped, but I whirled.

“Don’t!”

For once he didn’t argue. His mouth snapped shut, and his outstretched arm dropped back at his side as he stared at me, jaw working.

I didn’t linger. I didn’t even stop to say goodbye to Wanda, who watched me leave with a hand covering her mouth.

All I knew was I had to get the hell out of there, far away from the memories that carved out my heart, and the reminder of how foolish I had been thinking I could be that damn happy again.

CHAPTER 18

Angel

I’D REPLAYED THE KISS about a hundred times before my shift on Monday. At first, it scared me so badly that I’d gone on a cleaning and homework spree, craving anything that would take my mind off him, and the realization I was drifting toward a place I swore I’d never visit again. As a result, much to Tam’s delight, the apartment was spotless, and for once, my homework was done before the day it was due.

Despite the drama this past weekend, my
spirits were riding high. Early yesterday morning, someone had knocked on our door. Dragging myself out of bed, I peered into the peephole. Not seeing anyone, I opened the door to find a letter had been taped to it. Seeing my name written across the envelope in neat script, I snatched it up and tore it open, finding my first modeling check and a note. I stared at the figure on the check for so long I almost forgot about the letter.

Angel,

Can you meet me this Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Sanhope Aquarium? I thought we’d get some shots there. Text me an answer.

Devin

My face burned at seeing his name, at knowing he’d written this letter. The faint smell of cigarette smoke lingered on the paper.

Blinking away another fantasy before it could begin, I had texted him back
, agreeing to the time and place. After finding Tammara hadn’t come home, I curled back up on my unmade bed with the check. More than anything, I wished I could call my mom to tell her everything that had happened and get her advice. But I knew she wouldn’t talk. She couldn’t. The last time we’d had a conversation had been little over a decade ago.

Trying not to feel sorry for myself, I went about my day like it was any other, feeling better about everything when Tam drove me to the bank later, and I saw my balance Monday morning. That is, until I called back Veronika at Crimson Hill’s Ca
re to direct debit the home care amount I owed. While the remaining balance left me depressed, it was still a relief to have the bill covered. At least Mom would be taken care of another month. In a world of small blessings, that was a big something I could be extremely grateful for.

I was all smiles at
The Fox Hunt
.
Curtis be damned. I wasn’t about to let him rain on my parade. When he smiled at me from across the room, I smiled back, as if to say, “You don’t own me. I can make money on my own without your help.”

I picked up more tips than I had in a while in my stroll about the room after my stage performance. I catered to the men’s whims, ravishing them in attention, and in return, they stuffed my stockings and corset full of ripe, green cash.

Circling the room, I kept glancing up, trying to tell myself I wasn’t disappointed when I didn’t see a familiar head of dark hair, piercing brown eyes, and studs. There was no use in missing what could never be in the first place. It was better this way; when you were alone, no one could hurt you. No one could make you believe the world was yours for the taking, and then rip the rug right out from under you.

We had thirty minutes left when one of our hosts found me and said, “Miss Angel, you have a young man requesting a private dance.”

Butterflies made my heart flutter as Devin’s face came to mind, along with the memory of him running his hands along my body, in my hair, stealing my breath with his hungry kisses. “Oh?”

The girl’s brows rose and she glanced around. “So is that a yes?”

“Oh. Sorry.” I squeezed my eyes shut, pushing back thoughts of bad boy photographers. “Yes, it’s fine. I’ll be right there. Which room is he in?”

“The red one. I’ll tell him you’ll be with him shortly. Oh, and he wanted me to ask if you’d gotten your check yet?”

Heat rushed through me. It
was
Devin. “Um, yes. I did.”

She nodded. “Okay then. I’ll, um, let him know.”

As she sauntered off, I ducked into the employee bathroom to touch up my makeup as my heart kicked into high gear. In all the bathrooms we had little cubbies labeled with our names, each carrying the essentials - lipstick, eye shadow, foundation, eyeliner, and mascara. It was a blessing not to have to scurry to my locker all the time for a quick fix.

After assuring my makeup was perfect, I walked across the main area and down the side toward my favorite room. Maybe it was because red was my favorite color, but I adored the romanticism of the decorations in this room: big deep scarlet vase
s bursting with red roses, dark-red satin curtains, and rose petals scattered about the floor. As I walked, my stomach did flips.

You are not excited to see him. He is just a client, like any other. You’ll do your job and get out. And if he tries anything else…

It slammed into me, a heady rush of lust. Every part of my body craved to be touched by him again. I’d be delusional to deny it.

Damn you sex drive.

But it was more than that, more to my feelings than simply wanting to get laid.

And that’s what scared me the most.

Mentally prepping myself, I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before slipping inside the curtains with a wide smile.

I froze, the warm tingle of nerves quickly replaced by the cold wash of fear.

Brayden lounged in the chair, smirking at me. “So what else does my brother pay you for? Does it include special privileges to family?”

“What are you doing here?” I demanded, forcing my voice to be strong. I shifted my weight, lingering by the entrance.

“Don’t get so worked up, sweetheart.” He got up, stretching. “I’m just here to talk.”

“Well, we can do that outside.”

He grabbed my wrist as I turned to leave. Doing as Tammara had taught me, I yanked against his thumb, easily freeing my arm.

“Whoa,” Brayden said, a wicked glint in his eyes. “Kitten’s got claws.”

“Stay back or I’ll -”

“What? Scream?” He made a face and a show of his hands. “I’m scared shitless.”

“What do you want?” I said through gritted teeth, glaring up at him.

“As I said.” He smiled. “I just want to talk.”

“About what?” I snapped, inching toward the exit.

He rolled his eyes and stepped away. “Would you relax already? I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not my brother.”

I stopped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That’s what I’m here to talk to you about.” He plopped back down in the chair, slinging a leg over one armrest. “That is, if
someone
would hear me out.”

I stared at him hard. There was nothing more I’d rather do than storm out, far away from him and his cat-like grin. But at the same time, I couldn’t ignore the curiosity he’d hooked in me. I would listen, but that didn’t mean I had to trust him.

I crossed my arms, scowling. “Fine. You have five minutes. And I still expect a tip.”

He seemed
perfectly fine with this. Then again, with him and Devin being brothers, they were both probably loaded.

Rich bastard.

“I’ll make it quick: If you know what’s good for you, stay the hell away from my brother.”

It took a long while for me to blink. “Are you serious? That’s it?”

His smile drooped a fraction. “Don’t you want to know why?”

“Not really,” I mumbled.

Anger flashed across his face. He stood up in a rush, cornering me. I kept one hand on the curtain, ready to knee him in the groin - another Tammara favorite - and make a run for it if things got heated.

“He has you fooled,” Brayden said. “I see it written all over your awestruck face every time you two are together. But Devin’s not who you think he is.”

“And who would that be?” I said, not daring look away from him.

He leaned closer. “Ask him yourself. Ask him what he did to his last girlfriend, the girl he was supposed to have loved more than anyone.”

The thought of him loving someone else like that turned me green with envy, but I quickly dismissed it as foolishness. “What did he do?” I whispered, not sure I wanted to know.

Brayden’s gaze darkened. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

I frowned. Before I could respond, he pushed past me, reached into his wallet, and flung a ten-dollar bill onto the floor. “My advice?” he said, pausing with one hand on the curtain. “Do your modeling thing and then forget about Dev before he hurts you.”

With a swish of the curtain, he was gone, leaving me standing there staring after him and wondering what the hell that had been about.

What did he mean ‘stay away from Devin’? Where did he get off coming here like this, giving me cryptic warnings without any clue as to what was behind them?