Page 76 of Fake Dark Vows
“Maybe she doesn’t want to be found.”
He laughs then, and two Asian men in dark suits walking past our booth turn and stare at us. “Don’t judge me, Rose. It doesn’t suit you.”
“I-I’m not judging you; I just feel sorry for your wife. Does she know?”
“What do you think?”
“Do you really want to know?”
He grabs my chin between his thumb and forefinger and turns my face so that I’m looking directly at him. “Only if you’re not going to get all prim and proper on me. No one likes a prude, Rose.”
“You mean you don’t like a prude.”
His face breaks into a smile, but his eyes are constantly darting around the room, and I wonder if he’s more concerned about losing Jennifer than he’s prepared to admit. “No wonder my brother wanted to keep you all to himself.”
It takes a couple of beats for me to process his words. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“He didn’t tell you about our little wager, did he?”
“Wager?” I hate that my voice cracks—I don’t want Damon to know that his words can affect me.
“We had a bet when you arrived on Ruby Island, that I could crack you before he did.”
Suddenly, the noises inside the Cocktail Garden are buzzing around my head like bees around a bellflower. It’s too hot. Too crowded. Damon’s thigh brushes mine, and I flinch.
“Don’t look so shocked, Rose. You didn’t honestly think that my brother had feelings for you, did you?” He narrows his eyes, gauging my reaction. “Oh, you did, didn’t you? First mistake, sweetheart. My brother isn’t capable of feelings—he’s like a robot, programmed only to work.”
I ignore my racing heart. I have to know. “So, have you paid him out on this bet?”
“Not yet. I’m hitting the poker tables later—why do you think I’m here? That, plus I wanted to see the evidence for myself. Too many AI generated photos floating around the Internet these days.”
“How much was this bet?” My voice doesn’t even sound like my own.
“I suggested a thousand, but Brandon insisted on bumping it up to ten grand.” He winks at me then, and I want to run away, but I force myself to remain seated. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me flee. “I’m sure you’re worth it.”
Tears well in my eyes, and I turn away from Damon.
A wager. That’s all I am to him. I’m such an idiot for thinking that I could’ve ever been more to him than just sex. I’ve been blinded by the diamond on my finger, the hotel room, the Rod Stewart gig. Blinded into thinking that he might actually enjoy my company.
My thigh hits the table as I stand up, but I barely acknowledge the bruise that will already be forming under the surface of my skin. I need to get out of here before Brandon comes back and resumes this façade that he has adapted to so easily.
I dodge tables and people and servers balancing trays of cocktails on one hand. My eyes are so blurry with tears that I don’t register the man in black somewhere near the entrance watching me leave. The instant I’m outside, I start running, and I don’t look back.
CHAPTER 25
Brandon
Damon is sitting in the booth when I get back, legs stretched out under the table, stroking Rose’s empty cocktail glass with his thumb.
“Where’s Rose?” Like I need to ask. The smug smile on his face is telling me everything I need to know.
“She left. Rather suddenly. Didn’t say where she was going.”
“What did you say to her?”
His mouth twists into the sinister grin he perfected as a child whenever our parents were looking the other way. “I might have let it slip about our little wager.” He inclines his head, striking a pensive pose. “She didn’t take it as well as I thought she would.”
I knew I should’ve told her myself. I wanted to. I was waiting for the right time, but the right time never seemed to come along. I should’ve known Damon would find a way to get to her first.