I nod. “Kitt. Nice to meet you.”
“I saw you in Paris. You’re phenomenal.”
“Always good to hear. Thanks.”
She sips her wine and smiles. “What are you doing after?”
My spine stiffens. She’s fucking coming on to me in front of my girlfriend. To my right, I can feel I now have Tex’s attention.
“I’ll be going to my girlfriend’s.”
Her eyes flick to Texas, and she blushes. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. You two are definitely a couple then? I thought, since you didn’t mention it, you didn’t really want her. I mean, why not confirm it if you thought she was worth it?”
I’m burning. My fists clench.
Don’t hit a woman. You can never hit a woman.
Tex smiles, but there is nothing friendly in it. “Danniella. Fuck off.”
“Stupid whore,” Peyton mutters. “Who is she anyway?”
“She blogs or something like that. She’s been linked to every male celeb who will sleep with her,” Tex explains.
Makes sense. She reeks of desperation. I turn my back, effectively blocking the bitch from our group, and take a breath. My eyes lock with Tex, and she shrugs, like it was nothing. She downs a shot and immediately picks up her discussion with Milo.
I’ve never been prouder of her. But there’s something in her eyes that I don’t like. Doubt. Even if it’s passing and she’s no longer worried about us, she still thought it.
I pull her to the side when I get a minute.
“What?” She laughs nervously.
“Danniella…when she said I didn’t confirm the rumours because I didn’t think you were worth it, you believed her.”
“No, I didn’t, Kitt. Look, a part of me was angry because you didn’t.”
“You told me not to.”
“I know that.”
“So, how can you be angry, Tex?”
“Because I wanted you to want to tell everyone.”
“I did want to!”
“I know, but you didn’t.”
Oh my God. “I didn’t because you said not to. It was your choice.”
“I know that, too.”
My head is about to explode. “So…you’re angry because I didn’t tell even though you told me not to. Should I have gone ahead and made the announcement?”
“No, of course not.”
“Fucking hell, Texas. I need another drink.”
She presses her chest against mine, and I almost forget the argument.
“I’m sorry. It’s unreasonable.”
“Oh, is it?” I say sarcastically.
She glares. “You did the right thing. It’s what I wanted, what we wanted. I wish we didn’t have to hide away. But that doesn’t matter now because we’re together, and we’re forever.”
“Yeah, unless you keep on with that unreasonable mindfuck shit, and my head blows off.”
She laughs and shrugs a shoulder. “You love it.”
“I love you. And all your crazy.”
TEXAS
SATURDAY, JUNE 13
LONDON, ENGLAND
Peyton, Kitt, Cooper, and I are sitting at one of the tables, drinking far too much. Since Dad left, I’ve upped my intake by about a thousand percent. Tomorrow is going to be hell.
“Stop it, dickhead!” I whisper, shoving Cooper’s hand away from Peyton’s arse.
She’s deep in conversation with Kitt about the tour, and behind her back, a pervert named Jack Cooper is trying to touch her up.
He points to me with a cheeky grin and says, “You need to lighten up, sweet cheeks.”
“You’re such a twat, Coop,” I reply, laughing at how dazed he looks.
The guy has probably had close to twenty drinks so far tonight. His blue eyes, which are a few shades lighter than Peyton’s, are glazed, and when he looks at me, it seems like it takes him a while to register who I am.
“You love me, Tex, so don’t even try to deny it.”
“Doesn’t change the fact that you’re a twat now, does it?”
Cooper adorably pouts his lip, and that right there is why he rarely gets into trouble for all the rubbish he causes. He has so much charm that it should be illegal.
“Are you going to put in a good word for me since you’ve been nasty tonight?” he asks, nodding his chin toward Peyton.
She hears and looks over, lifting a blonde eyebrow. “Every person on this planet could put a good word in, and I still wouldn’t touch you again. Not even with Tex’s.”
I’m very pleased she wouldn’t touch him with mine.
“Unlucky for you, Coop,” Kitt says, hitting him around the back of his head.
Kitt wraps his arm around my waist and tugs me a little closer. We can do this now. I don’t have to let go of him as we walk out the door.
“One day, love,” Coop says, blowing Peyton a kiss.
Usually, I’d side with my bestie, but I’m one hundred percent behind Cooper on this—not because I think they should have sex again, but because I know it’s inevitable. The tension and atmosphere between them is like it was when Kitt and I started to grow closer.
Laying my head on Kitt’s shoulder, I ask, “Where’d Milo go?”
His chest shakes with the laughter. “Took a girl to the gents’.”