I didn’t care how polite he was. I still hated the bastard. “Thank you. Have you met London?” I squeezed her into my side.
“No, I haven’t.” Andrew looked at her just the way I did, like her beauty was impossible to mistake. “Lovely to meet you.” He shook her hand. “I’m sorry, what is your title?”
London eyed me as if she didn’t know what to say.
“She’s my girlfriend,” I said. “She’s an American doctor who recently moved here.”
I knew London would argue that wasn’t true since she never received her license, but it was the quickest way to explain her hobbies.
Josephine’s face immediately paled when she realized what London meant to me. Her eyes dropped, and her mind drifted away from the conversation as the truth hit her hard.
“That’s lovely,” Andrew said. “Welcome to Scotland. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
“I already do,” London answered.
Andrew returned his hand to Josephine’s waist and guided her away to join the rest of the festivities.
London released the breath she was holding and looked at me when we were alone again. “Is that the same Josephine who came to the house a few months ago?”
The question was pretty much rhetorical because she already knew the answer. “Yes.”
London watched Josephine join the crowd with Andrew, her eyes glued to every movement she made. “She loves you. I can tell just by looking at her.” She turned to me for confirmation.
I didn’t like keeping secrets from London anymore. It was easier to be honest with her since I was sharing my entire life with her. She was there every second of the day, sharing my bed every second of the night. “She does. But I don’t love her anymore.”
She couldn’t hide the surprise on her face when I shared something so personal with her. Her eyebrows were high, and she parted her lips in a sexy way. The braid that was pinned up with the rest of her hair made her look more graceful than usual. She was by far the most beautiful woman in the room that night. “So you used to be together…”
“Yeah. It ended about a year ago.” I didn’t get into the specifics just in case someone was eavesdropping. I couldn’t exactly call Josephine a cunt when someone else could overhear it and rat me out. Wasn’t good decorum.
“Oh…” A red tint came into her cheeks, and her expression slowly hardened with every passing second. I’d seen that look a few times and knew exactly what it meant. She was jealous—very jealous. She glanced at Josephine before she looked at me. She came closer into my chest then rose on her tiptoes to kiss me, probably hoping Josephine would see.
I didn’t care if Josephine was looking or not. When my woman kissed me, all I cared about doing was kissing her back. My hands gripped her petite waistline, and I didn’t care about the public display of affection we were showing everyone. It wasn’t classy or appropriate, but I still didn’t care.
When my cock hardened in my slacks, I pulled away before I could get carried away. When we were back in the car on the drive home, she was going to straddle my hips and fuck me in the back seat. But that was a few hours away, so I shouldn’t get too excited.
I spotted Ariel walk inside the front door wearing a skintight black dress with matching heels. Her hair was curled, and she looked ready to have a good time, not sit around and work. Her glasses didn’t sit on the bridge of her nose, and her dark hair looked good with everything she wore. “I’m going to say hello to Ariel.” I knew London would want nothing to do with my business partner. They simply couldn’t get along, and it was easier just to accept it than to force them to play nice.
London grabbed my hand and pressed herself into my side. “I’ll come with you.”
“Are you sure? You can mingle with everyone else.”
“No, I don’t want to leave your side.” She pressed closer into me, her breasts rubbing against my ribs.
Hearing her need me was sexy, so I pulled her along with me and walked up to Ariel. It wasn’t until I was up close that I spotted the other woman with her. Blond, petite, and beautiful, she was close enough to Ariel that their shoulders touched.
It only took a few seconds for me to figure it out.
“You look beautiful tonight, Ariel.” I leaned into her and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
“Thanks, Crewe. You look nice too.” Ariel looked at London and gave her the fakest smile in the world. Then she turned back to me. “This is Cassandra. Cassandra, this is the man I’m always telling you about.”
Cassandra smiled brighter than the stars then kissed me on the cheek. She hugged London, being far nicer to her than Ariel ever was. She had the complete opposite personality, full of buoyancy and playfulness. “It’s so nice to meet you both of you. Ariel talks about you all the time. You know her, it’s always about work.”
Ariel rolled her eyes. “It’s not always about work.”
Cassandra gave her a firm look full of disagreement.
Ariel shrugged it off.
“Can I get you ladies something to drink?” I asked.
“Nonsense,” Cassandra said. “I can handle that. I’m sure you two want to catch up. You want to come with me, London?”
London clutched my hand with an ice-cold grip. “Uh, I’m okay. Thank you, though.”
Cassandra didn’t care about the brush-off and walked away.
Now that I was alone with Ariel, I felt like I should apologize. “I’m sorry that I made any assumptions before.” I constantly assumed she had boyfriends in her life. If I paid more attention, I probably would have picked up on the subtle hints she dropped.
“You don’t need to apologize, Crewe.” Ariel was always right to the point, borderline heartless. It was nearly impossible to offend her because she didn’t give a damn about anyone’s opinion, another reason why I liked her so much. “We’ve been seeing each other for a few months. I met her in London. She’s wonderful.”
I smiled, feeling happy that she had someone. It seemed like she was working all the time, slaving away over the scotch business and my other forms of revenue. I didn’t want her to revolve her entire universe around work like I did. There was more to life. “She’s lovely. She balances you well.”
Ariel grinned. “Because she’s pleasant?”
“Because she’s a little more laid-back. Maybe she’ll teach you how to relax.”
Ariel chuckled. “She definitely does that.”
Cassandra returned with two glasses of wine and handed one to Ariel.
“Thanks, honey.” Ariel kissed her on the cheek then took a drink. “We’re going to say our pleasantries. Hope you two have a great evening.” Ariel drifted with elegance, her shoulders perfectly back and her frame straight. Cassandra gave us a smile and a wave before she left with Ariel.
I grinned as I watched them go, feeling happy for my partner and a little foolish for not noticing the obvious.
“She’s cute,” London noted.
“She is.”
“A little too nice for Ariel, though.”