Chapter 32
RUBY
“What’s wrong?” Scott asked, and she blinked, disoriented.
She shook her head and forced a smile on her face: “It’s nothing she murmured.
“Are you sure?” he asked, looking at her with worry in his eyes.
She smiled at him and shook her head, trying her best to reassure him. “Just my brother being a dick,” she said as she grabbed her bag. Cole had called her again, she wondered how he even got her new number. He had called to rain insults on her again, it was nothing new. He called her all sorts of names and told her to stop plastering herself all over the blogs with Alex. “I’m having lunch with Alexander.”
“Ooh, a date,” he said, wiggling his fingers in her face teasingly, and she forced a smile onto her face.
“No,” she disagreed, shaking her head. “It’s just part of our agreement. We said we’d go on a couple of high–profile dates, just until all the rumors are settled,and also so your grandfather knows that we’re in love and doesn’t suspect a thing. Alex is going on a business trip tomorrow. He’ll be gone all week, so today is a good last day to stage a date.”
Scott wriggled his brows, and she couldn’t help but smile. She shook her head and moved to walk past him, but he stopped her. “Hey,” he said, and she turned to look at him “I’m so happy that you’re back in our lives. I’ve missed you, Ruby. I know things aren’t back to what they used to be, but I’d really like it if we could work on that. You’re the only real friend I ever had. The only person I ever confided in, the only one I’ve ever really trusted.”
Her heart warmed and she felt like she would cry. She hugged him, squeezing tightly. “I’ve missed you a lot too,” she whispered, feeling vulnerable all of a sudden. For years, Scott was her closest friend, and having him back in her life just when life couldn’t get any harder felt like a blessing. “And yes, let’s work on that.”
Scott pressed a kiss to her forehead and tipped his head toward the door. “Come on, I’ll go with you. I was planning on dropping by the office anyway.”
She frowned at him and Scott blushed just slightly. “I met someone,” he said, looking down. “It’s complicated. one of my brother’s employees.”
Her eyes widened, and she grinned. “My gosh, Scottie, that’s amazing!” she exclaimed, instinctively using the nickname she had given him when they were five. “You’ll have to tell me all about it.”
He nodded, but she could see the nervousness in his eyes. “Let’s go out for lunch soon, and I’ll tell you everything.”
She smiled and they walked out together, surprised to find the limousine waiting for them. Scott frowned and raised his brows before grinning. “Well, damn, you’ve won over my brother, huh? He sent the limo to pick you up?”
She was about to deny his words, but then the door opened, and Alex stepped out. Her heart skipped a beat when their eyes? met. He smiled at her, but his expression dropped when he noticed Scott. “And why are you here?” he asked–looking annoyed. His eyes moved between Scott and her, his gaze tinged with distrust,
Scott elbowed her and leaned in to whisper into her ear, annoying Alex even further “Wow, he came to pick you up himself?
He never does that
Alex was frowning at Scott, and she could see the suspicion in his eyes. He walked up to her and threaded his hand through her hair with his body tense. He leaned in and lowered his lips to hers, putting on a show of possessiveness, his silent way of telling Scott that she belonged to him alone. He pulled away to look at her, his gaze heated. When he looked at her this way, it got really hard to remember that it was only her body he cared about and craved. It got hard to remember that all they had was an agreement, that none of it was real
Scott shook his head and pushed past them, making her pull away from Alex. She was flustered, embarrassed, and he leaned
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Chapter 32
庭味家78%1
in, his lips brushing against her ear. “I told you, Ruby. I’m going to make sure it’s evident to every man that you’re mine- Scott included. It doesn’t matter that he’s my brother. It’s me you married. Remember that.”
She looked into his eyes as he pulled away. “Was that really necessary? I’m just another one of your belongings, aren’t I? Your brother already knows that. You don’t need to stake your claim like you’re some caveman, Alex. there’s no one around for you to put on a show for.”
Alex blinked, he clearly hadn’t been expecting that outburst from her. And if she was being completely honest, she hadn’t either. She pushed past him, getting into the car. Her heart was aching today and she was tired of being reminded that she didn’t mean anything to anyone, that she was just a thing to be owned, used, and discarded whenever they saw fit. She knew she had no rights to Alex, but she was tired of feeling like a mere object. He sat down next to her and buckled her in, taking his time, his touch lingering. His eyes were on her, his gaze searching for something she didn’t know. He frowned at her as he sat back with one hand on her knee and the other holding his phone. She wanted a bit of space, and she was tempted to push him away but she resisted. She resisted, because Scott was looking at the both of them, his eyes twinkling with pure delight. She looked at him through narrowed eyes, trying to convey that he needed to knock it off, but he just kept smirking at them, even though she was very sure that he knew exactly what she was trying to say to him without speaking. She knew he was seeing things that weren’t there. Scott was like that- he was a hopeless romantic, and he was clearly falling for his brother’s theatrics.
“Ruby,” Alex suddenly said, sighing. “I need to head back to the office. Something came up.”
She nodded, and he gently pushed her hair out of her face. “Come with me,” he said. “Come to the office with me. I don’t know how long this’ll take, but we can grab some food after? Or if you’re hungry now, I can just order you some food to my office
She looked at him with raised brows. If they weren’t putting on a show, why would they need to spend any time together? It didn’t make sense, even by Alex’s own metrics.
The mildly impressed look on Scott’s face told her that Alex taking her to his office instead of just cancelling their date was unusual, and she hated that it got her hopes up just slightly… She hated that it made her wonder if maybe, just maybe, he wanted to spend time with her as much as she wanted to spend time with him.
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