The One Adored (The One Trilogy Book 3) (29 page)

“Jesus wept, I’d never leave the house!”

I burst out laughing, and notice several of the other women have now felt brave enough to pick up the other vibrators and are testing their strength on the back of their hands. As the wine continues to flow, Eileen’s patter is more successful and becomes saucier.
 

“She’s a mucky bitch, Meg isn’t she?” Abby nods in the direction of downstairs with a grin.

“I don’t know about ‘mucky bitch’ Abs - bit harsh isn’t it? It wasn’t that long ago I remember as certain someone in the Barracuda Club up for pretty much anything with Nathan?” I nudge her with a wink.

“Well that was then.” Her face drops and she taps her forehead with the rubber cock.

I grin but shake my head. “Right, that’s it!” I put my drink down, remove the dildo from her hand and carry it over to corner of the room, where we take a seat. “What the bloody hell has gone on between you and Nathan? You won’t talk to me, I’ve tried but you were fine in Dubai, then I had my accident and everything seemed to change.” I soften my voice somewhat and reach out to stroke her arm, watching her defences slowly go up around her. “Tell me - I’m your best-friend, please.”

“I told him I loved him.”

So that was it.
“But that’s wonderful, Abs. When?”

“The night of your crash. I felt so helpless after it all, you know? You nearly died for fuck’s sake. You lost the baby, I’d fucked up with Seb in not telling him about the pregnancy and this nutter sooner, and we were all so emotional. I was in no fit state to drive home, so Na drove me.”

I take another sip of my drink, nodding to encourage her to continue, we were finally getting somewhere at last.

“Anyway, the second we reached my flat, we were all over each other - like we had to fuck each other’s brains out to feel alive, to appreciate what we’d just experienced together.” She looks up, her face collapsing. “I’m sorry, Lulu - it was inconsiderate I know, you were lying in a hospital bed and I was getting my freak-on!”

‘Don’t be daft - life’s too short and times like those make you realise it. You were there for one another. I get it completely.”

She bites her lip and nods in agreement. “We were. It was amazing - the best sex we’ve ever shared and at the end of it I couldn’t hold back any longer…I said the three little words I’ve never told any man, romantically.”

“You told him you loved him.”

“I did.”

“And?”

“And nada. He thanked me, got dressed and made us a drink, started talking about being starving and needing to leave as he had to get up early.” She downs her drink

“Excuse me?” The screech in my voice is unmistakable. “That doesn’t sound like Nathan?”

“What you mean he’s not usually such a cock?”

“Well, yes, I spose so. I mean, he cares about you - I know he does, he’s told me so, and Seb.”

“Well obviously not enough. I
love
him.
Caring
is not enough for me anymore. I feel like I can’t go backwards.”

“So how was it left?” I look in the direction of the door as I watch Meg re-enter the room.
 

“He told me that getting close meant getting burned and that he wasn’t sure he was ‘love material’ - whatever that means. He said he thought we were trying to keep things simple. It was all too heavy.”

“WTF?”

“Precisely. So, I acted like I was absolutely fine that night. He left and then I’ve pretty much ignored the rest of his calls from then on.”

“Have you two spoken about this since?”

“Nope.”

“Ah come on, Abs, you have to. It’s been weeks! You’re both wandering around like you’ve lost your right arms.”

“I don’t have to do anything of the kind - he was the one who turned chicken on me. I put myself out there - which as you know is no small feat for me and then he threw it back in my face, so, I made sure he felt as shite as I did.”

I had an ominous feeling as her last words sunk in. “Abigail Thompson, what did you do?”

“His mate had asked me out several times, over the past few weeks, so I went - it wasn’t my fault it was Nathan’s. He made it very clear he didn’t want me so I made sure he knew other men did.”

Oh jeez.
Now I understood why Nathan disliked the fairer sex so much at present. He was supremely jealous and burdened with the Silver stubborn streak.

“Love! What were you thinking? He is a Silver! Silver men are stubborn as hell and need time to come to term with their emotions. The fact that he has been with you for all these weeks tells me how keen he is. I honestly believe that he feels the same way but the combination of you airing your feelings for him and my accident was too much for him - it made him shrink back into his protective shell. You buggering off with another man is never going to win him over!”
 

“Bloody men
 
I don’t want a man like that - I want a man who’ll fight for me - like you have with Sebastian.”

“Let’s not forget it took him ten years to step up and make his move.”

“Fair point.” She downs her drink and refills the glass with the Chardonnay from the table. “Fuck that! I’m not waiting around for him to frame himself. If he can’t see what he has standing in front of his eyes then he’s not worth it.”

I have to agree with her there, despite my keenness for them to be together. “Look, maybe the time apart will make you two realise what you’re missing.”

“I don’t know, Lu. I miss him, badly.” She pouts and hiccups.”I need a wee!”

‘You go to the loo. I’ll wait here.”

She disappears and I grab my phone making a quick decision that could effect my friendship long-term. I fire off a text to Seb and within seconds I’ve had a response as to Nathan’s GPS. Well that went better than I had hoped - he was at home with Seb as we speak and was crashing for the night; very handy. All I needed to do now was make sure Abby came home too.

I watch as she wanders back into the room and I stand and hug her slim frame, glad that she’s finally off-loaded. If anything I’m now more determined than anything to resolve things between them but I recognise that now was not the time.

“Did you do anything with this other guy?” I stroke her bobbed hair gently.

“No! Of course not. We just had one drink and I left. He was dull as dishwater but the next day the whole crew knew he’d taken me on a date.”

“Nathan being the top of that list.”

“Yep.”

“Well, he made it clear he wanted to keep things more simple, that means he can’t have it all his way. You are free to date whomever you please, you mustn’t feel guilty.”

“I don’t.”

“Good.”

“I just don’t want to date anyone but him.”

“I know, hunny. These bloody Silver men, you’ve said it before but once you’ve gone Silver, you don’t want tarnishing.”

“It’s no good.”

“What?”

“I’ll have to go for the Silver vibby.” She gets up and grabs the dildo that looks like the building. “It’s the one that will remind me most of him.”

“We’ll make it two.”

I chuckle and give her a huge hug, laughing more as our hug switches the vibrator on and it buzzes between us. I bend to turn it off and then freeze as a female voice slices through me with icy awareness. It couldn’t be.

“Ooh it’s that sort of party is it? Well, if I’d known that, I’d have been here earlier.”

“What the fuck is she doing here?” Abby crudely whispers to me as we both stare in shock at Toni Jacobs.

‘I don’t know and I don’t care. We’re leaving.” I grind out, standing.

“Lucheea? Not leaving on my behalf are you? It looks like you are just getting started. Sebastian not looking after you in the bedroom?” She smile cattily, nodding towards my hand, which is still holding the huge realistic looking cock vibrator.
Great!

I drop it like a hot potato. “Seb and I are fine, thank you Toni.”

“They are engaged.” Abs inputs.

“Yes I heard you’d managed to get him to propose. I suppose he had to marry one of these days for children, and let’s face he knew you were, a given in that department.” She tilts her head playing with her hoop earring. “Whoops, sorry, perhaps that’s not the case anymore I hear?”

Fucking bitch!
I grit my teeth and refrain for smashing my fist into her jaw. Abby steps in between us and thankfully remains calm. “As you well know, Sebastian proposed out of love. How did you get in here anyway?”

“Why Meg darling?”

“Meg?”

“Yes, Meg, Lucheea, the host? I’m good friends with Leo.”

I take a deep breath and locate Meg chatting with Eileen. She’d never mentioned she knew Toni and I’m disappointed that she would have such poor judgement.
 

I’m suddenly reminded of that time at Sebastian’s house warming when Leo and Toni had been in talks together - it had seemed so odd at the time but now it made sense if she said they were friends.

“Toni - I have no hard feelings you know. I understood that you wanted Sebastian for yourself, why you did, but it didn’t work out. Can’t we just we let bygones be bygones? All this negativity is not good for the soul.” I honestly can’t believe I am hearing the words fly out of my mouth and I don’t think she can either, by the look of disbelief that flashes across her face, her chin ducking backwards into her neck.
 

Abby shakes her head in utter confusion but after what I went through with the accident, and the uncertainty of this stalker situation I can’t take any more bad feeling. I’m marrying Sebastian and I just want to be happy.
 

“Why would you forgive
me
? After everything I’ve done?”

“Because I have Sebastian.” Simple. “And because what you did actually brought us closer, so in a weird way, I should thank you.”

Abby tuts and flings her arms around at my side and try to calm her. I stand by my words and after losing the baby and everything I’d been through of late I couldn’t deal with another nasty comment from a woman that was actually not a threat to me. She was just clearly very unhappy.

She considers my words. I’d already made it clear to her with my actions in Dubai, when I’d not had her arrested for attempted prostitution - in that country she’d have faced jail-time if found guilty.
 

I continue in her silence, backing up my overly outstretched olive branch.“Look, stop with the bitchy comments every time you see me. There’s no need, we’ll never be friends but we do not need to be enemies. Women should stick together. There are enough enemies in this world.” I sigh again.

She pouts taking a long gulp of her chablis before licking her lips. “You’re right, we’ll never be friends but it’s stupid to continue to fight like this over a man - even one so delicious as Sebastian Silver. I do miss him.”

“Easy now.” Abs mutters, taking a large swig of her wine.

“Sorry, just stating a fact.”
 

I get it. He was unforgettable.
 

“I also meant in work. I was good at my job you know.”

“You were - Seb always stated you were an excellent PA.” I reiterated. “Hence why he found the position with Architects firm. How is that going?”

Her blue eyes assess me, pale pink glossy lips pouting considering her words. “Very well thank you - however I am no longer working there.”

Abs and I glance at each other. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”

She wafts my condolences away and my eye catches the huge rock on her left finger, of her left hand. “Oh don’t be. You’re not the only one heading up the aisle, Lucheea. Andy proposed to me a few weeks ago. We get married next spring.”

“That’s great news. I’m genuinely pleased for you.”

Her eyes narrow. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Thank you. I do love him in my own way -
 
he treats me like a I walk on water. Not like my old boyfriend did.”

Abs mutters something about bought and paid for brides and I nudge her harshly.

“I will say though, it’s not just me that wasn’t so happy about your engagement.”

Abby moves forward to grab her with a snarl. “Are you kidding me? Seriously? Lu’s making a real effort here, love.”

“Easy tigress. I’m being friendly, I promise - a friendly warning” Toni holds her hands up and I believe her,
 
in her own twisted way, her heavily made up blue doe eyes do seem sincere.

“Go ahead, Toni, why would you say that?”

“Andy, my fiancée, - advised me that someone who knew Sebastian, was not overly happy with your engagement - that’s all I know.”

“What you?” Abby huffs a little tipsily.

“No! I don’t mean me. I’m just passing it on. Do with it what you will. I didn’t have to say anything!” she pouts prettily.

“No. You didn’t.” I acknowledge. “Thank you, Toni.”

She pauses and we assess one another for a few seconds and then she nods. “Right, I’m going to get buzzy, do you get it, get buzzy with some dildos!” She chortles to herself and I smile tiredly at her. It was over between Toni and I, we’d resolved things as best as we could and I’d risen above it. Jeez the dildo puns were flowing, albeit unintentionally. Any bitterness I’d had towards this woman had disappeared weeks ago and weren’t worth festering over. I had my prize and I trusted him implicitly.
 

Time to make a move.

We order our items from the Honey Pot catalogue, and pay by card, with Eileen packaging up the products that she has ready for us to take away with us that evening. She promises she’ll deliver the ones on order to our addresses at a later date. Abby continues to sup her wine, whilst entertaining herself with sexy gadgets, as I locate Meg and give her a big hug, deciding not to discuss what had just happened with Toni earlier. It was best to sort it all out on a clear head.
 

A quick check of my watch, alerts me of the time and I realise I’d not rung Sebastian or Ralph to come and collect us as we’d arranged. Instead I quickly call a cab and load a exceedingly merry Abby into the backseat; within minutes we are heading home, a sense of burden removed from my shoulders for resolving things with Toni.

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