The Wrong Billionaire's Bed (24 page)

But Reese wasn't here.

They returned to the waiting room, Gretchen sniffling the entire time. Cade met them at the door, the look in his eyes worried.

“She doesn't want to see you,” Audrey told him gently. “I'm sorry.”

“I'll wait out here,” he said. “Until she wants to see me.”

“You might be waiting a while,” Gretchen told him tearfully. “These twins are the most hardheaded women you'll ever meet.”

A ghost of a smile touched Cade's pale face. “Oh, I know.”

***

Reese poured himself another drink and considered the cards in his hand. Nothing but garbage.
Eh.
He swallowed his scotch and tossed his cards on the table. “I fold.”

“Gotta stay in to make some money, Durham,” Jonathan Lyons teased him, raking the pile of chips toward him. “Unless this is some new tactic you're trying.”

Normally, Reese would have risen to the bait. But his mood was foul tonight, so he just grunted and poured himself another scotch.

“You're in a bad mood,” Logan observed, taking the scotch bottle from Reese's hand and refreshing his own drink. “Business trouble or women trouble?”

“Are they ever separate?” Reese asked with a grimace and tossed his drink back. Women were
definitely
trouble. Upon returning to the city, he'd approached Camilla in a strictly business manner about the cruise line. She'd refused to see him. So he'd gone to her father, only to be stonewalled once more.

His business was fucked, all because he wouldn't pork a bored heiress.
Goddamn.

Hunter snorted at his side. “For most people, yes, women and business are separate.”

Reese made a face at the scarred man. Hunter was usually silent. Count on him to chime in for that. Reese glanced around the table at his friends. Logan was to one side, Hunter to his other. Across the table, Jonathan was carefully stacking his pile of chips while Griffin dealt the next hand.

Cade was nowhere to be seen.

“Where's the golden boy?”

Griffin shrugged and continued to deal. “You're his keeper. You tell us.” His cultured, European accent made the insult sound almost pleasant. “Weren't you vacationing with him for the last week or two? We had to cancel three meetings because of you two being out of town.”

Reese grunted again. “We were busy. And we're not joined at the hip. I'm not his keeper.” If he was, he wouldn't have let Cade near Audrey.

Audrey, who'd lit up shyly at the thought of going on a date with Cade. Who'd forgotten all about him an instant later. Audrey, who'd just been using him for sex to pass the time, her sister had informed him as soon as they'd gone. Daphne had gone on to confess to him that Audrey had told her hours earlier that she still wanted Cade and not Reese.

And that ate at him. He stared down at his empty tumbler and considered refilling it again. Maybe he needed to get good and blasted.

It wasn't like him to get all hung up on a woman. But then again, Audrey wasn't like most women. He thought of that tight little bun and her prim shirts covering those big, lush breasts, and that fiery passion she showed in bed. He clenched his jaw in frustration.

Fuck.
The one woman who didn't bore him within a week and his best buddy scored her right from under his nose. It fucking sucked to be him.

There was a bang at the top of the stairs. Automatically, all five men glanced up.

“Isn't Bruno up there?” Logan asked Hunter.

“Always,” Hunter replied.

“No, miss,” they could hear from upstairs. “You can't go in there.”

“Fuck off, Bruno! I can, too. Let me in!” The voice was familiar.

Reese turned to Hunter, who groaned and rubbed a hand on his scarred face. “Is that who I think it is?”

Hunter glared at him and got to his feet, approaching the stairs just as the door flung open and a disheveled Gretchen Petty stumbled her way in, brandishing her purse like a weapon. She bounded down two stairs, glared back at Bruno, and then brightened at the sight of Hunter waiting at the foot of the stairs for her. “Hey, baby!” She peered at the others sitting around the table, her gaze going to the cards and poker chips, and a wide smile crossed her face. For a moment she looked so much like Audrey that Reese's chest ached.

“Thank fucking God,” Gretchen said a moment later, spoiling the vision. “Poker night. With the way Bruno was acting, I thought I'd wander in on some secret sausage party or something.” She tripped down the stairs, ignoring Griffin's choked sound of outrage, and kissed Hunter on his unsmiling mouth. “But then again, I know Hunter doesn't like cock, so that couldn't be it.”

“Hello, Gretchen,” Logan said in a flat voice. “Did Brontë set you up to this?”

“No.” Gretchen's eyes widened. “Does she know about this? That little hussy. She never said a word.” She moved to Cade's empty chair and sat down, inviting herself to the table. “I was wondering where my lover had to run off to when I was clearly in need of more comforting, and I got nosy, so I tailed him here.” She looked over at Hunter and wiggled her eyebrows at him.

“Way to go, Hunter,” Reese said sarcastically. “Maybe we should invite everyone's girlfriends to show up and hang out. Fuck privacy, right?”

Hunter moved to Gretchen's side, putting his big hands on her shoulders and ignoring Reese's foul mood. He stood behind her, showing his support for her presence, along with the stony expression on his face that just dared someone to say something.

“Jeez, why is everyone so pissy?” Gretchen looked around at the table of irritated men. “You sure I didn't interrupt a circle jerk?”

Hunter leaned down and whispered something into Gretchen's ear.

Her eyes widened and she studied the group. “A secret society? Holy shit! Do you guys all have the same tattoo that Hunter does?”

Griffin groaned and threw his cards down. “What's the use of keeping a secret anymore?” He pointed at Logan. “I hope you have some more of that nondisclosure paperwork that you made Brontë sign.”

Hunter glared at Griffin. “It's fine.”

“It's not fine,” Griffin protested, taking the words out of Reese's mouth.

“So do you guys meet here every week?” Gretchen looked excited at the prospect, picking up one of the poker chips and examining it. “I bet Hunter never wins, huh? He blushes like a schoolgirl. It's a total tell.”

As if on cue, Hunter turned red, his scars showing livid against the flush.

“The meeting's screwed this week anyhow,” Reese said, setting his empty tumbler down on the table and pushing it away. “Cade's not here so it's not like we can start anyhow.”

“I imagine he's still at the waiting room of the hospital,” Gretchen said. “He wouldn't leave as long as my sister was in there.”

Blood roared in Reese's ears, and he felt all the color drain out of his face. His heart lurched sickeningly in his chest. Audrey was in the hospital?

His
Audrey was hurt?

He got to his feet. “Where's she at? I have to see her.”

Gretchen gave him a puzzled look. “Daphne?”

“Audrey,” he growled, his fists clenched. He wanted to hit something, the rage burning through him. Audrey was hurt and he hadn't been there to protect her. He should have never left. It took a moment to sink in and he looked at Gretchen, confused. “Wait. Daphne?”

The disheveled redhead gave him a curious look. “She overdosed a few days ago. Cade won't leave her side.”

Relief staggered him and he collapsed in his chair, burying his face in his hands. “Ah, fuck. Thank God.”

The room was silent.

“Well,” said Gretchen after a moment. “That wasn't
my
reaction to hearing my sister overdosed, but okay.”

“You feeling all right, Reese?” Logan nudged the scotch bottle toward him again.

He took it and didn't bother to use the glass. He drank straight from the bottle, letting the amber liquid burn right to his gut. Audrey was all right. His Audrey.

And Cade wasn't in a relationship with her.
Good.
The vicious thought startled him. Cade was his best friend. He should have been happy that his buddy hooked up with someone as intriguing and delicious as Audrey. It shouldn't have been eating at him.

But it drove him fucking crazy. He thought about it every night when he went to sleep, picturing Audrey with her sexy hair down and tumbling around her shoulders, kissing Cade, pushing those lush breasts against him.

She should have been with
him
, damn it.

“Your sister overdosed?” Logan asked. “The problem one?”

“Yeah,” Gretchen said, her voice sounding a bit wobbly. As Reese looked up, he saw Hunter's hand tighten on Gretchen's shoulder, and she placed her hand against his, as if seeking comfort. “Been a rough week. At least for me, anyhow. I just keep crying.”

Logan grunted. “Audrey didn't say anything. She's been back to work for two days. I didn't realize there was anything wrong.”

Reese sat up straighter, his attention captured. Audrey was back at work with Logan? So she wasn't with Cade and Daphne?

“Yeah, that's Audrey for you,” Gretchen said bitterly. “Audrey just smiles and takes things calmly and puts our lives back in order. She hasn't cried a lick since Daphne went into the hospital, even though it has to be hurting her.”

Reese ached at that. His Audrey wouldn't, no. She'd wear her hair in that tight little bun and starch her clothes within an inch of her life because she liked to hide all her fire and emotion behind that outer serenity. She must be raging on the inside.

And she had no outlet. Cade wouldn't know how to act with her. He wouldn't know how to draw all that emotion out of her, to make her human again, and to help her let all that pain out. She needed someone to goad her beyond her boundaries, to make her forget that she was trying to be so self-contained. So she could let loose and just be herself.

But no one would understand that about his Audrey but him, because no one saw past the surface but him.

And suddenly, he needed to be at her side. She would need comforting. A strong arm to lean on. Someone to irritate her out of that icy shell she always put on.

Reese jumped to his feet, but the room spun and he wobbled. “I need to see her.”

Logan braced an arm on Reese, steadying him. “You're drunk, man. Sit down.”

“See Daphne? They're not letting anyone see Daphne,” Gretchen said. “Once she's released from the hospital, she's going straight into rehab for God knows how long. Haven't you seen the papers? They're having a field day with this.”

“See Audrey,” he told them, trying to get to his feet again and ignoring Logan as he pushed him back down again. “Need to talk to her.” She had to be hurting, and she wouldn't let anyone see it.

She always thought she had to be so strong and capable. She was the opposite of him in so many ways, but they were so alike, too. Here he was letting his business fall down around his ears simply because he had too much pride to ask his friends for help.

Ah, fuck.
Reese sat down and slumped in his chair, rubbing his face.
Damn.
The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. He was a fucking fool sometimes. “I need to see Audrey. She has to be hurting.”

“Not tonight,” Logan said in that voice of authority. “And not while you're drunk.”

Gretchen watched him with a curious gaze. “Why do you want to see my sister?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that it wasn't any of her business, but judging from the stony look on Hunter's face, he wouldn't get very far if he told Gretchen off. So he ignored her and turned back to Logan. “You said she's back at work?”

Logan's jaw clenched as he considered Reese. “You're not coming to my office to harass my personal assistant.”

“Fuck it, man. I just want to see her, all right?”

“Then come to the cocktail party on Thursday like you intended. She'll be there in a professional capacity.”

“Good. That's good.” Reese sighed and took another drink from the bottle.

“Wow, he's a bit of a sloppy drunk,” Gretchen said in a mock whisper. “Now's the time to clean him out if you're really playing poker down here.”

“It's business,” Griffin said in his stiff, aristocratic voice. “Something you clearly don't know much about.”

“Watch it,” Hunter said in a warning voice.

“Speaking of business,” Reese said, setting the bottle down on the table and shoring up his courage. He rubbed his eyes and then regarded his friends. Audrey had told him to trust in his friends, and he'd been too blind to do it. No longer. “I need your help . . .”

***

“I'm not taking it,” Brontë said with a stubborn look on her face, arms crossed over her chest.

Audrey pushed the foot-long velvet box toward her again and wiggled it. “I'm not your assistant, I'm Logan's. He said that the gentleman here tonight has an interest in antique jewelry, and it'll reflect well on him if he has you kitted out properly.”

“He's full of crap,” Brontë complained, but took the box from her. “You know he's constantly coming up with new excuses just to be able to buy me jewelry.” She snapped open the case and groaned. “This even matches my dress. Did you pick this out?”

“Absolutely not,” Audrey said with a smile. “And your dress looks lovely.” She might have taken a picture of the green satin sheath so Logan could purchase the appropriate jewelry, but she wouldn't have bought it and passed it off as Logan's idea. Brontë was too good a friend for that. “Do you need help putting it on?”

“No, I'm fine,” Brontë grumbled, tying the waterfall of emeralds at her neck and then peering into a nearby mirror. “God, the man has expensive taste.”