Madonna Saint Elise POVAnd Lauren is right. Happiness is the best way to retaliate, even if I need to force myself to fake it. I can do what I need to. I’m a professional. I just hope I packed a revenge dress in my suitcase.I’ll make him swallow his pride, and he’ll beg to take me back when he sees me. It will be too late, but fun like that tenth birthday party and the go-karts.Marco comes to mind. The grump.I have no idea why it was so fun annoying him, but I enjoyed it more than I probably should have.As soon as the car pulls up to the hotel, I head to my room on a mission.Before talking to Lauren, I planned to attend the family dinner and then have a quiet night in, bingeing movies where the hero dies. But maybe, just in case I’m in the mood, I’ll go out instead.A night out is beginning to sound a lot more appealing. Might as well have a little fun like Carlos Pirrote did. I text a few friends to see who’s in town for a good time since I can’t think of a better place to let
Madonna Saint Elise POV“We should go, then.” He maneuvers down and starts sliding in.I move or get sat on, so I slip across the seat to the other side. “Fine.” I cross my arms over my chest in protest. “But you’re dropping me off first.”As soon as he shuts the door, the car pulls away from the hotel. “You got it, babe.”I glance back through the back window, realizing the last of my sanity was left under the hotel carport. Turning my eyes to the cracked screen of my phone, I tap lightly, hoping it works until I can get back to Canada to buy a new one.I sit back, watching the world pass by outside, and release a breath that had been weighing on my chest.“Is it that bad?”Angling my head to face him, I ask, “Is what that bad?”“Sharing a car with me?”I could stick it to him by saying something snarky, but I ease up, already tiring of the fight. “I have a lot going on.”“We all do.”Annoyance wrecks my composure, and I roll my eyes. “I get that, but you asked me specifically if sha
Joemar Russo POVShe smiles wider, and her cheeks heat like they did in the elevator before she tries to distract by tucking her hair behind her ear and taking another sip of wine. I see through the act she put on for her family tonight. I heard “It’s good” or “I’m fine” so many times but never saw the answers reach her eyes.With me, she dropped that confession like she needed to get it off her chest. I look around the table, hear the chatter, and realize she’s learned to play the game. She doesn’t compete with others. She sits in her space, content to hide the truth from them.But I see her.She’s lovely, even if she comes with a big dose of kick-ass snark. I want to hear everything she’s willing to share with me. Taking advantage of the situation, I ask, “How are you really doing?”“The relationship was dead a long time ago, but the repercussions of not being together will reverberate for the next year or more.”“Or until another scandal breaks?”Her unexpectedly loud laughter free
Jeomar Russo POVShould I have asked a few questions?Probably.It felt like I had enough details to sort the situation out, and quickly.My mistake.As I stand outside at two in the morning taking photos with the bouncers, the hour justifies the means to get in, get out, and try to get some sleep while I still can. When the rope is finally lifted to let me into the South Beach nightclub, I think I should have gathered a few more facts before agreeing to rescue my bosses’ little sister from the bathroom inside.Blue and pink lights flash into every corner of the two-story dance venue, including under the edges of the sunglasses I hope help to hide my identity. I cut through a sea of sweaty bodies dancing to endless beats that are supposed to resemble music. Although no one wants to hear a race car driver analyzing music tracks, I do have an affinity for great music, and this isn’t it.I finally reach the hall and walk past what some might call lewd acts. I’m no saint to judge others.
Madonna Saint Elise POVI underestimated the power of Jeomar Russo’s charisma.Now I understand why so many women crush on this man. At least he tells me they do. I’m taking him at his word until I have time to do my own investigative research when I return to Canada for filming.What I do know is that it’s easy to get lost in his green eyes, especially when they’re locked on you like prey. I can’t tell if he wants to eat me in the most delicious way or kill me, for real. I’m okay hanging around him a bit longer to find out because he’s stupidly handsome.A cross between a surfer with his sun-lightened brown hair, a GQ model, and well, a race car driver, he breaks the mold regarding expectations—physically and in personality.That I find him so appealing is frustrating.I shouldn’t want a man like him—someone who can’t resist challenging me at every corner, has no qualms about calling me out, and tips into banter that leans more toward finding me intolerable than desirable.Does he fi
I tap the end of his nose. “What do you suggest I do?” I ask, booping the tip. “And it better not involve sex with you.”Clicking his tongue, he grins. “There goes that plan.” He reaches up to tuck my hair back from my face. His smile disappears as his fingers linger on the shell of my ear. A rise in his chest spurs other body parts to rise along with it. “I . . . uh . . .”“Eight months.” I suck in a breath and release it easily around him. “I think it’s been eight months since I had sex or anything else that would . . . would—”“Would?”“Release some tension.”I almost expected him to laugh out loud at me, but that’s not what he does. His fingertips slide around my ear, then lower to my collarbone. He traces an imaginary design across my chest, leaving a wake of goose bumps behind, and whispers, “That’s too bad.”“Yeah, it’s a tragedy.” I wriggle on top of him because we’ve come this far already anyway.The right side of his mouth lifts. And though that just adds to his appeal, that
Joemar Russo POV“How would you do it if you can’t get a word in edgewise?”Lifting up on her elbows, she asks, “Seduce you?” Falling back in a fit of laughter, she flails her arms around the crumpled sheets before relaxing and looking back at me. “I don’t have to seduce men, so it’s not a skill set I’ve developed, but if I had to pick one thing, at the moment, I’d have the bed made to make it more enticing to stay.”I toe off my shoes. Whether she decides to stay or go, I’m getting in that bed. What happens after that is her decision. “I was sleeping when you called to have me rescue your ass.”She slips off the edge and turns her backside to me. With a pat, she asks, “This ass? The ass you’re obsessed with?”“Fuck me,” I growl, reminding myself to be a gentleman. “That’s the one.” I release a sigh, equally exasperated and getting hard watching her walk toward the bathroom. What the fuck have I gotten myself into with her?Trouble.Bad decisions.“Don’t go to bed without me.” She clo
I look down at the tee I stole from Joemar, grinning like I got away scot-free from a bank robbery. Wonder if he woke up smiling like I did. Hope so since it’s race day. “Though it’s nothing big, I did . . .” I stop speaking when I lay my eyes on her. Her knuckles whitening, her eyes fixed forward, and a weird vibe fills the car. “What’s going on, Paula?”“You’ve missed the news this morning.” She glances at me and then back at the road again.I push up to right myself and take a deep breath. My stomach twists in knots from the thought of my private life becoming gossip. “Did the story about Carlos Pirrote come out?”“Um. No.” She cringes and hands me her phone. “I know you don’t have social media for all the right reasons, but you need to get online.”Taking the phone, I’m nervous about seeing what I’ll find. “I had all my notifications like Google Alerts off as well. What is it? Just tell me.”“Open my phone.”“I don’t think I want to,” I joke, but my laugh is riddled with nerves. I