“Fine,” he growls. “But if I let her go, Desiree is mine.”
I rub a hand over the scruff covering my jaw. This fucking guy. Victor and I have a rocky history. We were fraternity brothers back in college, but he broke the bro code by going after my girlfriend. He waited for me to screw up—and eventually I did. To this day, I’m pretty sure he set me up. The events of that night are still foggy. My girlfriend dumped me and Victor—like the snake he is—slithered his way in.
Karma is a bitch.
But sometimes she’s a beautiful blonde angel, with light eyes, long lashes, pert nose, and full lips painted in a pale pink.
“I’ll speak with Desiree.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
Ending the call, I slip behind the wheel of my M8 and smile.
Well, that went much better than I expected.
Chapter Two
Makayla
Stepping out of the auditorium, I find my parents standing off to the side with my boyfriend, Victor. He’s been out of town for the past three days, so I wasn’t expecting to see him.
“Well, this is a nice surprise,” I say with a smile, happy to see him. “I thought you weren’t coming back until next week.”
“You didn’t really think I’d miss your graduation, did you, kitten?” He takes my hand and presses a kiss to the inside of my wrist. His touch is gentle, his smile affectionate, but it’s the flicker of promise in his eyes that sends chills down my spine.
Victor is always in a strange mood after he returns from a business trip, but this time I expected it. I threw down the gauntlet in regards to our relationship before he left town, and clearly he’s still pissed about it.
Dread bubbles at the bottom of my stomach, but I keep my smile in place because my parents are standing less than two feet away.
My mother swoons, pressing a hand to her chest. My father rolls his eyes as he opens his arms, and I step into his embrace.
“Congratulations, baby girl.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Victor, I hope you’ll be joining us for lunch,” my mother hedges.
He flashes her his charming smile. “Of course, Mrs. Hawkins, but lunch is on me.”
“Oh”—she flicks her wrist—“that’s not necessary.”
Victor pulls his buzzing phone from his pocket and frowns down at the screen. “Excuse me. I need to take this real quick.”
“Victor Martin,” he barks into the phone as he walks off.
“Makayla.” I look over to see Heather approaching. She and I had several business classes together, and we even partnered up on a few projects.
“Congratulations,” I say as we embrace each other.
“You too.” She holds out her hand to my mother and introduces herself. “Heather Reed.”
“Nice to meet you,” my mother says. “We’re Makayla’s parents. I’m Susan, and this is my husband, Bob.”
I decide now’s the time to cut my mom off before she talks Heather’s ear off. “Go ahead.” I lean in and kiss her cheek. “We’ll meet you at the restaurant. The reservation is under Hawkins.”
She holds out my wristlet containing my keys, ID, cell phone, and lip gloss. “Thanks. See you in a few.”
I watch them walk off, then turn my attention back to Heather and glance briefly over her shoulder. “Is your family here?”
She cranes her neck as if searching for someone, and instinctively I do the same. “Just my brother. He hates crowds, so he’s probably in the car by now.”
I spot Victor standing under a tree with his phone pressed to his ear, hand shoved in his pocket and annoyance etched in his expression. As if he senses me watching, his eyes meet mine and his lips thin into a straight line. His gaze flicks between Heather and me before he ends his call and stalks back in our direction.
“…so if I could get your number.” Heather’s voice pulls my attention back to her. She’s holding her phone and looking at me expectantly. Crap. I didn’t hear anything she just said. I rattle off my number, and she types it into her phone. “Perfect. I just texted you with my number. Maybe we can meet up for lunch sometime.”
“I’d like that.”
“Great. I’ll text you next week.” She steps around me and hurries off toward the parking lot.
I take the last few steps toward Victor, closing the gap between us.
“Sorry about that,” he says. “Did you drive?”
I shake my head. “I rode with my parents.”
“Let’s go. I don’t want to keep them waiting.”
Curling an arm around my waist, he leads me to his Mercedes and opens the passenger door. I quickly remove the polyester robe, revealing the red dress he picked out for me before he left town. I slide into the passenger seat, tossing my hat and robe into the back, before pulling on my seat belt. Closing the door, Victor rounds the front of the car, pinning me with a dark look through the windshield. He seems even more agitated since he took that phone call. A knot of anxiety settles in my chest.
He climbs into the driver seat and starts the engine without looking at me.
“Are you mad at me?” I ask as he merges into the line of cars waiting to exit the parking lot.
“No.” His voice is eerily calm for the amount of angst vibrating off him.
I swallow past the lump in my throat and turn my gaze to the passenger window. Victor and I met during the first semester of my senior year, when he was a guest speaker in my Business Strategy class. His family owns The Martin Hotel chains located all around the world. After class, I found him standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall and looking completely out of place in a sea of college kids. He asked me out for coffee. Coffee turned into dinner. Dinner turned into weekend getaways. He doted on me with expensive gifts and treated me like a princess.
I’d been too caught up in the romantic
