Chapter 3: The Hamptons

OLLIE

~Maybe if I open the door and jump, I would die quickly.~ I couldn’t afford good health insurance, so my plan to escape this car was quickly discarded.

Why did I always make bad decisions? It’s like it all cascaded into this moment.

Why did I have to be this way? The most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen knocked on ~my~ door, asking for ~me~, and what did I do? I had to open that big mouth of mine, saying without filter everything that came into my mind.

I glanced at his neck, catching a glimpse of his strong, masculine jaw.

Yeah, he was hot as hell, and a dickhead. Also, I was totally sure he thought I was crazy, but he wasn’t prince charming either.

I mean, it’s not like I interacted with a Greek god on a daily basis, but men like him liked one thing more than anything. ~Control over others.~

The way this sent a shiver down my spine to my southern ~deserted~ regions was undiscovered territory.

I knew all along he was looking at me through the rearview mirror—Pervie driver indeed—yet I didn’t call him out, because even if my logical mind denied it—I, Olivia Summer, liked it.

I crossed my legs nervously, feeling heat all over my face.

Lord, how I liked feeling his eyes on my skin. It burned my skin.

I glanced at him quickly. Just a millisecond, ninja-you-ain’t-fast-enough-to-catch-me-boooy glance.

~Phew!~ I was still incognito as he turned the radio on.

He wasn’t looking at me anymore, and I took it as a cue that there was no interest in talking, so I took the hint and drowned myself in my poor decisions while I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

Maybe I should get laid soon, only to be cockblocked by my best friend Thomas, who was adamant I take time to be in a relationship with myself.

~Get to know yourself, Ollie.~ My friend’s voice rang in my ear.

You are doing that pretty well by getting naked in the car of a stranger. Yeah, how does one begin to do that? To get to know oneself?

~Focus, Ollie. Focus on you.~ I would keep my pants on this whole week.

~Keep your pants and keep it together~ was my theme song for the holiday festivities.

Jeez, I just had to stay far away from Mr. Voyageur here.

The eyes standoff we just had was out of line, making me nervous to make eye contact with him again.

How he pinned me in place, so manly and dominant, surprised me.

I was mad at myself for how I looked away like some submissive girl.

What was it about him that I couldn’t hold his gaze, and what was wrong with ~me~?

Since when did I let anyone intimidate me? Nonetheless a stupid hot jerk.

It seemed I couldn’t stop myself from making the wrong decisions, and it seemed Mr. Pervie Driver was right—I not only opened the door to strangers, I jumped in cars with them too.

I didn’t even know this guy’s name, but I guess things escalated pretty quickly since we met.~

Was it too late to ask him his name?

Nope, stay off his radar. Don’t look at him. Don’t talk to him. Ignore him. He’s probably Alexander’s friend.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep, and then a loud car horn startled me.

I gasped, hitting my head on the front seat.

Was he laughing?

Of course he had to have the perfect deep, elegant, rich-people laugh.

“My apologies, my hand slipped,” he said, pressing his thumbs over the wheel.

He turned his face to look at me with a devilish smirk.

“I would tell you to get lost in the snow or something, but who am I to reject one of Alexander’s guests.” His eyes traced my lips for a moment and then went back up to my eyes. “So I am afraid I must welcome you to the Rothschild Manor, Olivia Summer.”

He left the car, leaving the door open, the cold wind hitting my face.

I could still hear his voice as he walked away. “Beware of flying smoothies on your way up.”

~Asshole. This dude was such an asshole.~

Walking down the stairs, a redhead woman in uniform greeted me cheerfully and soon opened my door.

“Miss Summer, welcome! My name is Rosie.”

I got out of the car, taking in the huge luxury cottage beach house.

Its tall French windows glowed with the warm light from within, making it look alive and surprisingly cozy, like a painting.

“Thank you, Rosie. Please call me Ollie. Where is—?” I stopped myself.

I honestly didn’t care where the asshole went; hopefully he was already getting lost and I would never have to speak to him again in my life.

“We have been waiting for your arrival. Please follow me. Someone will bring your luggage to your room.” Her reddish hair was pulled tight in a neat bun, making her sleek face sharp.

Her freckled face did little to hide her age.

“This is beyond beautiful,” I muttered, feeling like a stranger spoke instead of me.

I was not easily impressed, not even by wealth. But beauty…

“This is just the guest house, Miss. The main house is right there.” She pointed with a genuine smile on her lips.

I gasped at the manor’s presence.

~Mother above.~ It was located steps from the beach, now covered in a light layer of snow.

The guest house looked like a treehouse in comparison, but my jaw dropped as I entered the foyer behind Rosie.

~My gosh! How much good taste can my eyes bear?~ White in different textures, beige and wood contrasting colors, and light gray rock details with gold accents.

Could it be real gold?

Luxury meets coastal.~ I was speechless.

It was like walking through an exclusive interior design store with the same delicious smell of candles you take home to fantasize about how your dream house would look.

This was it, this was my dream house, and it was just the ~guest~ house near the manor.

I recognized the sound coming from the next room, undeniably my sister’s laughter.

I walked toward her voice into a living room where three figures stood.

Sarah and a blond man, probably her new boyfriend Alexander. And…

~Is that the pervie driver?~ Yes, he was talking to my sister like they already knew each other.

“Darius, thank you for bringing my Ollie.” She batted her eyelashes as only she could, an act reserved for people she wanted smitten.

I knew this routine so well.

So his name was ~Darius.~

She was being extra nice to him.

I was getting the feeling that I missed something.

Something in the back of my mind was telling me that I’d fucked this one hard, and not in a good way.

Sarah started making squeaky sounds as soon as she saw me, jumping up and down while clapping.

Alexander was looking at her bouncing boobs. ~Good boy.~

“Ollie, I’m so happy you made it!” she exclaimed, running toward me. The handsome blond man followed her as she leaped with her arms wide open to give me a hug.

“Alexander, please meet my sister, Ollie.” Sarah had the biggest grin ever.

Alexander greeted me with a warm smile.

“A real pleasure to meet you, Ollie. Please feel at home,” he said politely, bringing some warmth to my face.

Alexander held Sarah’s waist and kissed her head.

The way she closed her eyes and pressed herself into his chest made me frown. ~Weird.~ They looked so in love.

It was almost too sweet to believe that my little sister, for the first time, was in a relationship.

Did they love each other?

“Darius saved the day by bringing my dear Ollie,” Sarah said, clinging to Alexander.

Darius stepped forward, walking like royalty, so uptight and serious.

Maybe he was a family friend coming for the holidays who offered to give me a lift.

My hands started sweating, and my heart pounded.

This fucker was making me nervous.

I looked around, but my eyes betrayed me, fixing on his chiseled chin and those lips that closed in a tight, thin line as soon as he glanced my way.

Those silver eyes terrified me, sending a shock to my nerves in a sudden jolt.

I would never admit out loud how unnervingly attractive this man was, but my body… My body was reacting inappropriately to someone I barely knew.

Someone I was sure I didn’t like, and would never like. ~Never!~

“Are you okay?” Sarah asked, seeing how flushed I was.

“I guess I should also thank you, Ollie,” Alexander interrupted before I could answer.

I watched him blankly.

“If it weren’t because of you, Darius probably would have skipped the whole holiday and stayed in the city,” he said, patting Darius hard on the back.

Darius looked at Alexander and smiled.

I could see his bulky arms tight in his tailored suit while he returned the back-patting to Alexander.

Why was I starting to get warm?

“I need to check on Edmund and get some work done,” Darius said. “Dinner at eight?”

“Yes, brother,” Alexander replied. “I will come with you. I need to discuss something.”

Alexander kissed my sister goodbye, leaving us alone.

~Brother?~