Cruel Legacy (Cruel 3)

My mouth went dry. “What?”

“I’d start at Bergdorf Goodman and then try Barneys.”

“Penn, I can’t.” I tried to hand back the credit card. “I went shopping with Jane last month, and she bought me all this stuff. I ended up going back after and returning it. I couldn’t stomach the prices.”

He nodded. “That’s a good idea. Take Jane with you. Though I have no idea why you like her.” He eyed me as if I hadn’t just said that I wasn’t going to do what he’d said. “Why do you like her?”

“Did you hear me?”

“Yes, but you’re going to do this, Natalie. You asked me to help you become Upper East Side. To help you survive this world. The clothes help, and you’re going to go out and buy them like you’ve been doing this your entire life. Make the personal shoppers believe you.”

I frowned and felt even sicker at the thought.

“It’ll be easier with Jane. Though how she stomachs my brother…” He shuddered.

“Your brother isn’t so bad either.”

Penn narrowed his eyes. “That is a bald-faced lie.”

“Well, he saved me from Camden. He can’t be that bad.”

“Natalie, everyone looks good next to Camden Percy. That doesn’t suddenly make Court a saint when he’s actually a demon in a sharp suit.”

“You’re biased.”

“Yes,” he growled. I knew his brother was a pressure point. “Seeing you carousing with his girlfriend nearly sent me through the roof when I first heard about it.”

I put my computer on the coffee table and slid into his lap, straddling his muscular thighs. “You should stop worrying so much.”

“Easier when you’re on top of me,” he admitted. “But this isn’t going to convince me to let you off the hook.”

“What about a blow job? Will that change your mind?”

He considered it for a solid second. “No. But I’ll take one later after I take you out tonight.”

“You’re taking me out?”

“Yes, I have reservations at eight. And if you don’t have a new dress in that new wardrobe, then we can’t go.”

I grumbled under my breath. “Fine. I’ll call Jane.” I reached for my phone, but Penn dragged me back down on top of him.

“I’m reconsidering that blow job.”

I laughed. “Too late. You’d rather I go shopping.”

He kissed me hard on the mouth. “Convince me, Nat. Convince me.”

I groaned. “You’ll be the death of me.”

Then I convinced him…thoroughly.

Chapter 11

Natalie

An hour later, I stepped into Bergdorf Goodman with Penn’s black card in my wallet. I’d convinced the fuck out of him, and he’d still insisted I needed new clothes. Bastard.

So here I was, meeting Jane for some much-needed girl time and a whole new fucking wardrobe. The bill was going to terrify me. It was going to take every ounce of willpower not to balk at the prices and agree to the outrageous sum that was sure to be the end result of this excursion.

“Natalie!” a voice called behind me.

I turned in time to see Jane striding into Bergdorf with a pair of her signature Chanel sunglasses pushed to the top of her ash-blonde hair. She was dressed in a pair of black leggings and a soft, fuzzy pink sweater. She looked like she’d just slung it on after a run, but I knew that she didn’t run. Ever.

“Jane, it’s good to see you.”

She embraced me, planting a kiss on each of my cheeks.

“It’s been too long. I couldn’t believe it when I saw your number. I thought you’d be ignoring me because of what had happened at the Percy wedding. I told you it would all blow over. And look, you’re back in the city with your picture on Page Six.” She dramatically swung her boho Louis Vuitton bag onto her shoulder. “Which we need to talk about. You came to Trinity and didn’t even stop to say hi.” She pouted with her bottom lip sticking out. “I mean, are you mad at me or something?”

“No,” I said right away, “I’m not. I’ve just been dealing with all of that stuff. Needed some me time.”

Jane shot me a mischievous look. “With Penn Kensington I hear. Oh look, we’re both with Kensington men!”

“I suppose we are,” I said faintly.

It was so…strange to think that Penn and I were together again. And we were. We spent all our time together. But there was so much left unsaid between us that I wasn’t sure if we were entirely on the same page. The transition to us again had been almost too easy. Being with him had always been effortless. But it felt unfinished in a way. And I didn’t know how to fix that. If I even could. Or if time was the only healer.

“All right. Tell me everything that you’ve done since getting back into the city.”

I followed Jane through the department store. “Well, I moved into a new apartment, the thing with Penn, and I’ve been talking to Elizabeth Cunningham.”