Forbidden Kiss (Carson Cove Scandals 1)

Chapter Three

Taylor

The sight of Alexis Devereaux trying to work her magic on my best friend’s father horrified me. It was almost impossible to grow up in Carson Cove without hearing stories about Alexis Devereaux—she had quite a reputation—she might as well have been a celebrity. Victoria definitely wasn’t a fan. She dated Blake Devereaux one summer and told me that every interaction with his mother was awful—even the daughter of someone as privileged as Bryant Benson wasn’t good enough for one of the Devereaux boys. Alexis seemed to have changed her stance on the Benson family if she was planning to literally marry her way into it—or maybe she just thought Bryant was an easy target with his wife out of the picture.

He’s the one she was talking about… I know he’s not falling for her vicious charm—he’s way too smart for that. Surely, he at least suspects she is only after him for his money.

Bryant didn’t look comfortable—but he wasn’t telling her to pound sand like I would have done if our roles were reversed—or she just couldn’t take a hint. His body language didn’t seem to indicate that he was interested, but she wasn’t backing down. She moved closer to him—tried to whisper something in his ear—and I saw him look around the room like he was trying to figure out how fast he could make it to the exit. There were too many people around for a quiet exit. He drained the liquor out of his glass—Scotch if I remembered what he liked correctly—and stared at the empty glass for a moment. That gave me an idea—a really bad idea—but I felt like I owed it to Victoria. She would never forgive me if she found out that I just stood there while her father got seduced by Alexis Devereaux.

“Ah, yes.” I walked back to the bar, which thankfully didn’t have a line. “Mr. Benson asked me to get him another drink—Scotch, I believe?”

“Of course.” The bartender immediately reached down and picked up a bottle that was hidden under the bar. “Please remind Mr. Benson that he can pick up this bottle before he leaves.”

Damn—I thought the stuff that was one step above top shelf was impressive—he’s got his own bottle reserved?

“Thank you.” I picked up the glass of Scotch and turned around.

It felt like someone else was guiding each step as I closed the distance between the bar and the horrific sight of Alexis Devereaux trying to work her magic on Victoria’s father. If the rumors were true, once she set her sights on a man, they were already hers—even if they didn’t know it yet. I wanted to believe Bryant would never fall for a woman with venom dripping from her breath, but I was afraid of what would happen if he did. Victoria told me that her father had been rather vulnerable since her mother divorced him—and quite lonely. That sounded like a horrible combination that a woman like Alexis Devereaux could take advantage of—but maybe I could give him the space he needed before she buried her fangs in his neck.

I owe Victoria that much at least…

Bryant saw me coming before I got there—our eyes met, and I couldn’t tell if he was relieved or confused. Alexis wasn’t paying attention to anyone in the room except him—a train could have probably barreled through the gallery with horns blaring, and she wouldn’t have stopped trying to seduce him.

“There you are.” I walked up beside him. “I thought you forgot all about me—I got you another drink.”

“Thank you.” His eyes were still resonating with confusion—or maybe it had shifted to intrigue—I couldn’t tell.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Alexis Devereaux’s head snapped back like someone had just slapped the silicone out of her cheeks.

“Hi!” I made my face light up with a smile. “I’m his date. I don’t believe we’ve met—my name is Taylor. And you are…”

“Me?” Her eyes got wide—I knew that pretending not to know who she was would insult her—which was what I was going for. “I’m Alexis Devereaux!”

“Nice to meet you.” I locked arms with Bryant and extended my hand as if her name meant nothing to me.

“I just remembered that I have a prior engagement.” She didn’t shake my hand. “Bryant, it was wonderful to catch up with you—another time, perhaps?”

“Of course.” Bryant gave her a polite nod and then she immediately walked towards the door—I couldn’t help but notice that her blonde friend went scurrying in that direction as well.

“I’m sorry.” I looked up at him. “You looked like you could use a friend.”

“More than ever…” He exhaled sharply and sipped his Scotch.

“The bartender said I should remind you to pick up your bottle before you go.” I smiled and sipped my wine.

“I think I might need it tonight.” He shook his head and chuckled under his breath. “How have you been? What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been good.” I nodded quickly. “I won a raffle at the university to attend the show—I’m in the art program there.”

“That’s right.” He nodded. “I remember Victoria mentioning that you were staying in Carson Cove for college—but art? Why art?”

“You don’t remember that time Victoria and I turned her bedroom wall into a mural?” I looked down and smiled.

That didn’t end well.

“I do.” He chuckled and took a sip of his Scotch. “Hopefully you’ve gotten better at drawing stick figures since then…”

“I’d like to believe that I have.” I sipped my wine and laughed. “Sadly, I’ll probably just end up doing graphic design instead of painting masterpieces.”