Cruel Money (Cruel 1)

“I wouldn’t. And I don’t want to.”

“I’m not the person that I was six years ago. But everything wasn’t a lie.”

“Fine,” I said. “Everything wasn’t a lie. Just enough of it to get in my pants.”

“Natalie, I didn’t need to lie to get in your pants,” he said very calmly. I could tell that the charm he had used on me was coming back out. “I spent time with you because you were interesting. And I still think that you are. We’re going to be hanging out this weekend, and I’d like us to at least be civil. For you to give me a second chance.”

I blew out a harsh breath and rolled my eyes. “What happened to you overnight? Did you have a brain transplant?”

His eyes bulged in surprise. “What?”

“This,” I said, pointing at all of him, “I don’t need to deal with right now.”

I shook my head and brushed past him.

“Where are you going?”

“Didn’t you hear Katherine? We’re going out.”

“Natalie…”

“Penn, just save your breath. I don’t need an apology or the everything wasn’t a lie speech. You’re here for the weekend. I’m here until November. We can be amicable, but don’t push your luck.”

Natalie

8

“When you said out, I thought you meant the beach or something,” I said with my jaw nearly on the ground. “Not a yacht.”

Katherine laughed and linked arms with me. “Welcome to our world.”

We walked off of the dock together and onto what had to be the largest boat I had ever stepped foot on. It had to be the size of most houses…or bigger. Certainly nothing like the dinghies my sister, Melanie, always went out in with her friends back home.

“This is incredible,” I murmured. “Did you guys rent this for the day?”

Rowe laughed behind me. “No.”

“This is Lewis’s yacht,” Lark answered for him.

“Why on earth would you stay at the house when this yacht is only a twenty-minute drive away?”

“His father needed it for most of the weekend, but this afternoon was free on the schedule. So, we’re taking it out for a spin,” Katherine said. “Now, stop worrying about everything and enjoy yourself.”

I snapped my mouth shut to keep from asking the million other questions poised on the tip of my tongue. I wasn’t here to investigate them. I was here to enjoy myself. But it was in my nature to be inquisitive. It was part of my writer’s curse to ask questions and get all the details. It was what had made me remember Penn’s face. I never forgot a face. But it also sometimes kept me apart from a group. It made me an observer instead of a participant. I didn’t want to be that person right now. I wanted to live in this moment. When else would I have the opportunity to step foot on a mega yacht anyway?

We walked down a hallway and then into an elaborate foyer that was nothing like the Titanic but reminded me of it nonetheless. I piled into the elevator with Katherine and Lark, and they waved at the boys as we were whisked upstairs. It felt totally surreal to be in an elevator on a boat.

But it was even more surreal when I stepped out onto the deck and saw the Atlantic clear before me. A swimming pool glittered invitingly, and Katherine was already stripping down to her bikini to get in. I ditched my bag and removed the flowy blue dress I’d put on over my bathing suit.

“Come on. Get in. We don’t have to wait for the boys,” Katherine said, walking into the pool.

A butler appeared then from out of nowhere. “How can I help you?”

“Mimosas!”

My stomach lurched at the thought, but Katherine was twirling her finger in the air. “For the lot of us and keep them coming.”

“Of course, miss.”

My stomach roiled uncertainly as I moved toward the swimming pool. I was still hungover, and things that didn’t make that better included swimming pools, boats, and alcohol. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

Then, the guys appeared.

I turned around to see Penn and Lewis laughing. That smile on Penn’s face was electric. It completely lit him up from the inside out.

It felt like some strange parallel universe. The Penn I knew had smiled for me, but it had gotten twisted in my memories. I’d remembered him more somber. I’d envisioned him more insidious. All of our good times together had gotten tangled up with the bad aftermath. And it was hard to disentangle the Penn I knew and the Penn I’d imagined after the fact. It was even harder to reconcile him with the person standing in front of me, staring at me as if I were his next meal.

I blushed and turned away, walking confidently into the pool. I didn’t need to look at him like that or think about him like that. I absolutely didn’t need to think about what Amy had said earlier…because I was not going to have sex with him or think about having sex with him. Because I didn’t trust him nor was I sure that I even liked him.