Dr. Stud

Bella just smiles, dazzling her with a blinding flash of white teeth. She doesn't say anything, and I'm even more impressed. Melody’s sideswipe insult would've put most people off their game entirely, but Bella is going to let her smile do the work.

Wow. I kind of want to cheer.

“So, um… well, can I ask a few questions?” Melody babbles, her frustration clear. She whips out her phone and holds it up, using it as a recording device.

Instead of answering, Bella tips her head to the side, looking over Melody’s shoulder. She lifts her hand and waves her fingertips, sucking in her breath and holding it in a completely convincing schoolgirl crush kind of way.

“Oh, excuse me, won't you please?” she mutters breathlessly as she completely steps around Melody and begins walking across the yellow painted concrete of the helipad. Emmet leaves his pose and walks toward her, arms out. His smile is charming and camera ready.

“Well, shit,” I hear Melody mutter under her breath as Emmet and Bella fall together, kissing slowly and tenderly as though joyfully reuniting.

Frankly, this act is getting on my nerves more than a little bit. But I can’t look away

either. I imagine myself as Emmet, kissing those sweet lips and remembering her hungry mouth against mine at the restaurant. Remembering my tongue inside her, surrounded by Chanel No. 5. She’s so pure. I’ve never met anyone like her.

Melody casts her eyes to me sidelong. “So, I guess I will just ask you. How long have they been dating?”

I put on a pair of sunglasses just in case anything shows on my face. Despite being a bit of a Romeo, I have never been a good liar. Not much practice, as I don’t have to lie. I’m Dillon fucking Riordan, for chrissakes.

But also, I can’t stop watching them cuddle and kiss, and Melody doesn’t need to see that. I remember Bella’s taste precisely… that sweet, spicy nectar. I should be over there, kissing her too. Not talking to whoever the fuck this is.

“Oh, this has been going on for a few weeks. I can’t believe they kept it quiet this long, can you?” I say, congratulating myself on my apparent authenticity.

“Well, I guess that is quite a scoop then!” Melody shrugs, probably weighing her jealousy against the value of the information she has just been given. Just like clockwork, her greed wins out.

“And do you approve, Dillon? I know you like to keep… very close tabs on your brother’s relationships…”

She steps closer to me, angling the phone toward my face. As I watch, she draws her lower lip between her teeth, wetting it with the back of her tongue.

“Bella's really been good for him,” I nod, very nearly adhering to the truth. “You might say he’s a changed man. I've never seen him so serious about someone so fast. It's almost boring, if I’m telling you the truth.”

“Ha!” she laughs, tipping her head back and baring full rows of even, white teeth. “Oh, come on, you Riordan boys could never be boring. I'm sure there's something absolutely wicked about those two, right? He can't be going totally goody-goody, honestly, can he?”

I shrug. I look away wistfully, letting her think that I'm sorry that our Playboy days are almost behind us now. “You will have to ask him, I’m afraid.”

“Yes,” she says, almost to herself. “I suppose I will have to do that.”

Suddenly, the rotors start up. Though we are outside of the immediate zone of the helicopter, the noise is deafening along with a substantial amount of wind. Melody’s skirt flies open, revealing long, toned legs and very pretty knees that she presses together protectively. For just a moment, a flash of Bella's knees jolts through my brain again. Those creamy thighs. That Chanel.

What is wrong with me?

“I guess that's my cue!” I shout, leaning closer so she can hear me over the sound of the helicopter.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Emmet gesturing wildly over his head. The sun is going down and now is the perfect time for us to start our tour.

“I'm coming with you!” she shouts back, beginning to lean away. I catch her the by the crook of her arm and shake my head, no.

“What? No! Sorry!”

“Yes!” she shouts back, twisting away from me momentarily, then back toward me. She looks up into my eyes again, seriously trying to ignite a connection here. Even if I wanted to, there's nothing there. I’m preoccupied. She’s beautiful, granted, but… nothing is happening.

“I was promised a story!” she reminds me. She's trying to smile, wheedle her way in, but the expression is just a little bit too desperate. “And you don’t want to be a third wheel, do you? Let’s double date, Dillon! Live a little!”

Gently, I pry her fingers off my arm and step away with my palm up, stop. Then I move my lips, saying nothing, hoping she thinks that the helicopter noises are just drowning me out. I've got nothing to say to her, but I salute her with a smile, betting that she'll just go ahead and make up whatever the hell story she wants.

Then I turn my back to her and jog toward the open door of the helicopter, leaping in and sliding it closed behind me. Melody’s expression of disappointment and anger looms as she yanks her skirt down to her knees and slides her sunglasses back down over her nose. She gives us a grudging wave as the helicopter tips forward and lifts straight up off the ground. In seconds, she’s disappeared.

Before I put my headphones on, I turn toward Bella. She's already got the headset on and raises her eyebrows at me questioningly. Without saying a word, I reach out and slide my fingers under her chin, behind her neck, and draw her to me. Her lips are welcoming and pliant, warm and open. She kisses me with a sigh, as if she's been waiting for this as long as I have.