“And why is that our problem?” their father had quipped, not the least bit concerned about the poor girl who’d taken her life atop a building the Buchanans owned. Vince grit his teeth and knew that in order to make his father drop it and move on, he’d have to make him care. The elder Buchanan, a striking man with salt and pepper hair and a trim physique, wasn’t hard on the eyes, which gave Vince hope that they’d age similarly as well but his soul was black and after recent events, Vince worried that his soul was equally as damaged. “I don’t care what you have to do but I want her corpse out of my plot,” his father said, calming a little with the help of his scotch. “You never should’ve done this without my approval. Now you have an embarrassing problem to clean up.”
“If you make us dig up Isabel’s grave, it will be a publicity nightmare. Right now, we’ve made a magnanimous gesture to the grieving family and we’ve come out smelling like a rose. You don’t want people digging into this particular story, Father. Trust me, no one wearing a Buchanan name will come out the winner.”
“How so?” his father asked, an irritated but concerned frown pulling at his brows. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“Isabel was pregnant with Dillon’s child when she died. So, you see…she does belong in the family plot.”
His father pinned Vince with a hard stare. “What are you talking about?” he asked.
“The coroner confirmed she was about twelve weeks pregnant,” Vince answered, hating how much it hurt to share that private information with their father. Why couldn’t she have loved him? He would’ve loved and cared for her — even married her — everything would’ve been different. If only he’d had the balls to be something more than the bastard part he’d been playing along with Nolan. “We fucked up her life. We owe it to her to at least lay her to rest in a nice place.”
His father digested the new information and although he didn’t like it, finally caved with ill humor. “Fine. Who else knows about this?” he asked. “Does Dillon know?”
“Only Nolan.”
“And you tied up loose ends?”
Vince nodded. “There’s no record of the fetus.”
“Good.” His father took a deep breath as he stared into his scotch before saying, “Well, that’s that. Probably better this way. You’re right. We’ll come out looking like the generous benefactors, which is far better than being called out as the villains,” he mused openly as if weighing the pros and cons in his head. Finally, he nodded in agreement and said, “Good call, son.”
He’d called Vince son. The sudden endearment caught Vince off-guard and for a moment all Vince could do was stare in shock until he recovered with a slow nod. His father was proud of him for lying and covering up a potential scandal. How fucked up was that? Vince swallowed the bitterness choking him and simply nodded; he didn’t trust himself not to say something that he would regret later. Unlike Dillon, Vince had no wish to become penniless by choosing off his father. He hated the man, but Vince knew which side his bread was buttered. His father, wasting no more thought on the matter, returned to his business and Vince couldn’t wait to get away from him.
Jerked back to the present, Vince kneeled before the polished granite headstone and wished he’d brought flowers but he hadn’t exactly planned to visit.
“You deserved better,” he murmured, tracing her name with the pad of his finger. A likeness of her beautiful face smiled back at him and sudden tears rushed his eyes. He swore and wiped at his eyes. It was a long moment before the tightness in his throat eased enough to speak. “I should’ve told you then…I didn’t have the balls…but I loved you, Isabel Walker. I’d give anything to take it all back. I should’ve been the one you could turn to but I fucked it up. I was too much of a coward to stand up for what was right.” Tears trickled down his cheek. Life was such a bitch. All the money in the world wouldn’t bring Isabel back. Maybe that was why nothing truly satisfied him for long. Until Penny came along, his sexual appetite for variety had been voracious. One girl after another, an endless stream of women more than willing to hop on his cock for the chance to snag his attention for longer than a night or two, and he was able to lose himself for a short time. But the harsh light of morning was a brutal reminder that he couldn’t run from the person he saw in the mirror everyday. How maudlin. He’d become a morose, self-pitying prick and he could barely stand his own company most times. Fucking fabulous. Vince wiped at his eyes and allowed his gaze to roam the scenic solitude of what the best money could buy —marble headstones, manicured lawns without a single dried and dead patch that betrayed poor maintenance, and tranquility fit for monks deep in prayer — and he felt mocked by the stately elegance. “I screwed up again, Isabel,” he admitted, his voice barely a whisper. “And I don’t know what to do anymore. She’s not you but I think I could love her.” Penny was beautiful and strong, yet fragile at the same time. He admired her spunk and he loved fucking her. But…he knew that she loved Dillon. And as much as he’d enjoy spending more time with Penny to see where their relationship could go, he knew that he couldn’t cross that line again. Human hearts, he’d learned the hard way, were far more delicate than he’d ever realized. Dillon used to be a self-entitled asshole who’d been as bad as any Buchanan, but if there was a chance for Penny to find happiness with the black sheep of the family, maybe he ought to help her achieve it.
However, if Dillon was too stupid to realize what a gift he had…Vince wouldn’t make the same mistake twice — he was going to make a serious play for Penny’s heart.
And this time…he was going to do things right.
#
Dillon watched with an indolent yet narrowed stare as the two women who’d accompanied him to his hotel room dropped their scant clothing and stepped from their puddled designer sheaths wearing nothing but their toned skin and wicked stilettos.
Gigi — was that her name? — smiled at her friend, Stacy — and bent down to suck Stacy’s pert, pebbled nipple into her mouth for a long, teasing suck. A half-smile lifted the corner of his mouth as he enjoyed the show, his cock stirring to life with promise. He refused to allow his brain to think of anything but the moment at hand. He had no reason to think at all. He planned to get fucked — and Gigi and her hot friend were going to help facilitate his plan. Dillon settled in to enjoy the show as Gigi knelt before Stacy and buried her face into the bare folds, nuzzling the flesh before slipping her tongue between the slit, playing with the tiny clit jewel that winked in the soft light. Dillon had a nice view of Gigi’s heart-shaped ass as she pleasured her friend and as he freed his cock from his trousers, he palmed the length slowly as the two women got the party started. Gigi glanced over her bare shoulder to ask coyly, “Do you like what you see?”