Irresistible Bachelors: Books 1-5 by Landish, Lauren (classic literature books .TXT) 📗

Mindy leans in, her eyes soft and concerned. “It’s Gavin, right?”

Just hearing his name is like a stab to the heart, but still, I shake my head, staring at my balled-up napkin. “No.”

Mindy arches an eyebrow and lifts my chin with her finger. “We’ve been friends for years, Bri. Don't lie to me. You don’t have the skills for it.”

She scowls at me for a long time, and I try to scowl back, denying everything before I nod and sigh.

“Yes, he’s been on my mind all day. But I’m trying to—”

“What the fuck,” Mindy mutters, cutting me off as she stares straight past me. “The nerve of that son of a—”

I turn around, and my heart freezes in my chest as red pulses of rage start to fill my vision.

How dare he!

Gavin, looking as sexy as always, walks in with the same blonde bimbo at his side. She’s dressed in a super-sexy, clingy red dress, black heels, and a black belt at her waist. Leslie Hart might as well have You Know You Want This written on her the way she’s dressed.

I’m too shocked to move or do anything. He must be coming to torment me and make fun of me for being stupid. He’s just here to flaunt his A-list whore in front of my eyes.

“Coffee shop’s closed,” Mindy tries to say, her voice dripping acid, before she adds under her breath, “especially to cheap dyed blondes.”

“No, it’s not,” Gavin says. He has a determined look in his eyes, but when he looks at me, I’m not sure what’s going on behind his baby blues. “It says open until eight.”

“Well then, I’m on break,” Mindy says, not backing down in front of the man who’s twice her size. “Come back in an hour. Preferably when we’re not here.”

Gavin’s voice is firm, unmoved by Mindy's frigid tone. “Good thing I’m not here to see you then.”

Ignoring Mindy, Gavin turns to me. “Brianna—”

“Don't even try it,” I tell him, poking him in the chest. “You have some nerve coming in here with her!”

“Listen, Leslie and I aren't together.”

I scoff. “Please. Let me guess, you guys are just friends?”

“Gavin is telling the truth,” Leslie cuts in, placing a hand on his arm. “We’re not together. We’re just professional acquaintances. That’s it.”

I glare at her hand on his arm, my nostrils flaring. Seeing my fury, Leslie jerks it away as if she’s touching a hot stove.

Gavin and Leslie exchange glances, and she mutters something under her breath that I don’t quite hear. I’m sure she’s insulting me, and whatever she’s saying, it makes me even madder.

I'm about to go off on her, but before I can reply, a gruff but falsely-accented voice comes from the back room. “What on earth is going on here?”

Vandenburgh. Great, just what I need right now. He waddles out, his face pinched and his glasses pushed halfway down his nose. “Miss Sayles, what are you doing in uniform? And why is it that you’re spending all this time talking to guests anyway? You’re a maid, not a concierge.”

I really am not in the mood. In fact, Vandenburgh can kiss my ass. I turn to him, about to open my lips to tell him what he can go do with himself, when Leslie suddenly lets out a surprised gasp.

“Oh, my goodness, Montclaire, it’s you!” Leslie suddenly exclaims with an overly dramatic, stuffy British accent. I think she might have gotten it from Masterpiece Theater or something. She stares at Vandenburgh with wide eyes, leaning over just enough to give him a glance at the valley between her huge tits.

“Huh?” Vandenburgh asks, thrown off guard. “Miss Hart, what are you . . .”

Leslie walks over to Vandenburgh, a huge smile on her face. “Oh, don’t act like you don't know it’s me, my dear. We’ve been trading correspondence for months. I just didn’t realize I’d finally get to meet you. Why didn’t you say something? We’ve been voice chatting for a long time now.”

“We have?” Vandenburgh says with confusion, flushing bright pink as Leslie pushes her boobs up against his shoulder and rubs his cheek.

Leslie smacks her forehead, raising her eyes to the ceiling. “Yes, darling! Don’t you remember?” She smiles sweetly and looks down at Vandenburgh's nether regions. “You said you needed a beard so that your peers wouldn't know your little secret.”

Leslie’s act is so smooth, I almost believe her. Behind me, Mindy giggles a little. If there’s a man who deserves to be humiliated, it’s Vandenburgh.

Vandenburgh still looks stunned. “I did . . .?” he says, before scowling. “No, I didn’t! What are you on, Miss Hart?”

Leslie laughs, squeezing Vandenburgh’s cheek. “Oh, Vandypoo! It’s me, Morticia, my love. And yes, you did. I think you’re just delirious and it’s time to take the medicine you told me about.”

She wraps her arm around Vandenburgh, turning him toward the front door of the coffee shop. “Now, let’s go get you a bath and get you in a diaper, just like you like.”

She leads Vandenburgh from the room while he sputters, still off guard.

“You’re totally insane!”

Leslie leans over and kisses him on the top of his head, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man turn that red that quickly in my life. “No, that’s just you hallucinating, darling. Come along now, I have your powder and pacifier ready.”

The two disappear from view, Vandenburgh still not sure what to do. The glass door closes, and Gavin grins at me while Mindy laughs so hard I think she’ll crack a rib. “Now do you believe me?”

I cross my arms across my chest. “That doesn't mean anything,” I say stubbornly, but my defenses are crumbling. I highly doubt Leslie would’ve done that if they were here to be spiteful. She just saved me from getting fired.

“I don't know, Bri,” Mindy says, still gasping. “To get that close to Vandenburgh with that little act? She’s got to be telling the truth.”

Gavin mouths a thank you to Mindy as my expression softens. “Now