Page 213 of The Villain We Tempt

Please come outside so we can talk. I can explain the whole thing.

I purse my lips.

Stay mad. Don’t just give in.

Me

I’m busy.

Lochlan

Elle fucking Woods can wait. Come outside.

My spine snaps straight as I quickly glance around the room, half expecting to see him standing there in the shadows.

Me

Wow. Spying on me. Who saw that plot twist coming.

Lochlan

You’re familiar with the architectural feature known as windows, right?

Me

Stop texting me.

“Who are you messaging with?”

I quickly drop my phone into my lap and look up at Lucia, blushing. “Hmm?”

“She says, hiding her phone super suspiciously,” she giggles.

“Honestly, no one," I huff. "I’m just looking at social media.”

Lucia’s brows arch. “Shit, I can’t believe we haven’t talked about this yet!” She grins excitedly at me. “I assume you’ve seen the new Velvet Villainess video?”

Shit.

Okay, itispretty fun having a secret alter ego I can disappear into. But sometimes, it feels like I’m lying by omission to my friends and family when talking about the latest Villainess video, knowingI’m her.

“Is that the one you showed me?” Ari snorts. “She dumped her boyfriend, or something about a ghost?”

Lucia sighs dramatically. “Ari, we really need you to get your facts straight.”

“Honestly, wereallydon’t," Arianna laughs. “I can promise you, I’m going to sleep just fine without any clarification on your horny book-world drama at all.”

I giggle as Lucia rolls her eyes and turns to me. “You’ve seen it, right?”

“Yeah,” I mumble.

“What do you think the guy did? Ghost, I mean.”

I shrug. “Sounds like he was maybe a fuckboy?”

Lucia frowns. “But…duh? I mean, look at him. Who would possibly look at a super-hot tattooed guy with ten-pack abs who wears a mask on social media and think “steady boyfriend material.”

“Dummies,” Ari snickers. “That’s who.”