Sweet Victory: A Novella (His Wicked Games #2.5) by Ember Casey Read Free Book Online

apologetic look over her curly head, but before I can return a What the hell are you thinking? glare, Louisa is bounding over to me.
    “You must be Lily,” she says.
    I take her outstretched hand, even though I’d rather shove her right back out the door. “I didn’t realize you knew about me.”
    “I have my sources.” She smiles, then steps back again to inspect me from head to toe. It’s not until her eyes nearly bug out of her head that I realize I’m still wearing my very short, very sheer lingerie.
    I quickly cross my arms across my body, but it’s too late.
    “Oh God,” she says. “Did I interrupt something?” She looks back and forth between the two of us, but Calder’s no more dressed than I am. He lost his shirt somewhere during our last little activity, and his pants are zipped but not buttoned.
    I’m not sure which of the three of us is the brightest shade of fuchsia. But it’s Louisa who suddenly—unapologetically—bursts into laughter.
    “Geez, Cal! You should have told me,” she wheezes out. “I never… I never…” She dissolves into giggles again.
    “I wasn’t aware you’d be showing up on my doorstep,” Calder says, fastening his fly. “I wasn’t aware you were even in town.”
    She wipes a tear from the corner of her eye. “I called you half a dozen times. You never picked up. And your voice mailbox is full, by the way.”
    Half a dozen … Of all the explanations for those Unknown calls Calder’s been getting all evening, this is the last thing I expected.
    Calder is rubbing his forehead. “What happened to your old number?”
    “That’s a long story.”
    “Everything is, isn’t it?” He yanks a hand through his hair. “Care to tell me what you’re doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in Thailand right now?”
    I’ve managed to edge my way over to one of the suitcases, and I quickly lean down—careful to keep my ass from hanging out, of course—and flick it open. To my dismay, it’s mostly socks and underwear, but I manage to find a tank top and some sleep shorts among the contents, and I tug them on over my current lacy number.
    Meanwhile, Louisa’s gone from jovial to subdued, though there’s still a flash of rebellion in her eyes as she looks up at her older brother.
    “My program in Chiang Mai got cut short. It’s… complicated.”
    “Is it?” Calder’s voice is even, but I know better. “And how exactly did you end up here?”
    Louisa sighs and leans back against the wall. “I wasn’t planning on just showing up like this. But I was desperate. And I may have done something a little stupid.”
    “Spit it out, Louisa.”
    “Nothing that bad.” She tugs at one of her curls. “I just paid our old place a little visit.”
    Calder’s head jerks up. “You went out to the estate?”
    My stomach clenches. Calder had to sell the Cunningham property after his father’s death, and the loss of the family’s estate hit him hard—especially after he learned that the new owner meant to turn the elaborate mansion and grounds into an attraction for the general public. I was with him the last time he set foot on the property, the night he had to come to grips with the fact that his childhood home—the symbol of the life he’d lived up until that point—would become a tourist destination.
    We’ve spoken of it since, and though he seems to have accepted the estate’s fate, he doesn’t seem inclined to dwell on it. After all, he has a new home now; we have a new home. I find myself subconsciously reaching for him, wanting to grip his hand, but he’s too far away.
    But if Louisa has any idea what emotional shit her brother’s been through over that place, she doesn’t show it.
    “Have you seen what they’re doing to it?” she says. “It’s ridiculous! They tore down all these trees in front of the gate to build this gargantuan parking lot. And over where the orchards used to be? They’re putting in a golf course. A friggin’ golf