\u201cWell, would you look at that? Your girlfriend actually showed up?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bruce and his two buddies all turned toward the bathroom at once. When Sydney stepped out, surprise and something closer to disappointment flickered across their faces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She forced a smile, nerves fraying, and greeted them individually. \u201cBruce\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSyd,\u201d Bruce said as if it were perfectly ordinary for her to be there. \u201cSo you and your brother finally made up?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her mind scrambled for a plausible explanation. His phrasing handed her a lifeline. She nodded quickly. \u201cYeah. That\u2019s right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSyd\u2019s here already?\u201d Caleb\u2019s voice cut across the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked to see him standing there. He had dressed casually for the friends\u2013only gathering, but he still carried that air of clean\u2013cut elegance. Beside him, shoulder to shoulder, was Penelope. It was the first time he had so openly brought her into his circle of friends\u2013almost like an announcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney smirked faintly. She did not mind. Soon, the divorce certificate would be in her hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d she said lightly. \u201cI live across the hall. Came over to help Jules warm the place. That\u2019s not a problem, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rare sound of her calling him Jules tugged at Julian\u2019s mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Raymond, quick to sense the undercurrent, stepped in smoothly. \u201cOf course, not a problem.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly,\u201d Bruce chimed in, clearly delighted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had waited ages for her and Julian to reconcile. He leaned closer, gossip thick in his tone. \u201cSyd, where\u2019s your brother\u2019s gal? Still in the room? Go call her out so we can all meet her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Heat surged across Sydney\u2019s face. She shot a desperate glance at Julian. How could she explain there was no \u201cgal, \u201cthat the lipstick on his mouth had been hers?\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Julian only met her eyes, leaned back, and watched her squirm with a leisurely, almost curious interest. It was as though he was entertained by her struggle to talk her way out of this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her heart thudded. Seeing no rescue coming, she grinned and blurted, \u201cThere\u2019s no gal. He just got dumped.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Bruce and the others gawked. \u201cDidn\u2019t he just start dating?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney misinterpreted and assumed they meant the woman Julian had supposedly broken up with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d She spoke without thinking. \u201cWhen I came over, he still had lipstick on his mouth. Must\u2019ve been a breakup kiss.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Peals of laughter rippled through the room. The idea that the untouchable Sterling heir had been dumped days into a relationship was delicious gossip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A low, sharp\u2013edged laugh rumbled from Julian\u2019s chest. He pressed his tongue against his cheek and looked\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
straight at her. \u201cI\u2019ve heard of a breakup screw. Where the hell did you dig up a breakup kiss?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice slid with mockery. \u201cTrendy, is it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words made Sydney\u2019s thoughts skid sideways. Her face burned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before she could even respond, the sharp\u2013eyed Bruce\u2019s gaze flicked deliberately to Julian\u2019s waist. He slapped his hand against his thigh and said to Sydney, \u201cNo way your brother broke up. He and his girl are just fooling around, adding some spice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Confused, Sydney blinked. \u201cHuh?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bruce jerked his chin toward Julian. \u201cLook at that belt. Not his style at all. Definitely a gift. You know what it means when a woman gives a man a belt?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney\u2019s stomach lurched. She recognized it\u2013the one she had given Julian when she replaced his ruined suit. Her smile stiffened. \u201cWhat does it mean?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously they\u2019re together,\u201d Bruce crowed. \u201cWho gives a man a belt unless they\u2019re his girlfriend?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words sank like stones. Almost against her will, Sydney glanced at Julian. His eyes sparkled with amusement, no sign of rescue, only watching as if he enjoyed the spectacle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her throat tightened. She coughed lightly, feigning calm. \u201cOh, I see.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before she could deflect again, Penelope\u2019s sharp, assessing gaze swept over her. Her eyes narrowed on Sydney\u2019s lips. Then, with feigned innocence, she dropped a bomb. \u201cSyd, your lipstick today\u2026 it\u2019s exactly the same color as the one smudged on Mr. Sterling\u2019s mouth earlier. Identical. Don\u2019t tell me you\u2019re the girlfriend he\u2019s been hiding.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
When The Ocean Learned My Name and Whispered It Back to You by Aurelia Novel 175 \u201cWell, would you look […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-when-love-is-gone-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22293,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22157\/revisions\/22293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}