CHAPTER 066: We All Need To Talk
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I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here.
I hate crowds. Hate the way strangers talk like they know you. Hate the endless shiling The pointless conversations. The artificial pleasantries.
But more than all that, I hate the thought of sitting at my club while some overly polished, pastel shirted pretty boy slides into Sloane’s life
So here I am.
At a damn backyard barbecue hosted by Jade–my club’s manager and also the stepfather to the only woman I can’t seem to stay away from.
He invited the entire city, it seems. Maybe the next state too. There’s music playing from portable speakers Tables lined with drinks and food. Laughter from corners of the yard. Faces I see every day, and some I’m not familiar with, all pretending to be nice and decent folks. I barely recognize some of my employees with those buttoned–up t–shirts, basebal caps, and dad jeans.
And of all the poor pairings that could’ve happened today, I got stuck on a cornhole team with Hunter.
He’s still pissed at me. Still bitter.
He hasn’t said more than five words to me since we were handed the beanbags. The only thing he managed was a tight, ” s weird you’re here. What did Jade do to pull that off?”
I didn’t answer. Just started throwing.
And now, we’re on round two.
He misses again. Poor form. Wrist too tight, aim completely off.
The beanbag thunks off the board and hits the grass.
His mouth twitches like he’s about to curse, but then he says, “Isn’t that Sloane?”
I know it’s her before I look.
I felt her.
The moment she stepped into the backyard, something in me locked in place. My body’s compass realigned. The air went still.
And when I glance up-
Yeah.
She’s heading toward us beside Margot, Jade’s wife, her mother, like a lamb being led to the slaughter.
At that moment, she raises her head, and her jaw slacks, shoulders tense, and eyes widen and lock on me like I’d crawled out of her worst nightmare.
“Yes,” I say simply. “That’s Sloane.”
Hunter squints. “She knows Jade’s wife?”
“That’s her mother. She’s Jade’s stepdaughter.”
“Wait… is she the girl we’re supposed to pretend to flirt with today?”
“Don’t even think about it, Hunter.”
Sloane’s mom has her on full display–parading her around, forcing smiles, introducing her like she’s a prize goat at a county fair. When someone suggests she join the next cornhole game, she declines with a shake of her head and a tight laugh. I don’t blame her–it’s a ridiculous game. But the way her gaze avoids mine and how quickly she runs to the opposite end of the yard tells me her refusal isn’t about the game at all. It’s about me. Most of the men here are mine. One of them, Creed, is getting a little too handsy at the dart section, guiding her into a dart stance with his palm hovering at the small of her back.
I taste iron.
My hands clench.
Successfully unlocked!
Sloane steps out of Creed’s touch politely, glancing over at me like she knows she’s in trouble. Her eyes say, I can explain.
I don’t want her explanations.
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CHAPTER o owed To Tes
1 want her away from all these people
There’s clapping how Apparently the round’s over 1 look down sed resize(Raven’t moved in thirty seconds
“We won,” Hunter says.
“Yeah
“You seem distracted”
“My girlfriend is in the middle of a circle of men who are checking out her ass. It’s distracting”
“You and Sloane are dating now?”
“Uh–huh
“So why is Jade setting her up?”
1 exhale slowly. “He doesn’t know. This is all Finris doing. He wants his pound of flesh for Sloane dumping him. He’s doing everything he can to push my buttons, and he’s succeeding
“Ah. Little brother’s revenge. Honestly? I’m kind of glad someone’s punishing you in my place
I glance at him. “You’re still mad about the wedding?*
He shrugs. “You and your girlfriend played with my feelings
“Come on. Bygones.”
“No way. I’m going to get back at you.*
I start walking toward the food tables. Hunter follows, scooping some coleslaw onto a paper plate like we’re not mid–fight.
“Yeah?” I ask. “How are you gonna do that, exactly? Tell Sloane something she doesn’t already know? She knows everything about me.”
“Maybe that’s why she’s trying to catch a date at her mom’s barbecue.”
I stop. Hard.
He keeps walking. Grinning.
The tension in my chest starts to coil tighter.
A voice calls behind us.
“Hiii!”
We both turn.
Margot. Sloane’s mother.
She’s got a smile that’s ten times bigger than necessary. Dark hair, soft eyes, just like Sloane’s.
“I saw you two won your game!” she says, breathless. “Congratulations!”
“Thank you, Margot,” Hunter says, already turning on the charm. “You know we artists are very… creative.*
I shoot him a sideways look. Are they all going to pretend they are artists? I know that’s what Jade wants, but I can’t just bring myself to lie.
“That’s very true,” she says with a laugh. Then to me: “Jade says you’re his boss. It’s so wonderful to finally meet you! He never talks about work. I didn’t expect you to be so young.”
“Most people don’t.”
“It’s a good thing,” she chirps.
Hunter raises an eyebrow. “So where’s this daughter we’re all here for?”
I narrow my eyes at him.
Margot beams, oblivious. “Sloane’s right over there, learning how to play darts.”
“We should probably get on to seducing her, shouldn’t we?”
“Hunter, I say low.
Margot still smiles. “She’s all yours. Thank you so much for doing this. I know how odd the request must have seemed when you first heard it. But you’ll understand when you have children who are antisocial. Nobody wants their kids to end up alone. Once again, it’s so nice to meet you both!”
“Likewise, I lie. “If you’ll excuse me…”
I ditch my empty plate and stalk toward the dart station.
I’ve seen enough.
I wasn’t even sure what I was walking into when I came here. Although the reason for Jade’s casual invitation to this
2/4
CHAPTER 066 We All Need To Talk
backyard circus was clear enough. His wife needed to play matchmaker with Jade’s ‘artoy trends But I wasn’t show much Sloane knew. If she came here to flirt, or she came for the barbecue and got blindsided by her mother
Now I do.
She knew. She knew exactly what this was. She came anyway.
And I’ve been watching her go along with it–watching men hover too close, watching one of my own engloyees dareS guiding hand on the small of her back like he’s earned that right. Watching her toss smiles she doesn’t max and larg that clipped, polite way she uses when she’s lying through her teeth.
All while I stood across the lawn, pretending it doesn’t bother me.
But it does.
It bothers me enough to peel through my composure.
My patience is gone. Whatever game she thinks she’s playing–it ends here.
Sloane sees me coming and moves–fast. She weaves through guests in sundresses and polos, skirts swring heels clicking on the patio stones. She disappears down the side of the house, ducking through a narrow gap between the fence and a row of potted ferns.
Is she running? Or just seeking privacy?
Either way, she won’t get far–especially not with the mood I’m in.
I follow, my footsteps silent on the gravel. The laughter and music fade behind me. The air here smells of jasmine from a trellis above and damp earth underfoot. I round the corner, and there she is, crouched near the garden shed, half–sha behind a stand of boxwoods. Her fingers curl around the top slat of a wooden fence, knuckles white, like she’s debating whether to climb over.
I grab her arm before she can move.
She spins around, eyes wide as saucers. Her hair fans out behind her, catching the dappled sunlight
“Knox…” she breathes.
I drop the bruising calm I’ve been carrying and pull her to me, so close I can feel her warmth through the thin fabric of her sundress.
“Bunny,” I say. “Going somewhere?”
She shakes her head, jaw tight, eyes darting to the fence, to the boxwoods, anywhere but on me.
“How… How are you here?” she whispers.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“I came for you. Are you trying to hurt my feelings, Sloane?”
She bites her lip. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“Then tell me what it is. Because it seems you’re letting people who have no business putting their hands on you close to you.”
She pulls away slightly. “See–my mom found out about you through Finn. And now she thinks you’re bad for me. If I don’t pretend to play along with this whole ‘meet a good man‘ act, she’s going to involve my dad. And I’m not ready to deal with that.”
“So you let people touch you to keep your mom happy?”
“No one’s touching me. Are you here to stalk me?”
“I came because you lied.”
“I didn’t lie to you. It’s just a stupid party. I just have to smile, and it will be alright. It’s not like you tell me everything about yourself.”
I step in again, crowding her. One hand cups the back of her neck.
“I can be your dirty little secret, Bunny,” I say, my voice low. “But you can’t flirt with anybody. I don’t care if your mom’s house is on fire and your flirting will put it off. This ends now. I’m taking you home.”
“You don’t understand. My mom is dramatic.”
“I do. I just don’t care. Did you really think I wouldn’t know? What was the plan? Flirt? Go on dates? Behind my back?
“I didn’t have a good relationship with my mom growing up. I just… I don’t want to fight with her.”
I study her face. The strain in her eyes. The conflict.
“Good thing I love fighting,” I say. “Because it’ll be a cold day in hell before I let you flirt with my workers.”
CHAPTER 066: We All Need To Talk
“Your what?”
A voice interrupts.
“Knox? Sloane?”
We both turn.
Jade. Standing ten feet away, blinking at us like we’re ghosts.
Next to him is a woman who’s a slightly older version of Sloane. Maybe a cousin ora sibling.
I let go of Sloane, and she steps back, smoothing her expression.
“Serena. Jade,” she says.
Serena smirks. “We saw you running this way. I was wondering where all that heat was coming from.”
Jade’s face is stiff. “You two know each other?”
Sloane swallows. “Yes. We do. We’re… dating.”
“Wait a minute, Serena says. “Finn’s brother?”
Sloane doesn’t answer.
Serena gasps. “Oh, my god. Jade, didn’t you say he’s your boss? How-”
Jade looks like he wants to disappear.
“I think,” he says, “we all need to talk.”
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