Page 32 of Wright Kind of Trouble

The very last idea I should have in the entire world.

And yet…

I was already moving in her direction like a magnet tugged toward its pair. I didn’t even notice who she was standing next to until I was nearly there. My eyes slid to the girl at her side, and I barely suppressed a grimace. Eve Houston. The raven-haired vixen who, if rumors were to be believed, had been in a relationship with…my father.

It wasn’t the first time he’d cheated on my mother. I knew that. She knew that. But this time, it had been different. This time, it was with someone the same age as his children. He’d gotten her an apartment, lavished her with expensive gifts, taken her on trips. Mom should have left him after that one, but still, she stayed.

When I met Eve’s eyes, I could tell that she knew who I was, that we both knew what had gone down. Not that I judged her for what had happened. No, that was all on my father.

“Hello, Eve,” I said.

Her eyes widened marginally. As if acknowledging that this interaction was awkward. I probably shouldn’t have come over, but I couldn’t help it. As my eyes slipped from Eve to Harley, her discomfort skittered out of my mind.

There was only Harley.

The wisps of her blonde hair framing her round face. The little dent in her bottom lip, pronounced in her dark lipstick. Her cheekbones, highlighted with some makeup trick that made them look even higher than before. Her blue eyes were lined with winged charcoal and smoky eye shadow that only made her eyes look brighter than humanly possible. And those eyes were looking right at me.

Not with the anger I had been expecting.

But interest.

A cat looking at a mouse and debating on the right time to pounce.

Well, I was fucked.

“Harley,” I forced out, tipping my head in her direction.

That look on her face made me feel like she was gripping me by the throat.

“Chase,” she said with that same coquettish smile.

She was completely unbothered by my presence. Just flirting with me, like our weekend had never happened.

Which was what I’d wanted.

Right?

“It’s good to see you both,” I said.

“You too,” Eve said, glancing between me and Harley as if she could see right through us. “Is it just…you representing your family tonight?”

I was glad for the change in subject. Even if it was indicative of the fact that she was nervous about my father’s appearance.

“Indeed. Just me.”

She relaxed at the words.

“Maybe you can save me a dance later,” Harley said.

She arched an eyebrow when my gaze returned to hers. There was a challenge in her expression. And, oh, how I wanted to meet it.

Instead, I swallowed and said, “Perhaps.” I nodded my head at Eve again and then excused myself from the situation.

I could still feel Harley’s eyes on me as I walked back across the room, grabbed another glass of champagne, and downed it in one long gulp. Well, that had been…torture.

In the time we’d been together, as short as it had been, I had never once questioned what she was thinking. I’d known from the look in her eyes and the shift of her body and the way she could never keep her perfect mouth shut. I’d known. And now, I had pushed her away and us into uncharted territory.

Fine.

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