Page 61 of Wood You Knot

Sage worked quickly, and I kept up, having each family fill out the form ahead of time so they could walk on up to the bench and get their photos taken. I finally got to the guy in the business suit standing alone.

He had his arms crossed and an impatient look on his face.

I approached him, clipboard in hand. “Are you waiting for photos?” I asked, pulling his focus from Sage. He eyed me critically, taking in my attire—the plaid button-up, white T-shirt, and blue-jean look—and I could tell he found it lacking by the smirk he gave me.

“Nope, just waiting,” the man said, returning his attention to where Sage stood.

I frowned, not liking the situation—or the man, for that matter—at all. My senses told me something was seriously off about him. The way he stared at Sage with deceitful intent had me wanting to protect her and knock him out.

I wasn’t a violent person. In fact, out of all my brothers, I’d gotten into the least number of fights over the years. Most of my scuffles came from defending the people I cared about from people who had ill intentions of their own. The last time I’d gotten into a fight was outside of The Quarter Lounge in my early twenties, when a tourist got a little handsy with his girlfriend. I hadn’t known his girlfriend, but I wasn’t about to sit idly by and watch a man lay hands on a woman.

“Can I ask what you’re waiting for?” I tried to keep my tone friendly and nonthreatening, I did, but for some inexplicable reason, my hackles were raised about the situation.

He turned his cold gaze to me. “That’s my business.”

I smiled, but it wasn’t a friendly, kind smile. It was cautionary. “Well, you see. It kind of is my business because you’re coming across as really creepy at a school fundraiser.”

“I’m just standing here,” the man shot back. He seemed pissed at the insinuation, but I didn’t care—what he was doing and the way he was eyeing Sage was coming across as borderline predatory.

By this point, Sage had worked through the last of the families and had turned to see who was next in line, spotting me facing off with Suit. Her eyes widened with surprise when she looked at him, then flashed with anger.

She approached, her eyes still angry and her stance stiff with tension. Suit noticed her coming over, and his expression changed to contrite as if a switch had been flipped. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.

“I need to talk to you,” Suit said beseechingly.

“I have no interest in talking to you, Warren,” Sage replied. My eyes narrowed even more at him. So this was her ex-fiancé. I wasn’t jealous, not by any means. If anything, I was even more concerned than when I’d thought he was just some random guy with a fixation on her.

“I came all this way, Sage,” Warren said.

“Looks like you made the trip for nothing. You heard her, she doesn’t want to talk to you,” I replied. Warren’s cold eyes slid to me.

“This doesn’t concern you,” he sneered.

“Oh, but it does,” I replied, taking a step toward him. Sage placed her hand on my elbow, shaking her head slightly in warning. People were beginning to watch the situation unfold. When I immediately stilled at her touch, she let her hand drop to her side, and her unamused gaze went back to Warren.

“This is highly inappropriate. You need to leave, now,” Sage insisted, frowning deeply and making her displeasure with him apparent.

My brothers, bless their intuition, sensed something was off with the situation and started heading over. When Warren saw three more sinewy guys were coming over, his bravery started to wane.

“Everything okay?” Parker asked. Preston and Paxton cracked their knuckles, wearing matching grins of menace. The Hutchinsons didn’t routinely get into fights—our parents raised us better than that—but we all knew how to throw it down when the situation called for it.

Warren opted to ignore them, his calculating gaze zeroing in on Sage. “This isn’t over. You and I need to talk.”

“Absolutely not. I don’t need to hear a thing you say. Go home, and don’t come back,” she replied forcefully.

With me and now my brothers backing her, Warren had no choice but to leave with his tail tucked between his legs, but the furious look he shot at us as he departed made me uneasy.

“Who was that?” Preston asked, looking from me to Sage, his expression growing concerned.

Sage took a deep breath, steadying herself before replying, “My ex. I don’t know how he found me…” As soon as she said the words, her brow furrowed, as if she realized something. She brought her hand to her head and massaged her temple, sighing. “Actually, I have a good guess on that.”

“Is he going to be a problem?” Paxton asked, glaring at Warren’s retreating back as he stomped toward the road where a line of cars were parked.

“Honestly? I don’t know,” Sage admitted, sending me an apologetic look. I took her hand and squeezed it, letting her know it wasn’t her fault. She hadn’t asked him to show up, and she certainly hadn’t looked pleased by his sudden reappearance.

“You let us know if he keeps bugging you,” Preston told her, cracking his knuckles. “We’ll handle it.”

“Thanks, guys, but hopefully, that won’t be necessary,” Sage replied, watching warily as Warren climbed into his shiny black car and all but peeled away from the school, driving far too fast for a school zone. Parker scowled, evidently ticked about that.

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