Page 39 of Best Laid Plans

Aurora flushed. Stella didn't. Since she met Noah, she'd changed, become tougher, more confident, and a whole lot more fun.

"Luna," I protested and looked at Anson. "Client here."

"He ain't a client right now, honey. He's Dom's friend," Luna remarked.

"True." Anson raised both his hands in a peace offering. "Please continue talking about all the fucking that's goin' on in Savannah."

Everyone laughed. I wanted to fucking disappear.

Anson ordered a round of drinks for the table. Once they arrived, the volume of conversation rose.

He leaned close to me and whispered, "You have mad skills, Sugar. You've managed to fool all these people."

I smiled at him. "Not foolin' anyone, Anson. They see me."

"I saw you as well," he replied, heat flashing in his eyes.

"Through the Larue rich-white-spoiled-boy lens," I retorted. "The Anson I knew would never have put me through what you did."

"Put you through?"

I kept my voice low so only he could hear me. "Yes. When you asked Pete to make sure that I paid for what I did, you meant to destroy my humanity. I'm here to tell you that you didn't succeed."

I wanted to be calm and controlled, show Anson that I was totally over him. But it was all lies. I wasn't over him. I still loved him. I still hated him. It was all murky—but one thing was clear, he still affected me. The only thing to do was to get the hell away from him.

"Ladies, I have to go to bed before I turn into a pumpkin," I announced.

"No kidding. I should head on home, too." Stella yawned. "And today being a school day and all."

"Come on, it's only eight-thirty," Luna complained.

Aurora's phone beeped, and she smiled. "Gabriel is coming over with Noah. Stella, Nova, y'all might want to hang around."

"Your husbands need to learn not to crash our girls' nights," Luna muttered.

"It's sweet." I leaned against the table. "They miss their wives."

Luna made a face. "Or they're possessive assholes who want to control their wives."

"Stay a minute and say hello to my controlling man," Aurora said to me.

But it wasn't just Gabe and Noah who joined us. Beau, who was friends with Gabe, was with them as well. I used to be uneasy around Beau because I knew he was my half-brother, and he didn't, but not anymore. Now, he was a friend, and he treated me like one as well.

Gabe and I had gotten to know each other well since Aurora and he first started to date. It took some time for me to warm up to Noah, especially after the stunt he pulled with Stella—but we were now friends and not just merely friendly.

"You did well today, I hear." Noah gave me a quick hug.

"Does your wife tell you everything?" I scolded.

"My wife tells me nothing." Noah raised both his hands, palms out. "I heard about it from Nina. Proud of you, Nova."

I flushed.

While Noah and Gabriel shook hands and did that manly man-hug thing with Anson, Beau came up to me.

"Nova, sweetheart." He held me close. "How are you, doll?"

"Good."

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