Page 132 of Love or Tequila in Unexpected Places

“Katerina,” he cut in, trying to de-escalate whatever weird energy had just taken over the room.

She shot him an irritated look but didn’t break her stare-down with Johnathan. “What? He—”

“Is Allison’s brother,” Angelo reminded her gently, hoping that connection would cool her temper.

Katerina huffed, but finally stepped back, rolling her eyes in annoyance. She didn’t apologize—of course not—but at leastshe didn’t escalate things. Instead, she turned on her heel and headed upstairs, leaving behind a tension that was almost palpable.

Johnathan’s gaze followed her for a second longer than Angelo was comfortable with. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something simmering between the two of them—something he wasn’t sure he liked.

Allison cleared her throat, breaking the awkward silence. “So, John, what brings you here?”

Johnathan tore his gaze from the stairs, his smirk lingering as if nothing had just happened. “Right. I had something important to talk about.”

Allison crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. “And you couldn’t just call?”

Johnathan nodded, his easygoing demeanor fading. “Dad called me yesterday.”

Thirty-One

ALLISON

Allison was in shock.

She blinked, her mind scrambling to process the impossible. Her father—theOliver Lockwood—knew. Somehow, he knew who her baby’s father was and that she was living with him.

How?

How in the world had he found out? Whoever spilled the beans was going to die. Slowly. Painfully. Because this just made her life a hundred times more difficult.

“Allison, none of us said a thing,” Johnathan, said. His voice was that of a parent explaining to a toddler why the ice cream was all gone. It only made her feel more homicidal. “You know the kind of connections he still has.”

Oh, he’s more connected than the mafia and NASA combined,she thought grimly.

Allison gave a quick, jerky nod. One. Two. Three, just for good measure. She sucked in a deep breath, as if oxygen alone could push her through the next words. “So, what did he say?”

Johnathan winced, like she’d asked him to walk barefoot over a mile of Legos. “He wasn’t exactly… thrilled. He said he ‘doesn’t wish to contact you ever again.’”

Oh. That was it? Well, it wasn’t a picnic, but it wasn’t exactly a flaming garbage fire either. She’d expected worse.

Johnathan hesitated, as if bracing for her to crumble into a sobbing mess on the floor.

But she was Allison Pink Lockwood, dammit.

She wasn’t going to shatter over this. She was unbreakable. She’d survived drowning, the mess of her own life, her terrible luck, and every cosmic curveball the universe threw at her. She wasn’t about to let her father’s temper tantrum be the thing that finally sent her off the deep end.

“Okay,” she said, her voice firm.

Her brother’s eyes widened. Now he looked genuinely worried. Like, “Oh God, she’s snapped and doesn’t know it yet”worried.

She didn’t even want to glance at Angelo. Knowing him, he’d be staring at her like she was a wounded puppy, ready to hand her tissues and chocolate. His compassion was sweet, but right now, it would probably push her over the edge.

“Did youreallyhear what I just said, Shrew?” Johnathan asked, creeping toward her like she was a live grenade.

She shot him a glare. “I understood perfectly well,Johnathan.” His name hit the air with the force of a sledgehammer. Her brother visibly flinched. She didn’t use his full name often, but when she did, it meant she was dead serious. No more babying. No more coddling. She wasn’t their little sister who needed protection. She was a grown woman—no, a badass force of nature—and she could handle whatever was thrown her way.

“We just need to let him have his temper tantrum,” she said, brushing invisible lint off her sleeve like she was dusting off the whole problem.

“But—” Johnathan started.

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