Page 65 of The Acquisition

"Are we even at the right table?" I asked. I never looked at the diagram at the entrance. We'd seen Hans and moved to join him without first confirming where we were sitting.

"I looked at the board when I first got here. I requested you be put at my table when I confirmed your attendance. This should be our table, so we just need to find our name cards and make sure we are next to each other," he confirmed.

We walked in different directions around the table. I checked out each card as I passed by until I came across the name Matilda Forsythe and froze in place.

Fuck.

Matilda was a little older than Jana and Sabrina. Her father owned a shipping company he'd built from the ground up. He'd attained a great deal of wealth, but he was still deemed too blue collar to enter the inner circle of Seattle society.

Joe Forsythe never seemed to care about the label. He started as a working man and had pride in the fact that his wealth came from his own hands rather than an inheritance.

His daughter didn't share his sentiments. She wanted the invitations to galas, committees, and all the other dull functions that most of our parents frequented. From her mid-teens she started using any tool available to her to climb the social ladder.

Fritz Anderson, Beck's dad, was one of the only men in our society who didn't act like he had a silver pole shoved clear up his ass. His down to earth personality matched well with Joe, and they became good friends, putting Matilda in our orbit.

Beck and I might have both married much younger women, but we hadn't met them until they were adults. For me at least, Jana's age was more of a deterrent initially than a draw. That and the fact that she was my daughter's best friend.

Hans circled back around the table. He frowned down when he saw the card I was holding. "Do you know her?" he asked and pointed at the card.

"Unfortunately," I grumbled.

"It sounds like there's a story there." He waved down a waiter and ordered both of us a Scotch.

"You'll have to settle for the abbreviated version," I mumbled as I took the tumbler from the waiter.

We both accepted the tumblers and settled into our seats, unfortunately directly across from Matilda and her father. At least he might be able to restrain her a little.

"You see that man over by the bar?" I jerked my chin in the direction of Joe Forsythe. "That's her father. He was a business associate of Fitz Anderson. He's a good guy. Mellow. Doesn't try to fit into society beyond what it can serve him in the boardroom. His daughter, however, wants all the glitz and glamour."

Hans nodded his head. "I get it. She's a husband hunter. I'll make sure to be on guard."

"She's got a history with Jana. Slept with her boyfriend in high school. And she was after Beckett before he married my daughter."

"I think it's safe to say Jana knows she's here judging by the scowl on her face," Hans said, pointing toward her with his glass.

I turned in my chair and watched her move through the crowd. She didn't notice the lingering glances men cast her way as her mile long legs ate up the distance between us, but I did.

A lock of hair fell across her face and she reached up with her left hand to push it out of her eyes. Rainbows glittered from her hand as it moved through the light.

I laughed softly. Whatever Matilda said to her made Jana stake her claim on me. I guess I wasn't the only possessive one in our relationship.

I rose from my seat as she drew near and pulled out her chair. Once she was next to me, I leaned down and my lips brushed the shell of her ear as I whispered, "Did you give away our secret?"

Jana grabbed my drink and tossed it back. "That bitch always pisses me off."

She didn't cough or complain about the burn of the Scotch. I'm not sure why it made me hotter for her, but it did. I couldn't be near her and not touch her. Not anymore. My fingers slid down the soft skin of her arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind, until our fingers wove together.

Her head snapped up. "You aren't mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"She told me to enjoywhatever this is while it lasts,and I couldn't stop myself. I took my ring out of my clutch and slipped it on my finger. Then I taunted her with it and told her the term limit was until death."

I sucked in a breath and felt my heart skip a beat. I lifted her hand and placed a kiss over her wedding ring. "Don't take it off again."

To show her how serious I was I took mine off the chain around my neck and slipped it on my finger. "No more hiding."

"But Evie-"

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