Page 58 of Stuck On Them

Luca slung his arm around my shoulder and took a sip of champagne from Paige’s bottle. “Gary Wilson Jr.”

“What about it? I thought Garrett’s nickname was Gare.” Paige looked confused and leaned back into Ryker, who’d wrapped a possessive arm around her chest.

“Do you not know who I speak of?” Luca feigned shock, and I rolled my eyes. He hadn’t brought this up in years besides occasionally saying Gary to annoy me.

Paige shook her head and Ryker hid his smile against the side of her head.

Luca bent his elbow so Paige could see the back of his forearm. “This right here is Gary Wilson Jr.” He pointed right to the very out-of-place sea snail amongst the beauty of his tattoo.

Paige leaned forward, her eyes narrowing in assessment. “Isn’t that SpongeBob’s pet?”

I groaned, snatching the champagne from Luca and taking a long drink. The bottle was almost empty to my dismay.

“It is. And look! He’s going to drink himself into a stupor and probably will start meowing for you if you ask nicely. At least he did in college for pretty women.” Luca wiggled his eyebrows.

“How did this even come about?” Paige wiggled free of Ryker’s hold and wrapped her arms around me and, damn, if all my insecurities and annoyance didn’t just melt away.

“I answered my phone once on speaker and my mom called me Gary. It’s all her fault for naming me after my dad and needing a nickname he hadn’t already claimed.” I put my cheek against the side of Paige’s hair and let out a contented sigh. “So, we’re actually doing this? Even if my nickname is a sea snail that meows?”

She laughed and nuzzled into my neck, her lips brushing against my skin. “I want to try. We should take things slow... maybe. I don’t know. It just all clicked together over the last few days and I haven’t given much thought to the logistics of it.”

“We have a lot we need to figure out.” Ryker shoved his hands in his pockets, looking a little out of his element. “Not fighting should be at the top of our priority list.”

I clenched my teeth, stopping myself from lashing out at him. Why did everything have to be like a business transaction? Hell, even watching him with a woman had rules we had to follow.

“We don’t have to figure out everything right now. Let’s just go with the flow and let things unfold how they unfold.” Luca looked out the glass doors. “I should probably go find our guests and be a proper host. Would hate to start something here and have one of your sisters stumble in on it.”

“I don’t even know why you invited them and Ethan.” I hadn’t thought anything of it when Luca invited me and her.

Luca’s face softened. “A safety net for Paige. I didn’t know how things would go down and wanted there to be some other people here besides just us.”

“That’s really sweet... for a kidnapper.” I could hear the teasing in Paige’s voice. “Does this mean I already have Stockholm Syndrome?”

“I’ll make it up to you.” Luca moved behind her, grabbing her hips.

“Luca, let’s give Paige and Garrett a few minutes.” Ryker grabbed the mostly empty bottle from me and walked to the door, sliding it open. “Remember you wanted to check on your guests?”

Luca backed away reluctantly. “I should have planned this whole situation out a little better.”

Ryker gave me a tight smile and was out the door, Luca right behind him. The door clicked shut and, finally, I was alone with her.

She pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes. “Areyouokay with this?”

I took a moment to gather my thoughts before answering. “Things have been strained for a while between the three of us. Not just because of what happened last time with me going rogue, but at work.”

She lifted her hand to my jaw, rubbing her thumb along the line where my light stubble met my smooth cheek. “And you’re worried this is going to make it worse?”

“I’m worried that if I end up leaving the company, it’s going to make things worse and ruin this before it’s even really begun.”

“They’ll understand if you do, Garrett. They’re your best friends.” She moved her thumb over my lips, and I forgot for a second where we were and what we’d been talking about. “You need to tell them how you feel. Tell them what you need from them.”

I opened my eyes to find hers burning right into my soul. “Right now, I need you.”

Her eyes darted to either side of the room before coming back to me. “Then have me.”

I pressed my lips to hers in a deep and urgent kiss. I wanted all of her focus on me; not on the slight possibility of someone walking in on us or on the others.

I grabbed her ponytail again, a little rougher this time and tilted her head to the side like I was a vampire, and she was my meal. She gasped as I ripped my lips from hers and bit her neck just hard enough to sting.

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