Page 69 of Stuck On Them

“What is it?” I glanced over as he furiously texted something back to his mom.

“Some charity gala at the end of October. My mom wants to make sure I have enough notice so I clear my schedule. The Accardos will be there.” Luca tossed his phone on his seat and scrubbed his hands over his face. “You guys want to go?”

“It’s been on my calendar for months. You don’t remember we got tickets ages ago? I’m always down for some family drama.” I tried to hide my smile, but I loved to see Luca squirm.

Paige’s lips twisted like she was thinking about it. “What day?”

“Saturday the twenty-eighth. It’s formal, so we’ll have to find you a gown.” Luca rubbed his hands together, excitement in his eyes. “Time for a shopping trip.”

Paige had zoned out, her eyes focusing on the empty seat between me and Luca.

“Paige?” I waved my hand in front of her face, and she jumped back. “You okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. It’s been a long day. Everything is moving really fast.” She smiled at Luca, but it was forced. “I’d love to go to the gala, but I can’t afford a fancy dress and all that.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Luca picked up his phone, his mood much better than when he’d checked it. “I’m inviting you, so all the expenses are on me.”

Paige opened her mouth to protest, but the back door opened, and Ryker slid in next to her, a determined look on his face.

“I know what I’m going to do.” He turned in his seat so he could talk to the three of us. “I’m going to tear it down and build a place where kids can come to feel safe. There can be an after-school program with tutoring and a sports program. Dance. Art. Whatever. We could partner with professional sports teams even.” He looked at me, his eyes lit up in excitement.

“I’m sure Dom would help us connect to the right people to make that happen.” My brother might have his head stuck up his ass half the time, but he’d at least give me some contacts.

“And Libby can run the whole thing... well, maybe with a lot of help at first until she grows into that kind of role.” His smile faltered but then was right back in place again. “Or she doesn’t have to run it. She can do whatever she wants.”

“And what about you?” Paige touched his cheek tenderly. “You already work so much.”

Well, that took the wind right out from his sail. I was glad she was the one who brought it up and not me or Luca.

“We can hire a team with a project manager to do all the heavy lifting and be more selective about the clients we take on,” Luca suggested.

Ryker suddenly seemed unsure. “I’m getting ahead of myself. It just came to me and it’s like all the negative feelings associated with this place disappeared.”

“I think there’s a lot we’ll need to discuss and figure out. Fundraising is going to be a major component.” I buckled my seatbelt. “But I’m in if you want help.”

“Me too.” Paige leaned forward and kissed his cheek before turning forward.

“So am I, whether you want my help or not.” He smirked and rolled down the privacy screen between us and the driver just enough to tell him where to go. “We’re going to head to Garrett’s place.”

“Why my place?”

Luca shrugged. “Just feels like the place to go. You also have a grill and will hopefully feed us.”

As the SUV pulled away from the curb, my shoulders relaxed and I sat back in my seat, watching Ryker and Paige talk quietly in front of us.

I wasn’t sure if he would have ever shared this with us if it hadn’t been for her. We still had a long way to go to fix what we’d slowly let crumble, but for the first time in a long time, I felt a flicker of hope that things would get better.

Chapter22

Bon Appétit

Paige

“That is just… so wrong, but so sexy. Why is that turning me on? Is there something wrong with me?” I pressed my thighs together as I sat at Garrett’s island and watched him touch a chicken breast very inappropriately.

“Food can be very sensual.” He smirked and gave the chicken a smack. It reminded me of the way Luca had smacked my pussy, and my core clenched.

I’d never be able to look at chicken the same way again.

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