Page 131 of The Good Girl

“Why here? Why us?”

“Nevaeh.”

I tense, but he just shakes his head at me.

“I’m not gonna lie and say I’m not attracted to her. I have eyes. I see the same thing you do—most of your men will see it, too. There is an innate lightness about her. At first, I thought it was naivete. A mix of innocence and inexperience. And maybe that does play a part, but?—”

“It’s the fire.”

“Yes. She doesn’t hide her pain very well. I don’t know what happened to her, I didn’t ask, but I know it was bad. If grief were a cut, she’d still be bleeding. But she’s still here. Still holding onand carrying on with a smile and kindness that I rarely see in people. She’s this tiny little dot, and I’m convinced she’s stronger than both of us.”

“And you’d be right. She’s also mine. There will never be a time when that’s open for discussion. If you touch her, I will cut off your hands.”

“I don’t poach. And even if I did, that woman is so in love with you I could walk in front of her naked, and she wouldn’t even notice.”

“Let’s not test that theory,” I reply dryly.

“Oh, no worries there. I’d rather not have my balls ripped off.”

I shake my head and chuckle. “Alright, Ambros, why don’t you come meet some of the brothers? You staying local?”

“My sister and her husband live only a few towns over. I’ve been crashing in their guesthouse. I have money for my own place, but I usually move around too much to settle on a home base. Until now.”

“If you want to crash, we have a couple of empty spaces we can put you in.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”

I push the doors of the saloon open with Ambros on my heels.

“Jesus, it’s like stepping onto a movie set.”

I chuckle, stopping only when I see G heading my way.

“I was looking for you. Got something you might want to see.” He looks from me to Ambros. “I know you.” He pauses while his brain whirls before he clicks his fingers. “Ambros Deveraux. UFC champ.”

“That’s me.” He holds his hand for G to shake.

“This is G, my VP.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Ambros came to warn us about Nevaeh’s social media presence. He’s also thinking about prospecting.”

“Sweet. I think you’ll be a good fit around here.” He turns to me. “What I want to talk to you about is the trolls, actually. You got a sec?”

“Yeah. You mind if I bring Ambros in? He might have a different take on things as he’s used to dealing with fans.”

“Fine by me.”

“Ambros?”

“Not sure how much help I can give you, but yeah, whatever you need.”

We walk into my office. I sit behind my desk while Ambros and G take the two chairs in front of it. G takes his laptop from the bag slung over his shoulder. He sits it on his lap and taps away on it.

“So do you follow Nevaeh or Celeste Sky?” I ask Ambros as he takes in the office.

“Both now. In the beginning I just followed Celeste. I didn’t want to draw attention to her real identity. I mean she kept it hidden for a reason right? After the photo of us together went viral, it didn’t seem to matter anymore.”

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