Page 96 of Stone Rules

“Looks like we may all have our designated drivers,” Mason says.

“You are the only one who drove, Dix,” Griffin says. “The rest of us took a cab.”

“Oh, right,” Mason says, turning to his fiancée. “Have I told you how much I love you?”

Piper rolls her eyes. “Fine. I won’t drink. But you owe me one, babe.”

When we get up to leave the restaurant, Charlie asks me a question only I can hear. “Did Griffin just call Mason a dick?”

I laugh and explain, “He called himDix. It’s a nickname, because his name is Mason. You know, Mason Dixon?”

“Doyoucall him that?” she asks.

I shake my head. “No. I’m not into nicknames, except with you, darlin’.”

“Darlin’?”she looks up at me with disapproving eyes.

“What?” I say. “Gavin pulls it off.”

“That’s because he’s from Texas,” she tells me. “There is nothing southern about you, Ethan.”

We walk one block over to the club and are ushered through the main door in front of everyone else who is waiting. I’m not sure if Griffin knows the owner, or maybe it’s Mason’s recognizable face that gets us in. Either way, I’m glad Charlie didn’t have to wait in that long line in those heels she’s wearing. And she hates it when I use money to ‘make things happen,’ so I’m glad this special treatment has nothing to do with me.

We get escorted to the top level of the club to a special VIP area. There is a couch, a few lounge chairs, a table, a big-screen television and a private waitress all at our disposal. Charlie shoots me a questioning look. I hold my hands up. “Don’t look at me,” I tell her.

“The owner is the guy who hired me for a private shoot this week,” Griffin says. “His wife just had a baby and they wanted pictures that are going to be released in next month’sPeople Magazine.”

“People Magazine?”Piper asks. “Wow, he must be famous. Who is he?”

“I’m sworn to secrecy,” he says with a smirk. “Not many people know he owns this club.”

Skylar swats him. “They are family, Griffin.” She turns to Piper and whispers the name.

I can’t hear it, but it makes Piper’s eyes bug out. Piper tells Charlie and Charlie tells Baylor and then they all giggle and swoon over the discovery. I know it’s not a movie star. Charlie would never swoon over a movie star. In fact, I don’t think she’s ever swooned over anyone but me. Damn it. Now I’m jealous of the guy who owns this club. But I’m too stubborn to ask who it is.

We spend the next few hours drinking, laughing and talking. I even managed to get Charlie on the dance floor, but she went barefoot because the high-heels had taken a toll on her feet. So instead of enjoying the dance with my future bride, I worried the whole time that someone would step on her feet.

Around eleven o’clock, I can see her begin to fade. “I think Charlie and I are going to call it a night,” I tell the group. “You guys stay and enjoy the rest of the evening.”

The girls say their goodbyes, hugging like they aren’t going to see each other tomorrow or the next day. I look at Charlie’s round belly, thinking we should have more children right away. I want our kids to be close, not only in age, but emotionally, like Charlie is with her adopted sisters. Like I am with my brothers.

Plus, I’d have the added benefit of Charlie being pregnant all the time. Pregnancy for Charlie is like having a sex kitten on steroids. Even as big as she’s getting, she’s still horny all the time. All. The. Time.

I’m the luckiest bastard alive.

But the best part is getting to feel the baby move inside her. I’ve been able to feel it for a few months now and it’s incredible. Cara and I never had that kind of relationship. Even though we became friends after our breakup, we weren’t the touchy-feely sort of friends that would go around feeling each other’s bellies.

We’re walking through the club, trying to make our way to the front door. It takes time. The club is really crowded, even more so than when we came in. It takes us several minutes to navigate through all the drunken party-goers without getting trampled.

Just as we’re about to make it to the front door, I hear Charlie’s named being shouted. We turn around to see which one of the guys called out to her. Maybe she forgot her purse or something. But it wasn’t Gavin or Griffin or Mason who had shouted her name. It was Zach fucking Thompson.

I grab Charlie, pulling her in front of me as I turn us back around and push our way through the door. He was twenty feet or so away from us, so I’m hoping we have time to get around the corner and into a cab before he can follow us.

We don’t. I hear his voice call out behind us. “Wait.”

I pull her close to me and we keep walking.

“Aw, come on, I just want to talk, Charlie,” he says, still following us.

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