Page 121 of The Shake Off

I sucked in my cheek and chewed on it, trying to push away the anxiety which had risen at the thought of Penn’s words.

“He was speaking the truth.”

“No, he wasn’t, and he had no right to order you to break up with someone. Have you heard from Lowe? There’s no way she knows about this.”

Before I could answer, the sound of Murray’s deep voice boomed through from the kitchen. “Columbia?” he called out, using the nickname he had for Kit. “Where are my girls?”

“Now we’ll get some answers,” she hissed at me, before hollering back at Murray. “We’re outside. Did you know about this?”

“About what?”

We both turned as Murray appeared at the veranda doors, halting for a nanosecond as his eyes flicked to me sitting on the lounger. It was brief, but both Kit and I noticed it, and he knew we had. He also knew exactly what Kit was talking about.

Murray sighed but walked over to us, instead of running back into the apartment. “Look, it’s Penn’s team. It’s a business. He’s not running a dating agency.”

“What?” snapped Kit, and tried to avoid the kiss Murray planted on her head before he picked up Bell.

“Hello, darling girl. What are you doing? What’s happened to Barclay?”

“He’s sick, Papa.”

Murray looked down at Barclay, whose tail was thumping against the terrace tiles in the hopes of being rescued. “I see that. Good job Doctor Bell is here to fix him then.”

He kissed her cheek and put her back down. “I’m going to get a drink before we have this conversation. Do you two want wine?”

My stomach churned in a mini-cyclone of protest. It was going to be a while before I had alcohol again.

“We’ll both take soda water,” Kit replied, which made Murray frown, especially at me.

He returned a couple of minutes later, carrying a bottle of beer and glasses of soda water, with ice and a wedge of lemon.

“Thank you.”

He sat down on the end of Kit’s lounger, and pulled her legs onto his lap.

“I’m not saying what he did was right, but see it from his perspective. He’s running a billion-dollar business, and he’s protecting a key asset from being damaged again. He’s protecting Ace.”

Kit harrumphed loudly and muttered something that sounded a lot like ‘ridiculous’.

Murray refrained from rolling his eyes, though I knew he wanted to, but instead he took a long swig of his beer.

“Payton, sweetheart, it’s not personal, and I don’t see what the big deal is. You never date anyone for long, and you’ve always got multiple guys on the go.” He raised an eyebrow before continuing his sudden train of thought. “In fact, you said you weren’t interested in Ace. I specifically recall you saying it was a one-time thing.”

Murray The Memory Man, everybody.

“I didn’t even know you’d started up with him.” He shot an accusatory glance at Kit for not spilling the beans.

“Have you just been with Penn?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, they’re in Miami this weekend, then Chicago. They get back next Friday for the Phillies series at home.”

My belly started churning again, but not from alcohol. It was from the fact Ace wasn’t in the city and I hadn’t known about it. I dropped my head in my hands.

I had it bad.

“What’s going on? I feel like I’m missing out on some major details.”

Kit answered for me, because when I opened my mouth, I didn’t seem to be able to form the words I needed to.

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