Page 104 of Golden Rule

Dez scoots out of the booth to let Lexi slip past, and I glance toward Sterling. He’s across the diner, chatting it up with Chase and Dane. Lexi heads that way, and I sip my water.

“That kid’s going to be a heartbreaker. Mark my words,” Dez says.

“He’s got it honest.” Joss’s smile that follows contains a multitude of secrets she holds for the Golden boys, having been their honorary sister for years before she and Dane finally stopped fighting fate.

“Someone’s gonna hunt you down to write a tell-all book about the triplets,” Jules says, but no sooner than those words leave her mouth…

“Are we just going to keep doing this?” a voice calls out, and a quick glance in Sterling’s direction reveals that the one who’s lost her cool is Tiffany. She’s not quite yelling, but her tone’s definitely elevated.

Lexi looks stunned, standing beside Sterling who’s still gripping her phone. While I have no clue what just transpired while we weren’t paying attention, it’s clearThe Sterling triojust blew the fuck up.

Damn, is there something in the air tonight?

Instinct has me and the other girls out of our booth the second Tiffany shifts her gaze toward Lexi.

“What don’t you understand?” Tiffany asks, the irritation in her voice climbing higher with each word. “He’s an engaged man, and having you hang around all the fucking time is… it’s just inappropriate! Aren’t you ready to move on?”

Lexi looks so confused, but her being pissed off is starting to overshadow everything else.

“Are you fucking serious right now?” she asks. “The man’s son asked for him, so I brought him my fucking phone, you psycho. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Tiffany runs her shaky hand through her hair, and April—along with a few other members of The Empress Circle—stand in solidarity with their new recruit.

“You can’t honestly be this stupid,” Tiffany says under her breath, but with how quiet the diner has grown, everyone hears every single word exchanged between them. “I’ll be his wife in less than a year, and yet, you’re at every gathering, every event. Doesn’t that embarrass you? Knowing everyone’s talking about how desperate you look?”

You could hear a pin drop, and that silence only grows when Sterling draws a clear line in the sand with the sharp look he shoots toward his fiancé. Defining it further when he speaks.

“Tiffany… What the fuck are you doing?”

It looks like she stops breathing when he scoldsherwith those words. With one hell of a wicked look plastered on his face to match. It only fades when he glances down at Lexi’s phone in his hand, realizing it’s still connected to the call, which means Jaxon heard everything.

“Shit.” Sterling mumbles that word under his breath, then composes himself when he speaks to his son again. “Daddy’s gonna call you back. Okay, Bud?”

“Okay, but are you sad, Daddy?”

“Call you right back,” Sterling rushes to say as he ends the call, but I think Jaxon hit the nail on the head.

Sterling takes a breath, and when his eyes dart from one side of the room to the other, there’s no missing that he’s embarrassed. As would any one of us be, having our dirty laundry aired out in the company of our professional peers.

What the hell is Tiffany thinking?

“You’ve gotta shut this down.Quickly,” Dane warns under his breath, leaning into Sterling.

“Outside.Now,” Sterling grinds out, attempting to take Dane’s advice and wrangle Tiffany in, but she isn’t done yet. For some reason, seeing Lexi walk up to Sterling tonight broke something in her. Or there’s always the possibility that her new best friends got in her ear, feeding into her sensitivity. But now’s not the time to analyze. Now’s the time to put out the fire.

“Damn it,Sterling! Do youeverplan to put your foot down?” Tiffany shouts, pulling her hand free from Sterling’s when he attempts to exit with her in tow. “Honestly, you’re the reason she doesn’t know her place! It could’ve been as simple as telling heryourfamily isn’therfamily anymore. She lost all that when you dumped her ass.”

My heart sinks and it’s like the air gets sucked out of the diner.

Lexi purses her lips, trying to keep her cool, but I know that look. In fact, it prompts a flashback to high school. If any of us can be considered a loose cannon, it’s definitely her, and I’m pretty sure Tiffany just lit the fuse.

Time moves in slow motion as Lexi steps forward, and the only words she has a chance to get out as she shoves Tiffany in the center of her forehead are, “Bitch, if you…”

That’s as far as she gets before West’s arms are around her, preventing her from doing something she’ll definitely regret.

Even if it doesn’t feel that way right now.

“Whoa, Lex, chill. She isn’t worth it,” West says, and Tiffany doesn’t miss it.

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