Page 95 of Golden Rule

A smirk hitches on Sterling’s mouth. “Right. My bad.”

I think I speak for the whole crew when I say it’s a relief seeing them finally getting along again. It might be a longshot to hope that things eventually become as easy as they were back in the day, but at least they seem to be headed in the right direction.

“You’re doing something amazing here, Blue.” Ricky pauses to scan the lot. “Aunt Teresa presented an idea to the family at last week’s meeting. She suggested that the Ruizes donate all the center’s furniture, and the vote was unanimous, so just say the word when you’re ready.”

Blue’s eyes widen with surprise, and when tears well in them, I know she’s about to attack Ricky with a hug. I’m right, and she nearly knocks him over with it.

“Are you freaking serious?”

He laughs and squeezes her with one arm. “Whatever you need, it’s yours.”

It’s support like this that’s made it incredibly clear that what my wife is doing in this community is not only much-needed.

It’s appreciated.

Blue lets Ricky go, immediately waving Dez, Tiffany, and Joss over. “Let’s get a pic.”

The girls are walking this way, but when I spot someone coming up on my left, my posture stiffens.

Fucking Seth.

He’s always got this fucking chipper-ass grin on his face that makes me want to punch him in his shit. I’ve seen dudes play the innocent role to get in a girl’s good graces—hell,I’veplayed the innocent role for that very reason—so I recognize it from a mile away. I gave him a chance, and as I watch him eye-bang my wife like I’m not fucking standing here, that chance goes up in flames.

“Afternoon,” he says as he walks up.

Everyone speaks, being polite because none but Scar have seen him in action. Then again, I suppose Ihaveto be nice, seeing how he’s working with Blue on this project, and it’s incredibly important to her. But if it weren’t for that, I’d have no problem showing this fucker how the Golden Boys handle snakes that don’t seem to understand boundaries.

“How are things coming along inside?” Blue asks, and Seth’s eyes light up.

“So far, so good. Looks like you guys are making a ton of progress, too?”

She shrugs modestly. “You know, it’s coming along. ”

It’s Seth’s turn to speak, but he went stupid zoning out on Blue’s tits, likely taking note of her bra showing through her tank top like I did a moment ago.

Yep.

I’m gonna kill him.

“I should, uh… I should get back inside to check on things.”

“Hang on. We were just about to take a pic. You should join us,” Blue says, already pulling out her phone.

Seth hesitates for the fraction of a second, then caves, grinning at my girl again. “Alright.”

Everyone gathers behind Blue, and I stand to her right, holding her waist. Squinting into the sunlight, she holds the camera in the air and smiles big while the crew pose in the background—Scar hopping onto Joss’s back, Lexi pretending to pick Jaxon’s nose, Tiffany stealing Sterling’s baseball cap at the last second.

Blue looks it over, then smiles. “Perfect. We don’t even need to do a second take.”

“Great. I’ll get back to it then,” Seth announces, then his eyes slide over Blue before he turns to rejoin his team inside.

It feels like someone’s stare is boring a hole into the side of my head, and when I turn,bothmy brothers are eyeing me, both sporting these knowing looks that let me know I’m not crazy.

Seth has it bad for Blue, but by him not being from Cypress Pointe… guy’s got no fucking clue the hell I’ll rain down on him if he steps out of line.

“Just tagged everyone,” Blue announces, grinning as she slides her fingers across her phone at lightspeed. She’s as innocent as she is beautiful, none-the-wiser when it comes to Seth’s slick intentions.

As I watch her, that smile fades as the phone rings in her hand. One glance at her screen, and I understand.

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