Page 70 of Vendetta

He was a beast. Not quite as big as Kaptan, which wasn’t much of a feat considering the fact that Kaptan was larger than most around him, but Cashton maneuvered quickly and landed some solid hits, the fight seeming pretty even.

I couldn’t keep my eyes off of them, not even realizing that I had been holding my breath the entire time until a bell finally rang. They let their gloved hands drop to their sides, meeting in the center for a quick one-armed bro hug and pat on the back before Cashton ducked under the ropes and made his way back to me. He dropped down to his gym bag to check his phone, letting me know that Angelina just delivered the groceries and that the fridge is stocked and ready to go.

I shook my head, forcing my mind to snap back to reality as a thought crossed my head.

“You didn’t, like… fire her or anything, right? I didn’t want to get her in trouble, really,” I started, Cashton cutting me off as soon as he saw where my mind was going.

“No, Landry. Angelina gets paid salary, and she gets paid the same whether we use her or not, so don’t you worry about that.”

I let out a breath of relief.

“Now, let’s get showered and get home before it gets dark. You still got a dinner to make,” he spoke, and a smile once again took over my face at the thought. I was going to be cooking dinner for all of my friends. Saying I was excited would be an understatement.

CHAPTER 36

LANDRY

“Hey sweet cheeks, time to wake up!” Olivia’s voice floated around me, a grunt leaving me as I curled myself tighter into the comforter.

“Oh, don’t do that, it’s already almost noon babes! Rise and shine, we got some stuff on the agenda today.”

I stuck my hand out of the comforter just enough to offer her the middle finger. Things had started going back to normal over the last few weeks. Spring semester classes had started, and I no longer felt the need to avoid Cashton at all costs. I met up with him and the guys at the gym every once in a while, the workouts soothing some of the anxiety I still dealt with.

He had even left a bag of Takis at my door the first day of classes, which had been a life saver since I had woken up too late to get some myself. And though I wasn’t complaining about him being nice to me all of a sudden, I didn’t know if either of uswould ever be able to fully get past everything that had happened.

“Oh, don’t be a grouch. C’mon!” Olivia encouraged.

I felt the bed dip as she jumped in next to me, my body slowly turning to face her. I would never understand morning people. I could sleep in for half the day and still not feel rested. Her cheeriness this early felt like an assault, something I didn’t hesitate to relay as I opened my eyes to find her wide-eyed face inches from mine.

“But why? It’s a Saturday for crying out loud,” I groaned, my voice hoarse and gravely from just waking up.

“It’s a surprise. You still have a few hours, but I figured you would want to shower and all of that first. Bexley is helping get it set up so I’m on Landry duty. My one and only job is getting you there! I told them it was a two-person job, but nobody believed me.”

“Uggghh,” I rolled back over.

“Oh, Lan. You’re such a grump in the morning. Would it help if I told you that I brought coffee?”

My eyes cracked open at the sound of that, the smell of coffee just now hitting my nostrils.

“Okay, okay. But you’re staying in bed with me for the next fifteen minutes while I drink this and slowly wake up,” I told her.

“Deal!”

—

Once I was freshly showered, Olivia picked out a fitted taupe blouse and white pantsuit from my closet and threw themmy way. I proceeded to curl some loose waves into my hair, Olivia talking my ear off the entire, time as I finished up with a small amount of makeup.

An hour later and we were pulling in through the gates of Cashton’s house, fancy cars lining the driveway as well-dressed guests of all ages made their way inside.

I walked in to find a crowd of people socializing about, champagne flutes in hand as hors d’oeuvres were passed on silver trays. This was much too sophisticated to be a college party, so what was going on?

Bexley met us at the front door, and I let my friends lead me through the house as we exchanged pleasantries in passing, until we reached the back side of the home where the French doors opened to the crowded yard beyond.

My breath lodged in my throat as I took in the pens set up around the estate, familiar dogs occupying each one. I was frozen in place, a laugh finding its way out of my throat as I spotted the bow ties on some of the male animals and the pearl collars around some of the females.

“You think you’re ready to make a speech?” Olivia asked, nudging me in the shoulder as she jumped giddily up and down.

“Guys, what the fuck is going on? Actually, I think I need a glass of champagne to process all of this first,” I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face as I took all of it in.

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