Page 47 of Broken Player

"Bathing suits optional," I tacked on with a wink in her direction, and I watched as her eyes flashed.

"You're just going to-" Yates slammed his mouth shut mid-sentence, probably thinking better of whatever he was about to say. "Sounds like fun," he said instead.

"Sure does." I flashed him my cocky grin again, keeping my eyes locked on his. This prick would never beat me at this game.

Alex's voice cut through the tension. "So, Mad, I hear your dad moved out."

I nodded. "I bought the place, but it needs a lot of work. Speaking of, I'm having a new AC installed, and it's going to take a few days." I turned to Ryan. "Do you mind if I sleep over for a night or two while they do the work? I could get a hotel, but it'd be easier to stay here so I can keep helping out."

She stiffened next to her fiance. "Sure."

Quinn clapped his hands together once. "Perfect. We can all cuddle up in the fort and watch movies like the other night. Maybe even trade massages. Hauling hay is hard work."

I took a sip of my lemonade to keep from laughing. Yates's eyes were cold as he stared at Quinn and me from across the table, and I could read every way he wished he could fuck me up in his hard glare. I couldn't have imagined a better way to get under his skin and let him know I was stepping back into Ryan's life and had no intention of leaving again. Ever.

"I'm great at giving massages," I agreed. I'm sure my face gave away all the ways I was thinking about my hands running over every inch of Ryan's soft and smooth body.

Ryan's parents stayed silent. I was sure they didn't know what to say, and we sat in awkward silence. Yates was shaking with barely controlled fury, and I wondered if I was the only one who noticed, but one glance at the smirk on Quinn's face told me he saw it, too. I wanted to high five the fuck out of my new partner in crime, but I held it in, at least until we cleared the dishes and took them into the kitchen.

I held up my palm, and Quinn slapped it heartily, leaving a sting behind. I didn't mind one bit. "Fuck, yes. Did you see the look on that dildo's face?" he laughed.

"I thought he'd stroke out when you talked about cuddling and massages," I cracked up.

"We need to actually do this whole sleepover thing tonight and post a picture to her Insta," Quinn added.

I nodded. "Imagine what'll happen when we tag me in it."

"Oh, fuck, yes. We are one hundred percent doing this."

Right as I finished rinsing our dishes, there was a knock on the door, and I heard a familiar voice a few seconds later. Drying my hands, I walked back into the dining room to find Connor's hulking form taking up the entire doorway. "Hey, man. What's up?"

He nodded at me once. "Sorry to interrupt. Zen called to let me know you have files to review since he couldn't get ahold of you."

"Yeah, I left my phone inside this morning so it wouldn't get broken. Here, come in," I offered, pulling out a spare chair next to Quinn. "This is Alex and Shannon, Ryan's parents," I started introductions, and Connor shook their hands. "You know Ryan and Quinn, and this is Ryan's fiance, Yates," I said last as Connor's eyebrow raised, and he took Yates's hand, squeezing no doubt harder than necessary. He knew what Ryan meant to me and supported me completely in trying to win her over. He supported me so much that he was still in the middle of fucking nowhere Texas with me even though Zen had gone home.

I hadn't missed that he assigned Julian to guard Zen and Kennedy while he stayed here with me. "Everyone, this is Connor. He's my friend and," he met my eyes with a subtle shake of his head. "Someone I work with on occasion." I finished, hoping that was good enough. He obviously didn't want Yates to know he was part of the band's security for some reason.

Yates turned to Ryan. "Babe, do you normally have this much… company?" He smiled, but it looked forced, as if it was the last thing he wanted to do, which made it look more like a sneer.

Ryan shook her head. "Not normally."

"Hasn't been for a while, but it's about to become your new normal since I'm not going anywhere. Right, Freckles?" I challenged.

She looked at me with pleading eyes, and I figured that was my signal I'd pushed hard enough, and I needed to back off just a little. At least for now.

"Right," she said in a small voice.

"Well, I should be getting back to the city," Yates cut in, sliding his chair back and standing up. Quinn and I stood up with him, and Connor followed our lead. We all wanted to make sure he got the fuck out of here and didn't make Ryan pay for us fucking with him.

"Good to see you again, Yates," Shannon insisted with a bland smile, and Alex murmured a simple goodbye.

"You, too, Mrs. Knight, Mr. Knight. Thank you for lunch, it was delicious." The dude was smooth, I had to admit. The problem was he wastoosmooth, and that shit rubbed me the wrong way. It was like he wasn't actually showing any of who he actually was or hiding his true self or something. I didn't like it.

We all followed him out to the front porch, and I held out my hand. He took it, squeezing so hard his muscles strained and shook, but my ice-cold stare never faltered. Neither did my grip. This motherfucker thought he could scare me with a hard handshake? Pathetic.

"Keep your fucking hands off my fiancee," he demanded in a low voice so Ryan wouldn't hear him over the conversation she was having with Quinn. Connor's eyes narrowed, though, as he watched our exchange.

"Yeah, not gonna happen. I don't like you, and if you think I'm going to stand by and watch you marrymygirl, you're out of your goddamn mind."

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