Page 60 of Broken Player

"Do you have any suggestions on how I can get her out of here without making a scene?" I inquired.

Quinn shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking past Connor and me into the expansive room behind us. His eyes locked on someone I assumed was Ryan. "Come in with me and try to lay low until you see an opportunity. Then grab her and make a run for it."

Connor raised his eyebrows but stayed silent.

"Not very sophisticated, is it?" I sighed.

"No, but it'll work. Maybe you can even dance with her and really piss the dickhead off," Quinn suggested, letting out a low chuckle.

My face broke into a devious smile. I fucking loved the idea of dancing with my girl and pissing her fiance off at the same time. Something about that asshole really rubbed me the wrong way, and I knew both Quinn and Connor felt the same way.

The phone I still held in my hand vibrated, and I lifted it to my face. As I read the message from Ryan, my chest flooded with warmth.

Ryan: I wish you were here.

Five simple words made my whole goddamn existence. She had no idea what was in store for her tonight, but I wasn't about to let her down. Somehow I'd known she'd need me here just like I needed her. If she married Yates, it'd be the biggest fucking mistake of her life. I knew it, Quinn knew it, and I hoped I could get her to see it too.

I was aware of Quinn and Connor both staring at me, waiting for me to fill them in. "Ryan texted that she wished I was here," I explained, fighting back my fucking huge-ass smile. But it was time for me to throw my best asshole face on because I was walking into enemy territory.

At least the dinner was over, and I didn't have to listen to a long line of pretentious assholes drone on about useless shit for hours and hours. I came late enough to miss all of that.

We finally stepped through the doors, and I took in the immense room where this spectacle was being held. Quinn scanned the room for Ryan. I took the opportunity to familiarize myself with the exits since I'd probably need to grab Ryan and get the fuck out of here as fast as I could.

This room was so ordinary it almost hurt to look at. It was what Ryan would call cringe-worthy. The room had beige walls, crystal chandeliers, and nothing about it showed any personality. It was fucking boring, and it proved to me that none of these people knew my girl. This place was beige and bougie, Ryan was cowboy boots and wildflowers. She was dancing in the rain and not caring about getting wet. She was warmth and fun and sass all rolled into one stunning package. And this wasn't her. Not even fucking close.

Someday maybe I'd get the chance to give her the wedding she deserved. But first, I had to plead my case and believe she'd hear me out.

When my eyes landed on her across the room, my breath caught in my throat. Everything around and between us faded into nothingness. I couldn't see anything else except the waves of her soft hair flowing down her bare back, her outfit low cut enough that it stopped just above the curve of her waist. The need to run my fingers along the soft skin slammed into me, and I flexed my fingers, trying to get my shit under control.

Taking a deep breath and steeling myself for whatever may happen next, I strode across the room as confidently as possible. I wanted to make sure it looked like I belonged here. In fact, as I saw it, I belonged here more than any of these assholes. Ryan wasmine.

Finally, I stepped up behind her and danced my fingertips along the warm skin of her lower back. She stiffened until I leaned down and whispered in her ear, brushing my lips along the curve. "I'm all about making your wishes come true, Freckles."

As soon as she heard my voice, she melted against me, and I inhaled her citrus vanilla scent, her closeness calming my tightly wound nerves. Someone coughing softly nearby broke me out of my Ryan-induced spell, and suddenly it was like the volume in the room got turned up. My hand splayed across her lower back while my attention turned to the people standing in front of her.

Charlie and Justice both stared at me with matching incredulous expressions. Justice finally broke the stare-off when she turned to Ryan. "What's he doing here?" she whisper-yelled, and I chuckled, teasing the edge of Ryan's outfit with my fingertips. She shivered underneath my touch, and I didn't even try to hide the smile that broke out on my face.

I didn't wait for Ryan to answer her sister. "I'm here to dance with my girl," I proclaimed, even as I felt eyes burning into the back of my skull. My smile widened at the thought that Yates was watching how Ryan responded to my touch. I'd seen them together enough to know she didn't react the same way to him, and it fucking floored me.

Instead of paying attention to him, I reached my other hand down and wove our fingers together, leaning over to whisper in her ear again. "Dance with me." It wasn't a request, and we both knew it. I hadn't originally planned to spend much time here, only enough to grab Ryan and go. But I couldn't miss out on theopportunity to hold her in my arms and press her body to mine. It was made even sweeter by the fact that her fiance was too much of a coward to do anything about me staking my claim on her in public. He cared too much about what people thought.

Lucky for me, I didn't give a fuck.

A small smile lit up her face, and she nodded once, and that was all the permission I needed. I walked backward as I pulled her with me, not wanting to take my eyes off her for even a second. I tugged until her chest met mine, and I wrapped her arm around my neck.

Wrapping my arms around her small waist, she leaned into me, and I turned my head to the side, breathing her in. I closed my eyes for a second as we began to sway gently to the music. I'd never get sick of holding Ryan in my arms.

We made it about halfway through the song before I felt a hard tap on my shoulder. I glanced behind me, not letting go of Ryan even a little bit, to find Yates glaring at me with barely controlled fury. "Mind if I cut in to dance with my fiance?"

"Yeah, actually, I do. Wait for your fucking turn," I snapped before turning back and ignoring him. I could feel the anger radiating off him at my back, but I didn't give a shit. He cared more about how things looked than anything else, so I knew he wouldn't start shit with me right here in the middle of his rehearsal dinner. Finally, he huffed, and out of the corner of my eye, I watched him stalk off the dance floor.

Ryan shook with laughter against me, burying her face in my chest to mask her giggles, and she was so fucking cute. I felt myself smiling. "What's so funny, Freckles?"

She lifted her chin until she looked up at me, her deep brown eyes sparkling. "I don't think Yates is used to people talking to him like that. It was fun to watch," she admitted.

Tearing my gaze away from her, I scanned the room and saw him glowering from the back of the room, his angry glare lockedonto Ryan and me. Fuck, I hadn't meant to cause problems at this thing for Ryan, but I knew Yates wasn't going to let my humiliating him go.

The song was wrapping up, so I focused my attention back on my girl. As the last notes played, I reluctantly loosened my grip on her waist and stepped back, feeling Connor step up beside me. One glance at him and I knew shit was about to go down, and I wanted Ryan far away from the drama.

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