Page 65 of Mocha Kisses

“I got my answers. Well, we did. Yana is the problem and we have to figure out a way to get rid of her. Problem solved.”

Nova shakes his head. “But you put yourself in danger doing it. You tried to run to save us the trouble and now you’re sticking yourself face-first into it? You have no idea what he wanted or if he was there to hurt you. What exactlydidhe do? Did he touch you?”

I hate how protective that man is sometimes. I’m perfectly fine and while it was a stupid decision at the moment, it helped, right? We wouldn’t have even known that Griffin disappeared. “Just taunted me. Like I told you in the car.”

“Angel, answer the last question.”

They’re all staring at me as I sink back further, my back resting against the cushions. “He kissed my forehead.” My voice is barely above a whisper. I don’t want to remember that. John Williamson has never been my father. He doesn’t have a daughter. He fucked my mother and then left. He has no claim to me. “I’mfine.” This time, it’s me growling for them to leave it alone. It’ll be a sore point that they bring up later but I’m ready to move on. “I’m assuming that Yana twisted our departure into something, right? My money problems, gold digger, Griffin’s a poor soul. That sound right?”

Nova and Rome share a glance as I take a sip, trying not to moan as the flavors tangle on my tongue. Rome cocks his head to the side, “How would you know that?”

“Yana’s tactics always reflect something out of Hollywood. It’s not a hard line to draw and no doubt everyone in Spring Haven will know by now and start asking questions in the next day or two.” I shrug and take another sip, nursing the delicacy in front of me. I have no idea why Rome picked peppermint but it adds a little color to my senses and relaxes me. Griffin shuffles around until he’s sitting beside me, a hand on my leg, the other on the floor, facing us. “Why are you looking at me like that, Nova?”

“Because I just realized that I don’t think Yana’s plan worked. She tried to drive a wedge between you two and curate some broken façade of a gold digger but breaking you up so quickly would only work if Griffin signed the letter.” He sits forward, his expression devolving into a deviant one. “Illegal or not, with Griffin’s signature, she could go after him for the money that Paula’s Agency has been after. He’d do it because he loves you. But you never signed it and the men she hired to grab your signature are most likely in jail at this moment.”

That makes me feel even better. That maybe we’re one step closer to getting rid of her and starting on our path to happiness. One can dream.

Rome grabs my foot dangling off the couch to steal my attention. I yelp with his touch and then melt when his thumb hits my arch. “We figured Maximillian could move up the prerelease. No doubt Yana told him not to worry about today’s cover reveal so he has no reason to worry about it.”

I frown. “He wouldn’t worry about it because he doesn’t know. Shit. This thing wasn’t supposed to be until the end of the week!” I frantically look around for my phone, Griffin pointing to where it slipped down the edge of the couch. He grabs my coffee from me as I unlock it and scroll through my messages. Somehow my number has been shared and there’s a lot of fucking hate mail. If I was a weaker-willed person, the hate would bother me but it doesn’t. It’s not true anyhow.

Max hasn’t messaged at all but that’s not unusual. He knows Yana is here and probably expects her to take care of everything. I keep scrolling until I find a message from two hours ago.

Hey, I heard there’s something in Red Brook today. Did you set that up?

A few moments later.

Did you really get married to Griffin or is this just PR? Yana isn’t answering any of my texts.

A new message pops up and I frown at what feels like something urgent.

Call me. I’d like to speak with you.

“Max?” I ask when he picks up the phone.

“Where is Yana? She’s not answering her phone or any emails. Why was there a party today? And what am I seeing about you being a gold digger and this loan? I thought it was taken care of.” He sounds terrified. I put it on speakerphone so that everyone else can hear.

“No idea where Yana is. We left the venue after an incident.” I look over to Nova, wondering how much to tell Max. He shakes his head and I create a lie on the spot. Well, it’s mostly a lie. “She’s gotten in over her head and tried to pull off a PR stunt that didn’t work. We didn’t even know about the cover release until maybe yesterday?”

“There’s people here, Luna but they aren’t asking for you. They’re asking for Yana, saying that she’s sunk bad money into my company. My fucking company, Luna. What the hell is going on?”

I don’t know what to tell him because that’s not something I know. Nova senses my distress as he reaches forward and slips the phone from my hands. “Maximillian, it seems your partner has her hands in a few pots that she shouldn’t. This has been her plan from the start and I don’t know how many places she’s taken money from. That you’ve gotten caught up in it, I’m sorry.”

“This is my livelihood, Nova! No, don’t touch that! Fuck, just leave your card or something. I don’t have any money other than what you see and she’ll have to come back here eventually.” Max lets out a strangled sigh before speaking to Nova again. “I need that witch out of my hair. Luna always told me she was over the top. Hell, you’ve mentioned a few things over the years but I didn’t want to believe it. She was so sweet and full of life when she walked in here. And we really have sold more books. Fuck.”

Max isn’t lying. Once upon a time, the new PR manager was this bright-eyed, bushy-tailed squirrel with big ideas. I rarely crossed paths with her but Max would go on and on about her plans and the books they’d sell. Six years later and she’s basically the wicked witch of the West. Fuck.Six years.She really does have it out for me. She started just after I did.

Nova launches into an explanation of what he thinks will work best, including moving the prerelease party from next week up to tomorrow evening. I stare at him, bug-eyed, wondering what he’s on. I know that we need to catch Yana while things are hot but this is a little overwhelming. I snatch back my mug and start chugging it. Trying to pull my foot from Rome’s grip is futile as he digs his thumb farther into my arch. He’s trying to kill me by making me moan. No doubt the other two will pounce and we won’t figure out what we’re doing tomorrow.

Damn, I need another dress, don’t I?

“Focus,angel.”

My brows furrow and I look up to see that Nova has hung up and everyone is once again staring at me while I cling to an empty mug. This time when Rome digs into my foot, I squeal and then kick. Rome grunts when it connects with his chin and I burst out laughing, all of the nervous energy falling into that emotion. With my feet free, I end up tumbling off the couch, the mug rolling onto the carpet as I giggle at Rome rubbing his jaw, Nova worried about my hysterics, and Griffin smiling behind his mug.

He knows this is just the result of pent-up anxiety but the other two haven’t ever seen this. Nova stares down at me for a few seconds before cracking a smile, the other two entering in until tears are streaming down my cheeks. Yana might have ruined my life but in this moment, I feel like nothing can touch us. It’s just me and three men that I love, that love me. My laughter morphs into a moan when Rome gently wraps his fingers around the front of my throat and pulls me up into a kiss.

I clutch at his wrist, but not wanting him to stop as he bites down on my lower lip. “Eye for an eye, sweetheart.” The taste of copper dribbles onto my tongue as I run it over the small cut.He bit me?His amber eyes are dancing with amusement as Nova’s hand lands on my thigh and I shudder with the promise his grip gives.

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