Page 92 of Seduction in Spades

I drop my chin to my chest and close my eyes. “I’m—”

“Enough with this girl talk. We need to figure out a way to end this war with the Irish mob. Drake and Ryder are waiting.”

“Agreed.” I stand and hold out my hand to him. “Thank you, Trey. I’m sorry I betrayed your trust these past two months—”

“Two months? When did you... nope. I don’t need to hear anymore. Love my sister and treat her well, and I won’t have to chop off your balls and shove them down your throat.”

“Trust me. If I don’t treat her well, you won’t need to cut off my balls. Avery will do that herself.”

It’s faint, but there’s a hint of a grin under Trey’s surly mask.

***

“Let it all out.” Onceagain, Nora is by my side, comforting me as I cry.

“Do you think Trey’s torturing him right now?”

“I’m pretty sure Nolan’s been torturing himself enough and doesn’t even feel the pain.”

I’m picturing those movies where the guy yanks out fingernails. Or waterboarding. Is that what interrogators do? Because surely Trey is interrogating Nolan with the cruelest devices.

“Nolan and I have been... well, it’s complicated, but we’ve been kind of seeing each other for a while now.”

“We know, sweetie. We know.”

“You do?” I dab my eyes with the wadded-up ball of tissues that are streaked with mascara. “Trey never hinted he had any idea.”

“I’m pretty sure he was the only one ignorant of the chemistry between you two.”

“How did you figure it out?”

Nora laughs and hands me my still-full glass of wine. “The lack of eye contact and conversation between you two.”

“I’m confused. Wouldn’t that show a lack of interest?”

“If you both didn’t try so hard. I’m pretty sure Ryder figured it out as well.”

“He’s always hitting on me.”

“Drake and I talked about that one night. Our theory is to distract Trey from catching on.”

“Really?” I bite my lip and wipe my nose. “That’s kind of sweet.”

“Ryder’s really sweet and not as much of a man whore as he likes everyone to believe.”

“I hurt Nolan.”

“From what I’ve seen, he’s pretty tough. I’m sure he’ll recover and come running back to you.”

“It’s twisted. I’ve been pushing him away and running from him while he’s been asking for more.”

“What are you scared of?”

“Everything.”

“Care to narrow that down a bit?”

“What if I’m not good enough? Nolan comes from the perfect all-American family. I’m damaged goods. I’ve never witnessed or been part of a healthy relationship before.”

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