Page 80 of Caught Up

“No shit?” Josh said, eyebrows rising. “I’ve wanted to start investing more myself. I have a decent portfolio, but it’s managed by some douche on Wall Street. You know, Tyler’s a financial analyst. We could invite him over too and make a whole night of it.”

I had no idea how to answer diplomatically, so I went with being direct. “No offense, but I’d rather rip my own fingernails off than hang out withthatguy.”

I gestured with my coffee cup behind Josh’s back, and he turned to see what I’d been watching this whole time: Tyler, about to start a fight over cornhole. He’d lost and wasn’t happy about it.

“Because you kept stepping over the fucking line,” he said, loud enough for his voice to carry.

Josh turned back to me, wincing. “He has a thing about rules.”

I just looked at him.

“And he doesn’t exactly make the best first impression,” he tacked on.

“Or second,” I said, sipping my coffee.

Josh nodded. “I think he’s just not good in new situations or with new people so he ends up acting like more of a douche than normal. But once you get past that hurdle, you’ll never find a more loyal friend.”

Behind him, Tyler flipped a cornhole board and stalked away from the party.

“I’ll have to take your word for it.”

Josh turned just in time to catch Tyler disappearing around the corner of the house. With a sigh, Josh swung back my way, eyes snagging on Aly and Lauren and the other women shaking their heads at Tyler’s outburst.

“Lauren’s nice,” he said.

“Too nice for me?”

“Oh, without a doubt.”

I shot him an unimpressed look.

He elbowed me. “You guys are good together. Complement each other.”

I peered up at him. “Is that what you’ve been doing over here in your Creep Corner all afternoon? Studying the rest of us?”

“Yeah,” he said, and I could hear the unspokenduhin his tone. “The fuck else was I supposed to do for entertainment?”

“I don’t know, this isyourengagement party.”

“No, it’s not. It’s hers,” he said, tone softening as he glanced toward Aly.

I followed his gaze and caught her admiring the rock on her finger, a smile on her face that told anyone who saw it just how happy she was, how content. She glanced up, saw Josh, and smiled even wider, and he let out a low whuff of breath that made it sound like someone hadgut-punchedhim. I decided in that moment that if my father ever tried to tear them apart, it would be open war between us.

My gaze drifted to Lauren. She was talking animatedly with one of Aly’s colleagues, but I wasn’t worried about what she was saying. I’d asked her not to bring up certain subjects, and I trusted her to keep quiet. Hell, I trusted her, period. Spending the afternoon in her company, out in the light of day together, had been...interesting. Easy. It was a glimpse of normalcy, what life could be like if I was able to break free.

Lauren laughed at something Aly said, and they clinked their wineglasses together before drinking. My chest warmed at the sight of them getting on so well, and I had to remind myself not to get ahead of myself, that we still hadn’t discussed what the hell we were doing.

And then Lauren’s gaze caught mine and held, heat sparking between us.

I sent her a smile, winked, and turned away, not wanting her to see the rage taking hold of me. My fucking father. His threats, his slyness, his control, they were the reasons I held myself back with Lauren. Because I was afraid of what he would do, how far he would go to retain his hold on me. The mob had rules against hurting women, but I didn’t trust him to honor them, and I knew all too well that you didn’t have to use physical force to harm someone. Psychological weapons could be just as devastating.

I just needed to find a weakness I could exploit. Planning a move into legitimate business was all well and good, but it wouldn’t free me from my dad’s claws, wouldn’t keep him from threatening or coercing me into doing whatever he wanted.

Think, I told myself. What did Dad value more than anything? What could I threaten to take away from him that would finally get him to back down?

“You all right?” Josh asked.

I shook my head, trying to pull myself back from the brink. I didn’t trust my temper when I got like this.

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