Page 54 of The Spring in My Heart

“Oh. You know who this motherfuck?—”

He cuts Mateo off. “If my sister didn’t invite you, who did you come here with?”

Mateo stiffens and opens his mouth.

“No,” Lux says.

Mateo’s mouth curves a little. “I came with Miss Marilyn.”

Chase’s face hardens, and instinctively, I place myself closer to the middle, between the two men.

“You brought her here?” There’s something telling about the way Chase says the words. It hangs in the air, charging it with tension. It’s the tone you hear before a fist hits your face.

“She called and asked me to escort her. She said Lux needed a date, and she wanted to see her son get married.”

“Did you ask my sister about that?” Chase doesn’t sound like he believes Mateo.

Mateo rolls his eyes. “I didn’t need to. She’s your mother. She has the right to be here.”

Chase shifts ever so slightly, but I’m there with my hand on his shoulder.

“Cam is going to handle it. Marilyn is going back,” Lux tells her brother.

“Who’s going to drive her back? This douche?” Chase doesn’t take his eyes off him.

“I’m not sure, but don’t worry about it. Mateo, get out of here.” She points at him and then in the direction of the entrance.

“Luxxy, we need to talk,” Mateo says.

She sighs and turns to me. “Let me make sure Cam gets her out of here. I’ll be right in there. Chase, you need to go inside before Lauren realizes Marilyn is around. We don’t need that.”

I pat his arm. “Come on. It’s your wedding day. Let’s go back inside.”

We start to walk away then Chase stops and looks back. “Mess with Lux again, and I’m going to break your knees. You know she’s the reason I haven’t beat the bricks off of you. But you’re not together anymore, and I’m tired of seeing you around my family. You better not be here when I come back out to check on her.”

The way Mateo shifts on his feet, he believes him.

Shit, I believe him. Chase is a big dude who’s not afraid of bumping against things. I guide him away.

“I don’t think he’ll be here,” I say.

“He’s not very smart, but it’s been a while since I beat up anyone. This one will feel good.” Everything in Chase’s tone tells me he’s not joking at all.

Before we go in, I look back one more time, and Lux is standing in front of Mateo with her arms crossed. “I’ll come back to check on her if she doesn’t return with Cam.”

Chase nods. “He’s not dumb enough to try anything. He knows Cam and I would castrate him like we’ve been wanting to—not physically, anyway.”

“Does he hurt her in other ways?”

We are walking to the open bar. “He’s fucked around on her too many times.”

We order two shots. It’s as much as I’ll allow myself and only because we’ll be here for a few hours. I have to drive Ayla home tonight. The bartender pours McCallan for both of us.

But my mind is still outside in the lobby. “Why does Lux go back to him? She’s too good for that.”

The question is out of my lips before I can stop it. Chase’s eyes sharpen on me. I just made a big mistake.

“You like her, don’t you?”

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