Page 75 of Chips & Checks
“That isn’t necessary,” Violet cuts in. “I don’t blame you for hiring him. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
“But not a third,” Lenyx says. “I’m fit. I’m good with a shovel. And the desert’s really big. Remember that.”
“I’m not hearing any of this.” Mom covers her ears. “And now might be a good time to remind everyone that your godmother Britt is acorporatelawyer, not a criminal attorney.”
“Really?” Layla props her chin in her palm. “What’s the difference?”
The subject turns to Mom’s career running my grandpa’s marketing firm. Little by little, Violet eases up. She lets her hand trail over my leg, along the inside of my thigh.
Her fingers barely skim the fabric of my shorts, but I feel it like a jolt to my spine. She doesn’t seem to notice how close she is to danger. Or maybe she does. Maybe that’s the point. Either way, I’m instantly hard and trying like hell to act normal.
I should say something. Crack a joke. Divert her attention before I embarrass us both. But all I can think about is how good that hand would feel if she went a few inches higher.
I think about her mouth.
I’ve had blowjobs before. Plenty of them, if I’m being honest. It’s not like I went through my early twenties crocheting doilies and praying for salvation. But Vi? She’s different. The idea of her on her knees in front of me, those sharp blue eyes full of intent, those pretty lips wrapped around my cock…
It’s too much.
It’s everything.
And it might never happen.
She’s told me before—joked, half-explained, danced around it—that she’s got hang-ups about that kind of thing. And I’d never pressure her. Not ever. I’m not that guy, and I’ll never be that guy.
But I want it.
God, I want it so bad I can’t help but wonder if she’ll ever be brave enough to give it. Not because she has to. Not because she owes me anything. But because she wants to.
Because she trusts me.
And maybe, if I’m lucky, because she loves me just enough to let go of the fear.
Her fingers brush higher, and I have to bite back a groan. The way she touches me—it’s casual, unthinking. But it’s also intimate. Grounding. Like she’s saying,I’m here, even if the words never leave her mouth.
Her touch is almost enough to make me forget how tense she was during the discussion about Chad. I’m glad she’s got so many people in her corner.
I just wish Renee would hurry the hell up with that investigation already.
Because here’s the truth I won’t say out loud—not to her, not to anyone: I don’t just want Chad dealt with. I want him gone. I want him scrubbed from her memories like he was never there to begin with.
And I know that’s not how trauma works. I know I can’t fix it with a vendetta and a baseball bat. But the urge to protect her—to hold her so tight nothing can ever touch her again—is crawling under my skin. Worse, it’s starting to feel like more than just a reaction to what happened.
It’s starting to feel like… love.
And I don’t know how to come back from that.
Chapter Nineteen
Violet
Bowen’s been quiet since brunch with the parents. Not withdrawn, exactly, but there’s a weight to him that hasn’t lifted—not even after Lenyx made that dumb toast about fantasy leagues and how lucky Bowen is to have landed me.
And he is lucky. I remind myself of that as he unlocks the door to his condo, still clinging to my venti iced matcha like it’s armor. I need to remember I’m the prize here. Not because I’m cocky. Because it’s true.
We’ve spent so much time at my place, but something about being here makes everything feel a little sharper. Maybe it’s the clean, masculine lines of his space, or the faint scent of his cologne lingering in the air, or the way he watches me like I’m the first thing that’s made sense in his entire life.
He tosses his keys on the counter and runs a hand through his hair. “Want to stay the night?”
