Page 47 of Iced Out
She leaned into my side, her red manicured nails grasping onto my bicep. “I’m just saying. I didn’t realize they let strays in.”
I didn’t answer. Some of the guys got up, bringing back more food. I continued to stew in my seat, my gaze locked on Mila’s table while Elise fluttered around me, a buzzing nuisance I couldn’t swat away.
As soon as the guys were deep in a conversation about our next game, she leaned in. “You know my dad keeps saying it’s time we make things official.”
I looked at her sideways. “Pretty sure your dad’s idea of official is a press release.”
She smiled, calculating and practiced. “Just think about it. Your family. My family. Top two names in Blackwood.”
I smirked. “King Enterprises still outranks Dunn Investments by a few zeros. You sure your dad wants that comparison?”
“Power shifts fast—you know that.” She tapped her manicured nails against the table, each click deliberate. “But alliances last. And I’m the right one.”
“You’re not pitching a merger.”
“No,” she said, turning her head slightly, letting her hair fall over her shoulder. “I’m offering you security when things go sideways.”
I raised a brow. “This your idea of flirting?” She couldn’t know shit, but regardless, I was going to have to pass this little threat over to either Drew or my dad. Because in these types of situations, there would always be solidarity in family.
“This is my idea of reality.” Her voice dropped lower. “You and Mila? That’s chaos. We’re certainty.”
A beat stretched between us. I laughed under my breath. “You mean convenient.”
“I mean inevitable.” Her nails clicked again. “And I can make the noise around her disappear. All of it. The rumors, the whispers, the shit people are too polite to say to her face… or aren’t. I can end it with a look.”
I stared at her. “You know how to start it too, though, don’t you?”
She shrugged. “Depends on whether I’m protecting something… or breaking it.”
Her hand settled possessively on my thigh under the table.
Across the room, Mila nudged Simon. He stood as she grabbed her bag then slid out of the booth. Her head turned just enough to catch Elise’s hand still resting on me. Something flickered across her face.
Pain? Anger? Disgust? She looked away before I could tell. I shoved Elise’s hand off me.
“Don’t touch me.”
She tilted her head, trying to disguise a flicker of unease. “You’re not mad I said it. You’re mad I’m right.”
“I’m annoyed you think you matter.”
Elise’s smile didn’t fade. “You’ll see, Luke. When everything else falls apart, I’ll still be here.”
I pushed back from the table and stood. She didn’t try to stop me.
Outside, the air was cooler, denser than I expected. Thick clouds strangled the last of the light, casting everything in that pre-storm grayscale that made edges blur. Thunder cracked low and slow, a precursor of what was to come. Mila was already halfway to the lot, moving fast, as if she needed the pending storm to swallow her whole.
Behind us, the diner windows threw rectangles of light across the lot. From certain angles, anyone inside could see out—theglass catching movement more than details. Elise was still in there. So were Avery and Simon. Maybe they would notice, or not. The thought should’ve stopped me. It didn’t.
“Hey.” My voice came out rougher than I meant it to.
She didn’t stop walking. “What?”
“That guy.” I fell into step beside her. “He’s not your type.”
She stopped then. Turned to face me, eyes narrowed. “Oh, and what is my type, Luke?”
Me. I glared at her. “Not him.”
