Page 37 of The Third Girl

I slide one of the bottles over to Logan as I sit, my good mood crashing fast. Tipping the drink to my lips, I take a long swallow before setting it down and looking around the table, then immediately focus on the bottle in my hand.

Kennedy nudges my foot under the table. When I look up, her forehead is pinched. She mouths, “You okay?” to which I give a swift jerk of my chin down to my chest. In my peripheral vision, I see Skylar and Stupid Hair hit the dance floor together, and to “Cherub Rock,” no less. My lips tug downward into a frown.Who the hell requested that?

Groaning, I rest my elbow on the table and prop my head up with my hand. Unfortunately, my bid to not observe this dude all over her means I’m facing my friends instead, and their expressions are a mixture of confusion and concern.

And what am I supposed to say? I’m jealous because my daughter’s nanny is out on a date… and it’s not with me? That’s so fucking stupid.

Kennedy’s eyes drift over the dance floor. “Oh, hey. Skylar’s here. Did you know that, Matt?”

I press my lips together, curling them into my mouth so tightly, I’m sure they’ve disappeared. I give the barest hint of a nod.

“Wow, who’s the young stud with her?” Kennedy strains to see them as they move out of her range of sight. “Go, Skylar.” She laughs a bit and waves, not yet catching on that Skylar is the source of the sudden shift in my mood.

“Shit. That’s the nanny?” Travis wriggles his brows at me. “Why didn’t you tell me you have a hot nanny at your house?”

The water Kennedy had been drinking dribbles down her chin as she sputters at the wordshot nanny.

Under my breath, I groan, “Ah, shit.” I can see the trainwreck coming right at me. I can’t escape it. Like an idiot, I let my eyes drift over to where Skylar is moving her hips with her arms up in the air and Travis’s gaze follows.“That’sseriously who’s been watching Sailor for you?”

Kennedy’s head whips around to her fiancé. “Wait, have you not met Skylar, Trav?”

He leans back in the booth, putting an arm around her shoulders. “I mean, I think I’ve seen her around.” He shrugs. “Maybe at the gym while I was waiting on you that one time after your self-defense class… but when would I have been introduced to her?”

She frowns. “Good point. Well, that’s Skylar. We’ve all been hanging out lately, Skylar and Jackie, who both work with Laney, Lucy, Mia, and me.”

Logan’s been watching this entire exchange and finally huffs out an amused laugh. “Oh God, what a crew.”

“We have fun. Paint nights and self-defense classes and coffee dates.” She shrugs, then glances down at her shirt where she’d dribbled water down the front of her.

Travis cocks his head to the side, eyeing me. “Hold it. So, you were helping teach the class this woman attended?”

“Uh, yeah. Then Laney suggested her to me as a potential solution for my childcare issue.”

Logan pipes up again. “True. Laney told me Skylar is great with kids.”

“She is.” I nod, my jaw twitching. “She’s excellent with Sailor.”

Kennedy giggles. “Did Laney make that suggestion before or after you had your hands around her neck trying to choke her out? I forget.” She covers her mouth, an expression of mock-horror on her face. “I’m sorry, you’d think I was the one drinking. But that really did happen. She volunteered to be the victim in the demonstrations at the last class.”

I shoot Kennedy a perturbed look, and groan at her antics. She’s only teasing because she has no idea about my true feelings. She’d never do that if she knew. And why doesn’t she know?Oh, right.Because the idea of me with a twenty-six-year-old girl is absurd.

I straighten myself, taking another swig of my beer, and curse my eyes as they wander over to locate Skylar yet again. It takes me a few seconds, and when I finally spot her on the far side of the room, I frown. Nope, I don’t like the looks of what her date is doing. My teeth grind at the way the asshole has her pressed against the wall. Tuning out all the talk around me, I stand for a better view, my brows pinched together.

Somewhere behind me, it registers that Logan and Travis have questioned what’s going on, but I can’t drag my eyes away from what’s happening across the room from us. Stupid Hair’s got his hands all over Skylar and is grinding up on her. To make matters worse, the creep’s hands are dragging the skirt she’s wearing up her thighs. Is this her idea of a good time on a Friday night? Letting some dude grope her on the dance floor?

Her gaze meets mine, and I immediately know I’m wrong. Those green eyes are panicked, full of fear and humiliation. I see red as my blood heats to boiling in my veins. There’s no way in hell I’m letting this go on for another second. Shoving my way through the crowd of dancers, I stop right behind him, my breath heaving from me as I grip him by the shoulders and pull him forcefully away from her.

I’ve got the element of surprise on my side, and as I spin him around, I throw him up against the wall, his head hitting it with a sickening crack. Catching him by the throat with one hand, I squeeze hard. He claws at my arm with both hands, but I don’t give a shit. “Don’t fucking touch her like that.” The menacing words rip from deep inside me as I stare daggers straight through him so he knows I mean it. “I will hunt you down if I hear about this happening ever again.”

“Matt.” My brother’s calm cop voice breaks through the haze of my anger. “You’ve gotta let him go. He gets it.”

I blink several times, then tilt my head to the side, waiting for the handsy dickhead to agree with Travis. He can’t speak with the way I have his throat clamped in my hand, but he nods as much as he can, his eyes pleading with me to let him go.

I release him, then back away, staring at him with pure hatred. And the once cocky fucker looks like he might wet his pants. I shake my head and huff out a disgusted breath. “Get outta here.”

My brother’s no idiot, he escorts the guy all the way across the dance floor on a one-way mission to the exit. I don’t know what he’s saying to him, but the guy is nodding vigorously and walking fast. Trav takes him all the way to the front door and waits while the jackass walks out. And adding one more thing to the things I hate about that guy, he never once looks back in Skylar’s direction or gives any indication that he’s worried about her at all.What a dick.

I pivot on my heel to where Logan is standing with a wide-eyed Kennedy, who has Skylar hugged close.

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