Page 72 of Play Maker

The crazy urge to escape had only increased as the night wore on. I just had to get through a few more hours of blending into the wallpaper, and I could go back to the life I wanted. One without the constant threat of Shad appearing in the ABC.

He was lurking somewhere in the crowd, and I couldn’t shake the feeling he was watching me. I scanned the people around me, smiling at the strangers who nodded as if they knew me. No sign of him, but lack of visual confirmation didn’t make me safe.

A waiter drifted by carrying a tray full of champagne flutes, blocking my view for a few seconds. I thought about grabbing one simply to have something in my hand, but I’d made a promise to myself to only have sparkling water for the duration. The liquid would still work to hide my face while I drank, but I wouldn’t have to call Adam from the street corner at the end of the night.

Part of me was tempted to get trashed simply to have a reason to reach out to him. Probably not a healthy response, but I wasn’t judging myself too harshly the last few days.

I’d tried to tell Mom I’d be on my own for this party, but she’d never returned my call. There was a time when we talked every day, sometimes on the phone, sometimes text, sometimes over coffee in the morning. I didn’t go more than a few hours without seeing her, and my life was braided inextricably with hers.

Back then, she wouldn’t have cared that I didn’t have a date—or that I might say something embarrassing or wear the wrong thing. The changes had happened subtly over the last year, since she split with Archer. No, since she’d gotten involved with Rob.

Mom loved people, loved helping them find peace, and she shone as the center of attention. She’d called the asymmetrical layers of her simple off-white dress classy boho, and I dug it. Her tanned skin glowed from a summer of teaching outdoor yoga, and she’d done a fancy updo with her hair.

My mom was beautiful, and I missed her.

I didn’t know how to traverse this new normal to reach her, so I stayed in place by the window with my heart breaking. Maybe it was time for me to let go of the way things used to be. Change wasn’t always a bad thing. If Mom was happy, I could find a way to be happy for her.

Maybe I needed a drink after all.

I turned and ran into a rock-solid chest. Strong hands gripped my arms to steady me, and I looked up into a pair of dark eyes. Like I’d conjured him from my wishful thinking.

“Miss me?” Adam grazed his thumbs over my skin, and a shiver coursed through my body.

His grin had the dual effect of making me want to kiss him while also kicking him in the shin for not listening.

“Dammit, Adam. You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Maybe not, but you’re here, Sunshine, so that’s where I’m going to be.”

I shook my head, throwing myself into his arms without warning. He caught me, and I pressed my face into his shoulder. Adam always showed up exactly when I needed him.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

I didn’t get anything else out before I finally caught sight of Shad and stiffened.

He’d been there every Tuesday and Thursday in the ABC over the summer, but after the first time, Adam hadn’t let me walk into the building alone. Shad had kept his distance, only following me with his eyes. Tonight felt different, like in this territory, Adam posed less of a threat.

He strode up to us like we should be bowing in his presence.

Shad spared Adam a glance then gave me a once over that made me want to take a shower. “Your mom asked me to dance with you. Maybe introduce you around to the prospective investors to give them a unified family image.”

I couldn’t tell if he was lying, but I had a lot of trouble believing my mom would give a crap about a unified family image. Shad didn’t wait for an answer. He held out his short tumbler to Adam.

“Hold this, would you?”

Adam raised a brow at me, waiting for a sign of how he should handle this. I grimaced. On the off chance my mom actually cared, I could spare Shad one dance. How much harm could he do in three and a half minutes? Besides, Adam would be watching.

I smoothed his lapel, right over his heart, and hoped he could read my discomfort. “It’s fine. I’ll be right back.”

Adam’s smile turned sharp, and he accepted Shad’s glass. “Sure.”

Shad gestured for me to go ahead of him onto the dance floor, then gathered me close for the slow song with a hand at the small of my back. I thanked karma for not going with the dress Mom had chosen—a backless piece which would have given me zero protection against Shad’s touch.

“Not drinking tonight?” he asked,

Unease skittered up my spine. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve been watching.” Shad spun me in a sharp circle, casting a mocking grin over my shoulder.

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