Page 60 of Wrecked

I’ve seen enough. I head straight for Beth, moving in directly behind her. I lay my hands on her shoulders, gripping them to let her know I’m here and I’ve got her back. Literally. “Is there a problem here, ladies?” I manage to keep my voice even, at least until I have a better idea of what’s going on.

“There’s no problem,” Lia says, sneering at the woman. “This skank was just leaving.”

Whoa! Go, Lia!

The woman scowls at Lia. “I could have him back in a heartbeat if I wanted.” She snaps her fingers. “All I’d have to do is give him the slightest indication I’d take him back, and he’d come running.”

Is she talking aboutShane?What a bitch!

As the brunette saunters off, Beth looks like she’s about to have an aneurysm.

“What the hell was that about?” I ask.

“She’s old news,” Lia says dismissively, as if that woman isn’t worth mentioning. “Lucy’s a bitter ex who likes to make trouble, that’s all. Just ignore her.”

“I’m ready to go now,” Beth says, looking alarmingly pale.

Damn.That woman ruined Beth’s engagement party.

If only I’d known then that this was just the beginning. This was just a warning shot across the bow. The worst was yet to come.

Chapter 21 – Sam

I hail a taxi for Beth, Lia, and me. The others are having so much fun dancing, they decide to stay a while longer.

“Wicker Park, please,” I tell the driver. I give him Jamie’s address.

Beth and Lia are sitting in the back seat. I’m up front in the only other available seat. I turn to see how Beth’s holding up. Her face is flushed, and she’s wringing her hands on her lap. I didn’t hear everything that woman said to her, but from the look on Beth’s face, it must have been bad.

Lia grabs Beth’s hand. “You need to calm down, right now. I can see the wheels spinning in your head. Don’t go there. Just talk to him.”

I reach back and lay my hand on Beth’s knee. “She was just trying to jerk your chain, sweetie. Don’t give her the satisfaction.”

When we arrive at Jamie’s apartment, the three of us dash out of the taxi up to the front entrance of a small, two-story red brick building. I input the security code that lets us into the building.

We climb the stairs—this old building doesn’t have an elevator—to the second floor, where Jamie’s unit is located. Shane is standing outside Jamie’s apartment, waiting for us. Dressed in blue jeans and a navy blue T-shirt, he’s looking very much like a concerned boyfriend right now, and not the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Shane’s bright blue eyes zero in on Beth. “Hi, sweetheart.” He pulls her close and kisses the top of her head. “Done so soon? What happened? I thought you were having fun.”

“It was just too loud and crowded,” Beth says. “I was ready to leave.”

Obviously, Shane doesn’t know about his ex-girlfriend practically accosting Beth tonight. If he knew, he wouldn’t be quite so chill right now.

“I would have come to get you,” Shane says. “All you had to do was call.”

Beth shrugs. “There was no need. Lia and Sam were ready to go, too.”

We all file into the apartment, where a poker game is underway. Five guys are crowded around a small oval table—Jake, Jamie, and Liam McIntyre, along with Cooper and Jonah Locke.

Apparently, the rock star, whose face lights up when he sees Lia, has been officially accepted into the McIntyre family. He waves her over to his side. She lays her arm across his shoulders and studies his cards. When he leans in close to her, she kisses his temple. Now it makes a lot more sense why Shane transferred Lia from Beth’s security detail to Jonah’s.

The poker game resumes, and as I watch them play a hand, something occurs to me.Jamie’s blind. How can he play poker?

It turns out the cards have braille printing on them.

I’m loitering just inside the apartment feeling like an awkward third wheel, not sure where I should land. Just as I expected, Cooper’s doing a fantastic job of ignoring me. Even though everyone else greeted me warmly, Cooper hasn’t once looked in my direction. He hasn’t even acknowledged my presence. And yeah, that stings.

“Hey, Sam,” Jamie says. “Make yourself at home. There’s plenty of food and drink in the kitchen. Pizza, hot wings, beer, pop. Help yourself.”