“Good. We’re gonna get you through this wedding just fine. Now, since I don’t want to beat the shit out of some horny-ass men checking you out in that dress, I need you to stay here while I go get us tickets for the ferry.”
“You’re coming back, right?” I asked. “Please tell me this isn’t the part where you realize this is entirely too much crazy for you, abandon your truck, and head for the hills.”
He climbed out of the truck and turned to look at me. “Babe. I’d never abandon my truck.” Then he gave me another sexy smirk, closed the door and walked off.
I admired the view that his incredible backside presented until he stepped out of sight. Then I took my first relaxed breath of the day. Possibly of the month. For the first time ever, I’d told someone about my ex without wanting to drive to Wesley’s house and set it on fire. The anger and pain were gone. Maybe Havoc was right, and we could get me through this wedding after all.
Havoc
“WELL AREN’T YOU a sight for sore eyes?” Julia’s great aunt asked, wrapping the bony fingers of one hand around my bicep and giving it a little squeeze. “Oh, that’s nice. That’s really nice.”
Her other hand held a glass of champagne. She tipped it to her lips and took a sip, batting her thin old lady eyelashes at me. We were less than a half hour into the wedding reception and this was the third time she’d approached. When she wasn’t blatantly hitting on me, she was canvassing a circle around the table, eyeballing me as she closed in for the kill. I hadn’t felt this vulnerable since I was with my team and we were sneaking over the streets of Kobani. This woman was like a drone, powered on Geritol and lust.
“Aunt Martha,” Julia said, once again loosening the old lady’s hands and extracting her from me. “Havoc’s a guest, and you’re making him uncomfortable.”
Uncomfortable, my ass. She was making me down right anxious. My head was on a swivel, trying to keep her in sight so she didn’t take me by surprise. It wasn’t wise to sneak up on a vet. We startled easily, and I didn’t want to react and accidentally lay the old woman out. And every time she reached me, she turned into a goddamn octopus, which was why I kept my ass seated as Julia handled her. Last time, I stood like a gentleman should only to have my ass grabbed and squeezed by those bony fingers. Too far. Appalled, I looked around for witnesses who would call her out for groping me, but the sneaky old bat did it on the down-low so nobody else saw. I sure as hell wasn’t going to draw attention to the situation. I already felt out of place enough.
“I bet I could make him really comfortable,” Aunt Martha said before taking another sip of her champagne. She swayed a little with the effort.
“Aunt Martha!” Julia grabbed her aunt’s arm, steadying the old lady.
Aunt Martha’s eyes were still raking over my body. “They don’t make men like this anymore, sweetheart. When you see one, you gotta grab him and hold on tight.” Her free hand made a move to do just that, but Julia angled her away.
“I’ll take that into consideration. Here, let me walk you back to your seat.” Julia plucked the sloshing glass out of her aunt’s hand, draped an arm around her, and walked her to the end of the table.
When Julia returned, I leaned closer and asked, “Who the fuck is giving her champagne?”
Julia shook her head. “Hard telling. It’s a lot more amusing when she’s not hitting on my date. Sorry about that.” That had to be at least her one hundredth apology since we’d arrived.
“It’s fine,” I said, but in truth, nothing was fine. We were sitting at a table with her parents who’d done their damnedest to ignore me during the meal while trying to bait Julia into giving a fuck about their little society. At least Wesley hadn’t approached. Julia had pointed him out to me the minute we walked in and so far, her ex seemed content to glower at us from the corner, surrounded by a bunch of his pussy friends with a skinny brunette on his arm.
“There’s so much that’s been neglected since you left,” her mom said. “Danella has taken over the Thompson Foundation and you know she can’t handle it. Not like you could. People aren’t donating like they used to, and the events are pitiful.”
Julia leaned closer to me until our legs were touching. “I’m sure Danella is doing her best, Mother. She probably needs time to get the hang of things.”
Her mother’s eyes narrowed, and she switched tactics. “Well, Jozette’s doing a fantastic job with the club house fundraiser. I saw her on Wesley’s arm today. It looks like your old friend is trying to completely replace you. Are you going to sit back and allow that, Julia? Because the daughter that I raised—”
“Doesn’t exist anymore. I’m sorry, but I have no interest in returning to my club duties. I’m happy where I am.”
Her mother frowned. “I just don’t see how running a bookstore could be all that rewarding. Especially not for someone as intelligent as you. I can understand why you don’t want to come back, but why don’t you do something with your degree? Not something too significant, because you don’t want to come off as bossy or controlling. But something that showcases your intelligence and makes you more attractive to possible suiters. I know things didn’t work out with Wesley, but your father and I have spoken to him and he’s willing to—”
I’d had enough. Not only was this bitch ripping apart her daughter’s livelihood, but she was disrespecting me by talking about suiters like I wasn’t there as Julia’s date. How the fuck did she know we weren’t serious? Julia had brought me to keep her from freaking out, and I was two seconds from flipping the table and punching Julia’s father in the face. He’d been on his phone the entire time, nodding or muttering his agreement whenever his wife requested it. Couldn’t he see what this bitch was doing to their daughter? Didn’t he care?
I needed to get out of there before I snapped. Pushing back my chair, I stood. “Where’s the restroom?”
A look of terror contorted Julia’s face as she joined me, straightening her dress before grabbing my hand. “I have to go as well. I’ll show you.”
Her mom’s gaze zeroed in on our intertwined hands and a look of disgust crossed her face before she pasted on her normal mask of neutrality.
I wanted to say something, but Julia tugged me away. As we wove through the tables toward the restrooms, I was met with a mix of scathing looks from the men and interested gazes from the women. On the ferry, Julia had told me that this was the country club the Kinlan’s frequented, and as I heard his name whispered, I knew damn well what people were saying about me and didn’t care. I could take it. I was worried about Julia. I squeezed her hand, reassuring her that I was still there.
“Thank you,” she said, pulling me away from the crowd.
“For what? You don’t need my permission or excuses to walk away from them.”
“No, but the power still appeals to me. Wesley was weak and got played, but I should have seen it coming. I slipped up. I got cocky and comfortable in my position and the bitches took me down. Mom is challenging me to come back and fix my mistake. To prove I still have what it takes. It’s hard to walk away from that.”
Probably felt like walking away from a fight while someone was talking shit. “How long’s it been since you’ve been back?”
