Anna wrinkles her nose. “Not for me. I’ll have a margarita, and Chase will have a whiskey and Coke.”
“I’ll have a margarita too,” I tell the guy and raise an eyebrow at Evie, who shakes her head.
“I’ll have champagne with Selly.”
“Oh, and put it on Lord Lavington’s tab,” Selena adds in, and I scowl at her.
“No, don’t do that. I’ve got this round.” I pull my credit card out of my pocket and hand it to the guy who quickly makes our drinks before tapping my card and handing it back.
“Well, I guess you’re loaded too. I should have ordered three bottles.” Selena grabs the two bottles while Evie grabs the glasses, and they walk toward a pit in the backyard as I growl.
“Why the fuck do we continue to hang out with her?” I mutter loudly enough that Chase and Anna hear.
“Because every group has someone that everyone doesn’t like but puts up with. We actually had two, but Matthew really fucked up,” Anna says, and I blanche at the mention of him. “I’m so sorry about what happened. I can’t believe he was let out on bail!” She reaches out to give me a hug, but I stop her.
“What do you mean? He was let out on bail? What the fuck? He’s not here, is he?” I look around, and Riku must read the panic on my face because he comes over.
“Is everything okay?” he asks, looking between the three of us.
“Hey, man, I’m sorry. Anna thought she knew.”
“Knew what?” Riku looks as clueless as I do, thank goodness. I would have hated to think he was hiding it from me.
“Matthew made bail,” I tell him flatly, and he frowns, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
“Let me call Forrest and get to the bottom of this. Don’t panic. We’ll get it sorted.” He leans in and gives me a distracted kiss on the cheek before walking away. Anna’s eyebrows just about jump into her hairline, and I feel myself blush.
“Damn, girl, you have been busy. Don’t worry, we won’t tell Ash,” she assures me, but I shrug.
“Ash knows. It’s fine.” I giggle at the look the two of them exchange, grateful for the momentary distraction.
“Well shit, now I need to hear all about this.” Anna tucks my drink-free arm into hers and drags us after the other two with Chase trailing good-naturedly behind us. He really is a wonderful, down-to-earth man. I must see if I can talk to Declan about finding him a major role. Maybe the two of them playing opposite each other? That would be fun.
I’m completely on edge as I wait for Riku to return, but luckily, Selena distracts Anna with some salacious gossip the minute we sit down, so I don’t have to tell her about my complicated love life.
When he returns, he pulls me aside. The others watch on with undisguised interest, but they are far enough away to not hear. “Yup, he made bail, but the minute he did, Forrest filed a restraining order against him. He’s not allowed within five hundred feet of you, and Forrest is putting a rush on the case. He’s not sure how he made bail when the police had drug evidence against him and the blood test results. I can put a tail on him, though, so we can make sure we know where he is at every moment. I already called Simon, and he said he’ll have a guy on him within the next hour.”
I breathe a small sigh of relief, but I still feel nauseous. If he ever comes near me again, I’m going to put my foot in his balls. “Okay, thanks. I appreciate it.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I would do everything and anything to keep you safe. Especially since I failed the first time.”
I desperately want to kiss him, but I can’t do that to Ash, not at the moment. “When we get somewhere a little more private, I’ll show you exactly how much this means to me,” I tell him, and his eyes heat with lust.
“I’ll hold you to that.”
I return to my friends, and he melts into the background as we wait for Ash to join us. I quickly down my first margarita then grab one of the spare glasses, pouring myself some champagne.
Selena glares at me. “That glass was for Ash.”
“He prefers Cristal, so I’m sure he won’t mind if I drink some. Besides, I did pay for it.” Other things overwhelmed me earlier, and for a moment, I forgot who I am. I don’t need to put up with shit from her. I could make or break her career with one quiet word in my big brother’s ear. She’s already on his shit list, so it wouldn’t take more than that, and as much as I’ve turned over a new, nicer leaf, I won’t allow someone to walk all over me. Especially someone who would like to get her claws into my boyfriend… friend… whatever Ash is. I toast her before tossing it back, the bubbles tickling my nose and throat as they go down. Oh yeah, just what I need. I reach out and pour another one.
“Oh hey, slow down. The night is only getting started.” Chase chuckles again, but he looks slightly concerned.
“Just one more, then I’ll slow down. Just give me this,” I plead, looking around to make sure no one else is paying attention, and his eyes soften.
“Of course. And again, I’m sorry.”
“Dude, you don’t need to apologize,” Anna scolds him, and I put my hand on his arm.
