“Oh shit,” he gasps, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “When Parker said cars, I thought she meant cars, not this.”
He bounds forward, allowing us to see the stretched limo that’s waiting for us.
“Who the hell ordered us this?” I balk. The driver climbs out and walks around to the back door, pulling it open.
Monroe takes a step forward at the same time someone climbs out, and the two of them almost collide.
“What the fu—Hailee?” Monroe cries.
“Uh…hi,” she says, looking up at him like he’s lost his mind. “What do you think?” she asks, gesturing to the vehicle behind her.
I’m pretty sure she’s asking us all, but it’s Monroe who jumps in.
“It’s incredible,” he gushes, gazing down at her as if she just hung the moon, instead of flexing the organization’s credit card. “Did you book this just for us?”
“I thought it would look better than you lot turning up in a bunch of Ubers,” Hailee explains. “The others all have transport, too. Don’t take it personally.”
Monroe deflates a little, but the second he gets his first look inside, his excitement returns. “Can I go look? I’ve never been inside a limo before.”
“Eat your heart out,” she says, but it’s too late; Monroe has already disappeared inside.
“Right, so are the rest of you ready to get this show on the road?”
There’s a round of agreement, some more enthusiastic than others.
“You good? She might not notice if we bail,” I say as Freya and I stand back, allowing the others to climb inside first.
“I’m good. I’m going to have to do something like this eventually. Might as well get it over with.”
“What’s the worst that can happen?” I ask.
“It’s just the media and the stories they spin. I don’t need any of it in my life. And more than that, I don’t need anyone bringing up the past and making speculations.”
“Maybe they won’t,” I offer, knowing it’s completely unhelpful.
“Yeah, maybe,” she muses as I press my palm against her bare lower back and watch in awe as she manages to even make climbing into a limo look glamorous.
“We’ve even got champagne,” Monroe announces as soon as we’re inside, handing us both a glass once we’ve found seats.
Everyone watches him fondly as he experiences something new while we sip on our drinks.
The volume of the conversation gets louder and louder as we approach our destination, and just before we pull up, we get a speech from Hailee about what she’s expecting from tonight and how we should and shouldn’t behave, as if we’re in elementary school.
“We’ve got it,” Kodie grumbles. “Smile for the cameras and don’t be assholes.”
“Have the others had these same instructions?” Linc asks suspiciously. We’re only a small part of the team, and almosteveryone has agreed to turn up to this thing tonight. “I have caught up with everyone attending, yes,” Hailee explains.
Linc rolls his eyes, understanding her unspoken words. We’re the ones she’s worried about.
“And Rett,” she adds, turning her full attention on our new D man.
Ah, now it makes sense. I smother a laugh as Rett looks at Hailee with innocent, fluttering eyelashes.
“Yes, Hailee?” he asks, his voice higher pitched than usual.
“Jesus Christ,” Parker grumbles, shaking her head at her big brother.
“If there is a single story about you screwing bunnies in the bathroom, in a closet, on the stairs to the VIP area, or even a whiff of a late-night orgy afterparty, I will be coming for you tomorrow and cutting it off. Do you hear me?”
