“Give that back? And how did you get my fucking passcode?”
“You’ve used the same passwords for everything since you were fourteen,” he says. I yank at his arm, but I don’t have to fight hard for it. He hands it back to me a few seconds later.
“What were you doing?” I demand, examining the screen.
“Sharing your location with me. Don’t turn it off.”
Ryan grabs my chin and forces me to look up at him. “If you insist on going on dates with potential psychopaths, then someone needs to know where you are. Since Cat’s all distracted by engagement bliss, apparently that job is mine now.”
His eyes sear into mine for a long moment before he finally releases me and stalks back to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
9
RYAN
Beau
Want to tell the group why you were walking around the building with your stepsister thrown over your shoulder last night?
Igroan. Normally, James is the least gossip-y out of all the guys. I figured if anyone spotted me carrying Pippa around, at least it was him—the one person who wouldn’t out me to the whole group.
Apparently, I give James too much credit. He blabbed to Beau, the one person he knew would ask about it. James is just as much of a nosy jerk as the rest of them—he’s just more strategic about it.
Luke
Yeah, Ryan, why ARE you throwing Pippa over your shoulder?
Nate
Is she okay? Cat’s asking.
James
She seemed fine.
Traitor.
Sighing, I glance around the room. I’m in L.A. for my favorite kind of poker tournament—informal, mostly pros, high stakes. Twenty players set up in a luxury hotel suite, with a bartender and two hot servers, one male, one female, so there’s an equal opportunity for our gay and female players to be distracted.
We start playing in fifteen minutes, and I want this conversation shut down by then. The buy-in for the tournament was a hundred thousand, and I stand to bring home two million if I play well. I don’t need to be in and out of a guy chat.
Ryan
Dudes, Pippa is driving me fucking mental. She’s dating these creepy-ass guys for this stupid article about modern dating. Last night I had to literally carry her away from a stalker.
Seriously, he tried to get her to move into his apartment.
I swear, she’s going to get herself ax-murdered. Which I wouldn’t care about, but I’d never hear the end of it from our parents.
Beau
I don’t think you have room to talk shit here, Ryan. Not with your parade of women.
James
You’ve definitely brought stalkers home before.
Nate
