“I hate to bust this up.” Jesse leaned in. “But the kids are getting antsy.”
“And hungry.” With a nod, Brendan chuckled. “The girls asked us to come get you.”
“Oh, yeah?” Wiping the sweat off his chest, Bo got up from his kit. “Well, you don’t have to tell me twice.”
Matt found Gina out on the patio with Katie, Chloe, and Ava, keeping a watchful eye on the little ones who scampered after Chester on the lawn. Nibbling onfocacciaand eggplant, loose strands from the braid down her back blew in wisps around her face.So fucking beautiful. He often wondered what he’d ever done to deserve to be loved by her, but regardless, she did, and he’d never take that gift for granted.
A hair caught on her lip. Leaning over from behind, Matt kissed her petal-soft skin and pushed it out of the way. “Sorry I was gone so long. You doing okay?”
“Yeah.” Gina smiled up at him. “We were enjoying the music.”
“You could hear it?” He sat beside her with a chuckle.
“The sound was muffled a bit, but yeah, for the most part.”
Tucking that pesky windblown curl behind her ear, Matt kissed her. “I love you.”
“And I love you.”
It stopped him in his tracks every time she said it. Not in a dramatic movie-scene kind of way, but in a quiet, ordinary moment that felt like a soft punch to the heart. God help the fucker who did anything to try to take her away from him.
“I just got a text from Dillon,” Jesse announced from across the table. “He landed in Dublin.”
“I should call Linnea.” Bo pulled out his phone. “Get her to come over.”
“Don’t you think I already tried?” Putting her hand on top of his, Chloe stopped him. “She said she wants to be alone.”
“Jesus Christ, then do as she asked, and leave her be.” Taking a seat on the other side of Gina, Sloan set his gaze on the wife of their lead guitarist. “If it isn’t Dillon or Kodiak, it’syoubreathing down her neck all the damn time. How the fuck do you expect her to work through her grief and get on with her life doing that, huh?”
“Chloe can’t help it.” Stroking her auburn hair, Taylor kissed the top of her head. “You know she’s just trying to help.”
“I know, but this is something Linnea has to do for herself,” he insisted, and looked at Chloe again. “By herself.”
“Not everyone’s like you, Sloan.”
He cocked his head, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “And how’s that, Chloe?”
“People need people.” Resolute, she did not waver. “But you act like you don’t need anyone.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Sloan’s teeth dragged over his lip, and slowly, a contemptuous smile appeared.
“Because I don’t.” Then, disregarding her, he turned his head toward Gina. “So, Trouble, I hear CJ’s been stirring up some shit.”
“CJ?” Ava asked as if she’d misheard, her startled gaze flicking across the table. “Jesus Christ, what now? I thought we were done with him.”
“Seems he’s taken up voyeurism.” Sloan popped the cap off his beer with a shrug. “And photography.”
Gina’s muscles grew tense beneath his fingers, the encounter with CJ apparently weighing on her more than she let on. The motherfucker would pay for this.And friend or not, Tony willtoo. Squeezing her waist, Matt brought her closer against his side and pressed a kiss on top of her head.
“He told me the pictures he had on his phone were nothing.” Tucked under his wing, Gina turned her gaze toward Ava with a shrug. “And if I didn’t believe him, I should ask you and Chloe. What the hell did he mean by that?”
It was Chloe who answered, “Let’s just say the media can be… unkind. And being involved with Matt makes you fair game.”
“They get off on drama,” Ava said, nodding. “Anything for clicks, you know?”
Staring at the evening sky, Sloan appeared to be somewhere else for a moment. He reached for his beer without looking, then, with a shake of his head, brought the bottle to his lips. “And CJ’s the one who feeds it to them.”
