“He had urgent business to attend to. He’s already on his way back to New York.” Her tone is clipped, her jaw tight.
I noticed she wasn’t standing by her father at the funeral either. “You’re still estranged from him?” I ask.
She nods. “I’m not sure I can ever forgive him for the things he’s done to me.”
“I know you.” Ares steps up beside me, glancing at my cousin with a slight frown. “You’re Sydney Shaw, right?”
Sydney tilts her head to the side, studying Ares’s face with a furrowed brow. “Have we met?”
I move in closer to his side. Please, God, let Ares not have fucked my cousin. I like Sydney, and I don’t want reasons to dislike her. Not sure what it says about me that my mind has instantly gone there, but I’m trying to imagine how they might know one another, and it’s the obvious reason.
The thought sits in my stomach like a lead balloon.
Ares presses his mouth to my ear. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”
He smirks, and I almost cry in relief. It’s been a while since I’ve been on the receiving end of one of them, and it’s comforting. He has seemed so out of sorts lately, and I hate it. I miss the cocky arrogant jerk.
Ares’s arm slides low around my back, and he pulls me flush against him, seemingly pleased with my little territorial display. Refocusing on my cousin, he shakes his head. “We haven’t met, no.”
Relief shuttles through me.
Sydney’s brow puckers, and I’m not surprised. One, she’s trying to figure out how he knows her when they’ve never met. And two, she’s confused over the status of our relationship. Sydney has met Chad in the past, and I introduced her to Jase briefly outside the church. She saw the rings on my fingers, and I explained I was married to both my guys.
I can tell she is now wondering who Ares is to me. I open my mouth to explain, but I’m not sure how to introduce him. Calling him my stepbrother isn’t right, and is he even that anymore now my dad is gone? Besides, that’s not who he is to me. I can’t call him my boyfriend because it doesn’t seem like enough, and with things hanging in the balance right now, I don’t want to go there.
Thankfully, Ares saves me from further indecision by redirecting the conversation. “I’m friends with Xavier Daniels. I’m aware you were married to Sawyer Hunt for a brief period.”
Sydney’s eyes pop wide. “Oh. I can only imagine how that conversation went.”
Ares smiles. “Xavier and Sawyer only ever have good things to say about you.”
Her cheeks flush. “That’s kind. I’m happy it’s all working out for them. They deserve it.”
“Ash.”
I spin around after hearing my friend’s voice. I knew Harlow and the guys were coming because she had messaged me for the funeral details. I asked her to come back to the house to talk.
“Lo.” I fall into my friend’s hug, holding her tight. “Thanks so much for being here.”
“I’m really sorry about your dad, babe.” She squeezes me tight. “I know what it’s like, and I’m here whenever you want to talk about it.” Lo lost her dad about eighteen months ago, and she was super close to him, so it hit her hard.
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
Galen, Saint, Caz, and Theo come up to me one by one, offering hugs and sympathy, and I’m appreciative they all traveled to be here. I’m super grateful for their friendship.
When I turn back around, Sydney has disappeared, and Ares is standing warily to one side. A tense silent face-off ensues between Ares and Lo’s four husbands. I’m not surprised after what happened the last time they visited.
Reaching out, I grab Ares’s hand and pull him toward me. “Babe. Stop with the looks. Let’s go talk in private.”
ChapterForty-Seven
Ashley
The guys are aware I am married to Chad and Jase, and I’m sure Lo told them in recent months I am with Ares too, but it’s clear from the hostile looks they are throwing his way as we walk out of the room they don’t trust him.
My husbands materialize in the hallway, and they make quick hellos before I lead everyone down to the game room in the basement. Chad locks the door so we have privacy, and Jase fixes drinks for everyone while we get settled on the couch and the chairs.
When everyone is ready and it’s quiet, I clear my throat and begin explaining. I tell them about Lili and Ares’s reason for coming to Lowell and how his investigations led him to The Bulls. I don’t mention anything about Luminaries, keeping it strictly focused on Ares’s missing sister and the sex trafficking Bulls connection. Then I come to the punchline.
