“Uh-huh,” she murmurs with suspicion, but since she’s stuck with the baby, she can’t stalk and badger it out of me.
The rest of the guests stand in circles around the kitchen and entertainment room. I spot Volk talking to the team owner, Cale Cole—a.k.a. Kennedy’s father—and…Niko Halonen? What the hell is he doing here?
“I invited him,” Kennedy whispers, suddenly beside me. Her hands rest on Elodie’s stroller, where she sleeps soundly. Dammit, she acts quickly. “Your line isn’t performing to its potential. All of the talent is there, of course, so it comes down to building bonds and trust.”
“I don’t know if bringing Halo around more is going to help with that issue. I mean, have you met Volk?”
Kennedy offers a halfhearted shrug. “We’ll see. My father carefully vets his roster, so Halonen can’t be too bad.”
“Justin Ward played on the Wolves for years,” I retort, realizing too late I should’ve let the thought die in my brain.
“Yeah, well, Justin didn’t show his true colors right away.” Her hand lands on the top of my head, ruffling my hair. “Not everyone is as open as you, Briggsy.
Not the first time I’ve heard that.
The din of noise in the room quiets when Gemma knocks a knife against her champagne glass. “Dinner time, y’all!”
“We’re sitting together,” Kennedy says, using her head to gesture toward a table with six seats. There’s a parallel table, much longer and larger and another six-seat table beside ours.She leaves Elodie with Gemma before leading me to the table where Volk, Halo, Jennings, and Deandra already sit.
Fucking fantastic, Halo and Volk will snipe at each other throughout dinner.
I don’t see Finley anywhere. My phone buzzes a second after the thought, and I relax when I see the name on the screen.
Finley
Hallway
“I’ll be right back,” I tell Kennedy, already heading in the opposite direction.
Suddenly, a door blasts open, and a hand grabs my forearm, tugging me into the room.
“Hey, boyfriend.” Finley’s arms slide around me, hands clutching the cotton sweater I wear for holidays. “You lookgood.” She rests her head on my chest as I clutch her back. “You smell good too.” Her head tips back so she can squint up at me. “Are you trying to impress someone tonight?”
I grin. “There might be someone. She can be a wily one. I wasn’t sure shelikedme at least not until—”
“She confessed her love and screwed you silly?” Finley grins right back at me.
I press a quick kiss to her nose. “So crass.”
“You love it.”
“I do,” I say, my tone turning serious. “Thank you for choosing me.”
She bites her lip. Did I get too serious when she wanted to remain light?
“Oh, Zach,” she chokes out, her voice saturated with emotion. Finley’s hand flies to her chest over the sliver of cleavage offered by her maroon cotton dress, the same color she wore at the wedding. She stunned me that night, but I find her more beautiful now that I know her.
“I don’t know the words to describe this feeling in my chest,” she says. “I don’t know if they exist. I guess I love you is all I can give. I hope it’s okay.”
My lips land on hers, insistent, hungry, but I pull back, remembering I can’t finish what I’m starting, and we already got caught because of our recklessness. “It’s more than enough, High-flyer.” I suck in a deep breath. “Fuck, it’s going to be so hard not seeing you for weeks.”
Knuckles rap once on the door. My hand flies to Finley’s mouth, covering the response she’d been about to make.
“Who is it?” I call.
“Jennings.”
I open the door a crack to Jennings’s annoyed expression.
