Sloane lifts a brow. “Am I a terrible person if I say that’s karma?”
“Not even a little,” Callie says, giving Lilah’s hand a squeeze.
Evelyn sets down her flute with deliberate grace. “I was never particularly fond of the man. But karma or not, heartbreak leaves its mark. All any of us can do is learn from it, heal, and try not to make the same mistake twice.”
Her response settles over us like a gentle but heavy truth. And maybe because I’m still raw from everything that happened with Oliver, it hits harder than expected.
I tell myself I’ve learned that lesson, that I’m too smart to let a man in far enough to hurt me again. But the knot forming deep inside me says otherwise.
Callie’s ex stalks past, alone and scowling as he mutters something about the auction being rigged.
“Poor Zane,” Callie says dryly. “Imagine the humiliation of coming in fourth.”
Sloane snorts and I almost laugh, but the sound catches in my throat instead. For one small, fragile moment, everything almost feels normal again.
Until I glance up and find Oliver still watching me.
He doesn’t smile or move.
Just silently stares.
The look on his face cuts through the noise and lights to land square in my chest.
It’s the kind that strips away all pretenses.
My mother’s voice circles through my head.
Never depend on anyone.
Don’t let a man be your undoing.
As his attention remains locked on me from across the room, I wonder if it might be too late for that.
14
Oliver
It’s been three damn days since the auction, and there’s been nothing but silence from Rina.
Not one text or call.
I shove the barbell upward, my muscles burning. But the sting in my shoulders doesn’t begin to touch the frustration that continues to gnaw at me.
Nothing helps.
Not drills.
Or weights.
Or music cranked so loud it rattles my skull.
“Bro, you’re gonna tear a rotator cuff if you keep abusing the equipment,” Steele mutters from the next bench over. He wipes his face with a towel as he watches me. “You’ve been in a shit mood for days. What gives?”
“Nothing.” The lie falls flat. Even if I wanted to share what’s going on, there’s no damn way I can tell them the truth. Rina would skin me alive for dragging our business into the light.
Jax grins as he racks his weights. “Want to know what I think?”
“Not really,” I say with a grunt.
