But it didn’t matter that all the eyes at the table had shifted to her with interest. In fact, that might have made things worse.
Because Nathan cut her off, patting her hand like she was a child.
“Okay, honey, that’s enough,” he teased, laughing as he looked around the table and shot his associate general manager a wink. Ralph. I didn’t like that guy, either. I didn’t like the slimy way he smiled back like he and Nathan were in on a secret. “No one wants to talk about poor kids without beds when we’re sipping high-dollar wine and eating tiramisu. Oh! Speaking of which, Jared, I know you were wondering about the Marsala recipe.Thisone, the tiramisu, is actually from my great-great-grandmother. See, when she was little…”
Like nothing had happened, the attention shifted to Nathan, everyone at the table completely oblivious to how he’d shut Ariana down.
I watched her try to blink away her disappointment before she forced a smile and lowered her gaze, swallowing whatever she’d been about to say. Her shoulders curled inward.
And I saw red, my chest tightening along with my fist under the table.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but every instinct I had — every coaching radar, every old muscle memory of knowing her in a way no one else ever had — was screaming at me that something had happened before we arrived.
And for the first time since Nathan Black kicked his way into our team, I didn’t let myself second-guess my gut instincts about him.
This motherfucker was trash, and I was ready to take him out.
Somehow, I kept my cool at the table, biding my time to when I could somehow get Ariana alone. My opportunity came in a way I least expected that had my stomach churning more.
Ariana was still silent next to Nathan, but she was absentmindedly rubbing her wrist, wincing a bit as she rotated it and wiggled her fingers.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“You good, Ariana?” Kozak asked from beside me, nodding to where she was rubbing her wrist.
Her eyes flicked to Nathan so fast I almost missed it.
He was smiling and pleasant, but I saw the flash of warning in his smile.
My stomach dropped through the floor like an anvil.
Oh, God…
No.
No, please, no.
Ariana straightened with a shaky breath and forced a laugh. “Oh, I just aggravated it lifting the chicken out of the oven. I think I’ll grab some ibuprofen. Excuse me a moment.”
She stood, barely brushing the back of Nathan’s chair as she passed.
Her gaze met mine for a split second, just long enough for me to see it: the unspoken plea.
Help.
And then she disappeared down the hall.
“God love her,” Nathan said the moment she was gone, shaking his head with a chuckle. “The woman gets so flustered trying to host these things. I keep telling her she doesn’t have to impress anybody.”
There was another wave of laughter around the table.
My jaw flexed so hard it hurt.
Impress anybody?
She had impressedeveryone.
The entire evening was perfect because she’d planned it down to the minute.
