I sit with my phone in my hand, pretending I’m reading the same message for the first time.
Three words that somehow feel like both reassurance and a threat to my peace of mind.
Aleks sits beside me, scrolling through something on his phone until he leans slightly into my space and mutters, “Whatever you’re planning, don’t.”
I glance over. “What?”
He keeps staring.
I tilt the screen toward myself, shielding my calendar.
Aleks exhales through his nose like a man witnessing stupidity unfold in real time.
“Stop being a nosy little bitch,” I mutter.
He lifts an eyebrow.
“I am not nosy.”
“You are reading my calendar.”
“You’re holding it at my face.”
“Bullshit, and even if I were, it still does not make it your business.”
“Fine.” He leans back in his chair. “Continue making bad decisions.”
“Take my word for it,” Dash sighs, rubbing his face. “Brainstorming shit like sexy red dresses with a bunch of puckholes may seem like a bad idea,” He pauses, “until it isn’t.”
Stone snorts.
Koa looks up from his phone. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
No one believes that.
Aleks gestures lazily toward my phone. “He did something.”
Dash points at me. “Talk to us.”
I do not respond, I stare out the window instead and watch as more snow drifts across the tarmac.
Koa leans forward, elbows on his knees. “You tell her you put her name on the house?”
I look at him slowly. “How would she know that?”
Deacon snickers. “You bought her a house?”
“I bought the mother of my children —all three of them— a home.”
Stone whistles. “Bold move.”
“You never know what could happen,” I continue evenly. “I like preparation.”
Dash rubs his temples. “You are a lunatic.”
Aleks nods. “Rich lunatic.”
