“Wait!” Theo grabs my hand and looks at Finn, making memeet his gazeagain. God, I’m going to be sick. Theo gives my hand a little squeeze. “This is my girlfriend, Joshlyn.”
“Your girlfriend, huh?” Finn makes a slow perusal of my body that makes my heart pound harder in my chest.
It stops when his gaze meets mine again, and my entire body reacts, core clenching, nipples tightening. I guess my body doesn’t care that he’s a jerk. Not that it matters. Finn means it when he says one-and-done, and even if he didn’t, I wouldn’t let him touch me again.
“Have you two met?” Lachlan asks, causing me to take a step back.
“We had thepleasureof meeting once,” Finn says.
My eyes narrow at his response. There’s no way anyone with a brain would miss the way he said that.Asshole.This time, when I drop Theo’s little hand, I say goodbye again quickly to the three of them and head back to the door. Finn’s saying something to Lachlan, and he steps outside behind me. Of course, he does.
“What are you even doing here?” I hiss when he catches up to me.
He raises an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know I was back.”
“I don’t think anyone can miss your stupid face all over the bus stops,” I snap. “I meanhere.”
When he shoots me a look, I roll my eyes and pick up my pace. I turn the corner, only to see that my car is being blocked by a sleek black sports car that I’d probably stop and admire under different circumstances. How is he even blocking me? This property, and the parking area, are huge. God, he’s annoying.
That’s on the tip of my tongue as I whip around quickly and nearly crash into him. There are so many things running through my mind, that I don’t even know what to address next—his idiotic parking choice or what he said inside. I go with that, since it’s what’s pissing me off the most.
“Also, thepleasureof meeting once?Really?” I ask.
“I was trying to spare you from being called a liar in front of your?—”
“Family,” I snap. “And I am not a liar.”
“I beg to differ.”
“Whatever. Nothing I say will change your mind, so this is a pointless conversation.” I turn around and keep walking to my car. “Move your car.”
“Don’t I get a ‘please,’ Josslyn?” he asks, his impossibly deep voice causing a shiver to run through my body.
“Leaving already, Joss?” Patrick, Lachlan’s head of security, asks loudly as he’s walking by.
I shoot him a shaky smile, grateful for his presence. “I’ll be back before you know it. With ice cream,” I say with a wink.
He chuckles. Instead of walking away, he idles by until Finn moves his car and I’m able to leave. It isn’t until I reach the stop sign at the end of the road that I realize my entire body is shaking. I hate him for calling me a liar, and I really hate that he’s right.
“It took Lachlan a year to let me come over, and I’m your best friend.” Livie rolls her eyes. “But, of course, Finn gets a free pass.”
That amuses me. “Apparently, they’re actually friends, not just work friends.”
Her lips flatten. “Do they know what happened with his sister?”
“What part?”
“The freaking part where his sister was strangled at a club after we left her there.”
My stomach sinks.Weis too many people. The words are at the tip of my tongue, but I don’t voice them. It’s something I know she still feels guilty about. I mull over her question. Lyla and Lach were in Chicago when it happened. They may have heard about it in passing, but the Barlows made sure any mention of theirdaughter was wiped out. Even today’s best sleuths can barely find information on the matter. I know because I’ve tried.
“Yes. I mean, not all the details, but enough.”
“Friends or not, I doubt Finn would talk about that with anyone,” she says. “And the Barlows tried to wipe everyone’s memory of what happened to Mal.”
I huff out a watery laugh. “I wish they’d done it to me. Maybe I wouldn’t feel so damn guilty all the time.”
“You couldn’t have known it would happen. What happened was awful, but Mal was hanging out with a lot of weird people at the time,” she says, pressing her lips together. “You have to know it’s not your fault.”
