I nodded. I didn’t know how to dance, but turning her down wasn’t an option. Not out of obligation but for the simple fact I was in love with this woman, and if it meant making a spectacle of myself and risking becoming the butt of everyone’s jokes, so be it. The past two months with her had sealed the deal for me. After the night we made love, I’d been falling deeper and deeper. There was no way out at this point.
“Nothing fancy, I promise,” she said as she took my hand and headed for the outside edge of the dance floor.
It took a moment before I picked up her rhythm, but I knew the moment I did because her smile amped up a few watts.
“You’re a natural.”
I shook my head. I most certainly was not.
“How well do you know Creed? Squint your eyes for a little, wide for a lot.”
I squinted, grinning at her attempt to have a conversation when only one of us could speak.
“Does Rule spend a lot of time with Creed?”
I shook my head.
“He said he was his oldest friend. I take it to mean they were in foster care together?”
I nodded.
“Did you know Creed?”
I shook my head.
“So he left before you got to the group home?”
I nodded.
Her eyes moved over my face. “Is it weird that I’m doing all the talking?”
I huffed a laugh and shook my head.
The next thing I knew, Laikyn leaned in and pressed her lips to mine. I didn’t think anything of it. We kissed all the time. What we didn’t do was kiss in public. We’d been building this entire foundation of her marriage to Rule, and now here she was, kissing another man at a public event.
“So itisa farce.”
I stopped, putting my arm around Laikyn and pulling her to my side as Monica Quinn stepped in front of us. Her eyes implored Laikyn as though she could figure out her deepest, darkest secrets that way.
Laikyn appeared unfazed by her mother’s hostile approach.
Laikyn’s tone held a hint of snark when she said, “Monica, I’m not sure if you’ve met Jinx.”
Her mother’s gaze snapped to my face, but I noticed the immediate dismissal. She didn’t know me, so of course, I was of no use to her.
A male voice sounded a second before he appeared. “Is there a problem?”
Fan-fucking-tastic. And then there were four.
“It would appear my daughter isn’t as in love as she claims to be,” Monica told Devon, the asshole lawyer. “Her husband’s still in the room, and here she is, making out with—”
I felt Rule before I saw him. His arm brushed mine as he stepped up to Laikyn’s other side. He smiled, but there wasn’t an ounce of politeness in the gesture.
When Monica’s eyes shifted to me, I ensured she saw my wry amusement.
“Sorry about that,” Rule said, taking Laikyn’s other arm. “I needed to speak with Journey before she makes their big announcement.”
“What announcement?” Monica asked, her tone haughty, her initial argument forgotten. “The only person making an announcement tonight is me.”
