Page 72 of About the Green

“Stopping is not an option,” I assert.

“Okay, well, you and Vert better get real close and figure out how you can make it happen.”

And just like that, everything has been dismissed.

I send Vert a scowl that I hope he can feel down to his fucking toes.

How dare he interfere?

How dare he be keeping tabs on me and putting together some sort of fucking file?

What the fuck is his problem? And to think that I didn't kill him.

I've never had more regrets than right now.

I roll my eyes and follow Liezel to her seat beside Racquelle so that we can make it to our appropriate spots in time for everyone else to come in. I don't want to be stuck standing. Lidia has already given up her seat so that she could stand behind Liezel, but that doesn't give enough room for all of the people who are coming into the room to have a spot to sit, and that's totally by design. Only the people who are important enough to deserve a seat have one. Everyone else who serve as support or security stand.

It takes me a moment to realize that Vert isn't in the seat he was supposed to be in and that he's standing behind me.

Fuck him. He's standing behind me as my security? I question, and it becomes more and more apparent that that's exactly how he stands behind me. What the fuck is his problem?

Blue speaks up once everyone has taken their place inside the room. “Well, we're here to put this to rest in the matter of decidin’ whether or not we allow this new faction to be its own faction and honor Colton's requests. We need to hear from Liezel. Everythin’ falls on that decision.” He looks to his partner and she nods. “Racquelle and I have decided that we don't care, as long as you don't interfere with what we have goin’ on any further. You are more than welcome to pursue your own business.” Harry and Will Griffith seem appeased by this decision. “We'd rather you not come around and be a disruption to the loyalties that lie within our families as of now, either way.”

Harry says to the room, “I care about this family, and I'd do anythin’ to make sure that it continues to work as seamlessly and effectively as it can in its original purpose. And if all it takes to restore order is a simple marriage, then I agree.”

I hear Lidia's teeth grinding, knowing that she disagrees with Liezel's decision.

You don't have to be a long standing member of this family to understand the dynamic of a bodyguard and their charge. Long before Racquelle had decided she was going to take over the family that she knew was hers, Lidia had always stood to guard Liezel first and Racquelle second. It was a given.

“It’s up to Liezel and what she wants,” Racquelle says.

Though there was a great need to have someone who was more trusted close to Racquelle, now that she's formed her own strengths and have had her worthiness of loyalty being shown in full color, I can't imagine why Lidia would not move to guarding Liezel again.

It's been nice to have familiar faces around when we were in Louisiana, but I think there's nothing that's going to stand between Lidia and Liezel from this point forward, not when Lidia looks like she's about to break off the top rung of the chair that she's holding on to.

“I’ve decided that I stand behind my previous decision. I agree to the marriage.” Liezel's movements are minute, but she moves her head to the side so that her full waves can fall over Lidia's hands. To anyone, it would not be important or even register as something that should be paid attention to. For me, someone who sees how much one cares for the other, I know that it's as much as Liezel can show in this room filled with tension.

Harry looks to his father who nods before he says, “Well, good. We'll get it in writin’ and figure out the next steps.”

“Like a wedding?” Liezel asks.

“Is that what you want?” Colton asks. I had almost forgot the man was here. He had been so quiet up until this point

Liezel's eyes narrow on the man, and I get the feeling that she knows Colton better than we assumed. More than a client or a regular at the club.

Far better, actually.

“I don't think what I want really matters at all at this point,” Liezel says flippantly. That's when Colton stands from his spot at the table to come around and stand beside Liezel.

Lidia hasn't released her death grip on the chair, but instead moves to position herself between the man and her charge.

Liezel places a hand over Lidia, and she seems to snap back into her own realization that she's out of line right now, and regardless of whether Liezel is Colton's wife or not, he is a member of this family that ranks higher than her. I don't know how high, but her not showing the proper deference would look bad on both families.

Lidia steps aside reluctantly to allow Colton to come closer to Liezel. Though we're in a room full of people, Colton doesn't seem to recognize that the words he's saying are meant for a private conversation instead of one to be had at this table. “If a wedding is what you want, that's what I'll give you. If you just want to consummate the thing and keep it moving, I'm cool with that too. But as long as you're wearing my ring, I don't really give a fuck how we announce to the world that you belong to me.”

He kisses the back of her hand, and it's obvious that she wants to recoil, but doesn't want to make a scene, since this is meant to be an agreement that she is a part of.

I'm not sure what to do. To see someone who I care about so deeply agree to do something she so clearly doesn't want to do—feels like she has to do—twists something in my stomach that I can't make sense of.