He threatened Aaron’s future. Not just a little drop in his GPA. He would contact the colleges that planned to scout Aaron and pay them off so they’d reject him on the spot.
And it happened. Aaron’s dream university denied his application because Lo reached them first. And with the Hale name and a hefty donation, they couldn’t refuse Lo’s offer.
So Aaron shut up. He got accepted to his safety school, and he left us alone.
Until now.
I don’t greet him. I turn back to give him the biggest coldshoulder. I don’t care if I’m rude. Because if my suspicions are correct, he’s only here to make my life hell.
“Not going to say hi?” Aaron wonders. I watch him circle the table and sit across from me. He actually takes the centerpiece and puts it on the floor so I have a direct view of his smarmy face.
I hear Rose beside me. “How old are you?”
I glance at her, and nearly laugh at her date. He’s a twig, and his suit is two sizes too big.
“Nineteen,” he tells her, fixing his bowtie, but he makes it even more lopsided.
Rose raises her glass with a bitter smile. “Wonderful.” My mother set her up with a guy three years younger than her.
He takes the open seat to her left. “My father is your father’s lawyer.” He scratches the back of his longish brown hair, his skin a golden tan, probably half-Italian. “I’m Matthew Collins.”
“Nice to meet you, Matthew,” Rose says, motioning for the server to bring her another glass of champagne.
Daisy’s date sits to her right. I don’t catch his name, but he’s too distracted by his phone to even acknowledge my sister. She doesn’t look like she cares either, refolding her napkin into a rose.
The food starts parading around the room, sea bass and winter squash making rounds on each circular table.
My appetite is gone. Especially as Aaron leans his forearms on the table, practically hunched over to force my attention to him.
“What have you been up to, Lily?”
I shrug and then spit out, “Why would you want to even come here?” It’s almost been three whole years since I’ve seen him. Why now?
“I heard your boy was out of town. I thought I’d check up on you, make sure you were safe and doing okay.”
I glare. “I’m fine.”
He nods, his eyes skimming the length of me. Thank God, my body stops at the edge of the table.
“Did my mother really call you?” I ask tensely.
“She called my friend first. She seemed a little desperate to get you hooked up, and I told her I was available.” He flashes an ugly smile. “I have nothing better to do.” And so the truth comes out.
“That’s why you’re here? You’re bored?”
He shrugs. “Now that I’m almost graduated, Loren has nothing on me. And I think me and you—we have unfinished business.”
I go cold and look to Rose for backup, but she’s in a heated discussion with her younger date. Well…she seems to be educating him about the stock market, as though he said something inane and she has to correct him.
Daisy is watching me carefully, but I don’t have the heart to explain my history to her. Not now anyway. Plates of sea bass slide onto our placemats, and I stiffly pick up my fork. I can’t eat, not until I let some words loose.
“I’m not having sex with you,” I immediately blurt.
His eyebrow quirks and I realize that might not have been the “unfinished business” he had in mind. And then he says, “We’ll see.” Okay, maybe it was. Or maybe he’s just planning on cornering me, putting me in some provocative situation and then snapping a few pictures, taking a video, and then sending them to Lo.
Oh God.
Daisy butts in. “Hey, back off. She has a boyfriend.”
Aaron snorts and says to Daisy, “Do I look like I give a shit?”
“I do,” a new voice enters. And this time, I internally cheer at the sound of Ryke’s deep, threatening tone. He slides into the seat between Daisy’s date and Aaron, closing the circle. He wears a fitted charcoal suit with a skinny black tie. His brown hair is styled, but he’s not clean-shaven. How did he get invited to a Fizzle event? Better yet, why would he accept it and come here?
I don’t really care. I’m just glad he is.
“Who the fuck are you?” Aaron spits.
Ryke motions to a server and points to his placemat, silently asking for food. Then he faces Aaron with narrowed eyes. If Lo were here, I think he’d appreciate the backup. We’ve never had it before, and I have to say, it’s kind of nice.