Page 91 of Only Fate

The girl my grandfather had an affair with was Chloe’s older sister, and she had Trey. Chloe’s family took hush money from him for fifteen years.

Chloe didn’t feel guilty about keeping the secret since she hated Kyle in high school after a prank. Years later, when they were grown, they became neighbors and started dating.

When the truth came out, it was a shit show. Everyone learned Trey wasn’t only Chloe’s nephew but also Kyle’s younger brother.

People called Trey a bastard child,and it was hard on him. As soon as he graduated from high school, he left Blue Beech. He became a huge name in tech and recently sold his start-up for over a billion dollars.

Mia snags a glass of rosé and downs it.

She grabs another and does the same.

Mia typically isn’t a huge drinker. She’s very type A, and she made sure everything about the party was perfect.

“Who’s he?” Adrian asks, pointing toward Trey with his water.

“My cousin.”

He tips his head down, lowering his voice. “And why does Mia look like she wants to murder him?”

“Oh, they’ve never been fans of each other.” I grab a mini cupcake and drop it into my mouth.

Adrian leans forward, wipes frosting off my lips, and licks it off his finger. “Why?”

“You know what? I actually have no idea.”

“Hmm,” he murmurs.

“What does yourhmmmean?”

“It means, I’m pretty sure there’s more there than just hate.”

“It’s normal for people in this group to want to kill each other sometimes. It’s because we’re all stubborn pains in the ass. It must be something that runs in the water here.” I tip my head to motion toward Jax and Amelia cuddled up in a corner. “Those two wanted to kill each other for half our lives.”

“And what are they now?”

I chew on my nail. “Fair point.”

While we all knew Jax was secretly in love with Amelia, maybe whatever history Mia has with Trey has slipped under the radar. But as far as I know, they haven’t seen each other since Trey’s last visit when Callie graduated from high school.

I laugh. “Look at you, already involving yourself in the drama and love lives here.”

He smirks. “It seems the small-town life is rubbing off on me.”

As the night grows later, more people show up.

I make my rounds, saying hello and introducing everyone to Adrian. Most people have already met him or heard about him in town. I saw the surprise when they realized we were there together, though.

When my parents arrive, they tell Callie happy birthdaybefore moving straight to me. I’ve been their number one concern as of late.

“Mom, Dad, do you remember Adrian?” I ask after hugging them both.

My mom smiles at him. “Of course I do.”

Adrian holds out his hand, as if in completemeet the parentsmode.

It’s so similar to how he acted when he saw them at the brewery.

He clearly wants to win them over.

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