Page 106 of Caught Up

“I just want to know,” he said, but the grin spreading over his face was unholy. “A grown man, making threats against a teenage girl? I feel like that’s something we should discuss.”

Aly grabbed his hand and dragged him away from us, calling, “One second,” over her shoulder.

I turned to Nic, brows raised.

“He has a thing about men targeting women,” Nic said.

“Shouldn’t everyone?”

He nodded, glancing past me at the couple. “Yeah, but he’s kind ofnext-levelabout it. I’ll explain later.”

I followed his gaze and saw Aly tug Josh down so their foreheads touched. She said something to him, too low to hear, hands running up and down his arms like she was trying to soothe him. If this was how the night was starting, I could only imagine how much worse it might get.

“Sorry,” Aly said a minute later, towing Josh behind her as she made her way back to us. “We’re ready to go play nice.” She threw a glance at her fiancé. “Right?”

“Right,” Josh grumbled, looking mutinous.

Nic used his grip on my waist to turn us toward the front door. “Let’s get this over with, then.”

Moira greeted us just inside, a martini in hand. “Greg’s making a whole tray of them, if anyone wants one.” Her eyes went to Nic. “I told your father Lauren was with you.”

“Thank you,” Nic said.

Moira nodded, expression grim, and I wondered how bad it had been. That she’d broken the news and dealt with the fallout herself, and was obviously on Nic’s side through whatever was about to come, made me look at her with newfound respect.

“Hey, you made it,” Nico said, sweeping into the entryway. His arms were spread wide and his smile was charming, and if I hadn’t known better, I might have bought the welcoming host act.

“Dad,” Nic said, “you remember Lauren.”

His gaze swung to me, and suddenly, I’d never felt more like a bug under a microscope. “Of course.” His smile fell. “Shame about Tommy going missing. Any updates on his whereabouts?”

“No,” I told him. “The reigning theory is that he has a secret family out West somewhere.” My tone was casual, dismissive, filled with the very real disdain I had for my father.

Nic had warned me how manipulative his dad was, how he never did or said anything without having some sort of ulterior motive, and we’d suspected he might try to find out how much his son had told me. He would already have enough reason (real or imagined) to want to get rid of me by the end of the night; I didn’t need to add more fuel to the fire by telling the truth.

Nico eyed me for a moment, dark eyes boring into mine, as if looking for any tell that I was lying. I held perfectly still, refusing to give him any more ammo to use against his son.

“The cops are on it,” Nic said with a shrug. “They’ll figure it out.”

Nico looked at him before turning toward Aly, the smile spreading back over his face. I let out a shaky breath as soon as the coast was clear. It felt like I’d dodged a bullet.

“There she is,” Nico said, arms rising as he stepped toward his niece.

She lifted a hand in a halting gesture. “Still a no from me. Especially after how you behaved last month.”

He chuckled. “One of these days, you’ll come around.”

Her smile was strained. “Unlikely.”

Oof. Awkward. But good for her for standing her ground.

Nico just shook his head, unperturbed, like this was a game they played, and stepped back. “The rest of the boys are in the sitting room. Drinks and apps are in there, too.”

Moira, who’d been silently watching the whole exchange, motioned us forward, and Nic and I preceded everyone down the hallway. I could tell from how tightly he held my hand that he was uneasy, and I tried not to let it spike my own runaway anxiety. Between the immediate barbed question, that terse exchange with Aly, and the fact that Nico hadn’t even acknowledged Josh’s presence, the undercurrents of dysfunction were strong enough to carry us out to sea. Were all their family dinners this uncomfortable?

“Lauren?!”Alec said when we walked into the sitting room. He glared at his older brother, tone mocking. “Ohhhhh, I see how it is. ‘It’s not anything serious.’ ‘Don’t worry about it.’ ‘Mind your business, you nosy asshole.’”

Greg, whom I hadn’t seen in years, snorted. “Youarea nosy asshole.”

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