Page 36 of Keep Your Guard Up
I stepped forward and extended a hand to Camden, who stood to meet me. In my heels, I was taller than him by about an inch. My tongue burned from sinking my teeth into it, swallowing the smirk that would kiss my gym goodbye. My eyes involuntarily found Jayden’s. It had always annoyed him when we were dating that I was taller than him in heels. There was no doubt in my mind that it was a genetic pet peeve.
“All good things, I would hope,” I replied.
Camden’s hand was clammy and firm when he finally shook mine. His expression faltered for a beat, telling me whatever he was about to say should be taken as inflammatory.
“It would appear so,” he grumbled before planting a fake smile on his face and gesturing for me to sit. “Please, join us.”
Whether it were true, or it was the two drinks I’d just downed, Chance’s gaze burned me as I sat down.
“Sunny.” He nodded.
“Riordan.”
His eyes lazily roamed up my bare legs. He swallowed the last of his drink before standing and walking to the bar—something people in these rooms didn’t have to do. Bar staff were typicallysummoned.
“I trust you’re taking good care of my little investment.” Camden gave his nearby associates a devious grin.
The crowd began to disperse, the men returning to their conversations.
My teeth ground together. ‘My little investment’.
“Of course.” I smiled sweetly.
“Good. Then we have some changes I need to inform you of.”
Chapter 18
Mari
To say JJ was the life of the party would have been an understatement.
Hewasthe party.
At least half of the room was over there, listening to him babble on about some story of how he’d nearly died when a non-venomous snake bit his left testicle. Though, as per usual, he’d failed to mention the ‘non-venomous’ part. I chuckled to myself as I scanned his audience, so captivated and in awe of the idiot. I forced myself to swallow my laughter with a swig of my whiskey. The group started laughing and clapping—I assumed they’d gotten to the point where he’d run around his poorgrandmother’s house butt-ass naked, screeching for someone to help him.
The rest of the ‘pleasantries’ I was forced to exchange with Camden had been sent by Satan himself. Though this time, I hadn’t broken. I’d sat through each and every one of his idiotic suggestions, every one of his unwarranted criticisms. I’d thought of Nan and Al, how much effort and love they’d put into Knock’s over the years. I’d ordered another drink. I’d thought of JJ and the difficult task he’d completed of getting people to come and find the home in Knock’s that the rest of us had. I’d ordered another drink. I’d thought about all of the kids I’d taught over the last few years, all of the report cards that had changed to reflect positive news rather than dreary. I’d ordered yet another drink.
And I’d continued ordering drinks at the back corner of the bar since I’d walked out of the room that reeked exclusively with little-dick testosterone.
Well, not completely.
My gaze found Chance and I scanned over that face of his. His eyes were alight with amusement in a way that confirmed he’d picked up on the slip of certain details in JJ’s story. He smiled at my best friend—our best friend—so at ease and relaxed.
That fucking smile.
Since Jayden, I’d sworn not to get involved with fighters. I always have been and always will be surrounded by fighters. But I refused to ever be treated as being below them, ever be treated as a punching bag myself.
And yet here I was, gawking at him like a schoolgirl with a crush.
You just can’t help yourself, can you?
This niggling, almost itching part of me yearned to reconsider—baiting me with thoughts of ‘He doesn’t seem to be like theothers’ and ‘What if he’s different and he’s everything you’ve been looking for?’.
I doubted it.
So, I shut down each of those thoughts as they came. Which, apparently, was rather quickly and frequently when I’d been drinking.
These crinkles showed right below his eyes as he laughed at something JJ had said. I’d never known I could see value in the lines on someone’s face—their lines of happiness.
