Page 97 of Wild Love
* * *
“My dad is coming tonight,”I say as we cross the street to the arena.
“He is?”
I nod and adjust my cuffs. “I just found out about an hour ago.”
“What about your mom?”
“Nah, she’s in Italy for the next month. She has a sister there. My aunt, I guess, although I don’t really know her.”
“Did she come to the Frozen Four or the party at Valley after?”
“No. She was in…” I think back. She’s always traveling somewhere. “Fuck. I don’t remember.”
“You don’t talk about them a lot.”
“Not much to say. They live their life in Chicago and traveling the world, and I’m here. Occasionally they drop in, usually when it benefits the company somehow.” I don’t mean to sound bitter, but I guess I am.
She takes my hand and squeezes. “I’m sorry.”
I lace my fingers with hers, wishing I could hold on all night long. “It’s fine. They’re busy running an empire.”
The gala is held in a suite at the arena that’s been transformed for the event. Cocktail tables are set up around the room’s perimeter, and a live band plays in one corner. I spot Dec near the bar, and Dakota and I walk toward him. She’s serious about her three feet rule. Every time I step closer, she moves another step away.
“Two feet?” I turn my head and whisper.
“Three feet.” She smiles. “You’re terrible at following the rules.”
“It’s a stupid rule.”
“Hey, you two,” Declan greets us. “Got roped into suffering through this tonight, too, huh?”
“It isn’t so bad,” I say.
He grunts. “They all start to look the same after a while.”
“I see some of the other interns,” Dakota says. “I’ll see you guys later.”
She walks off, and I watch her go, not even trying to hide it.
When she disappears behind a crowd of people, I turn my attention back to Declan and find him grinning at me.
“What?”
“The whole kiss cam thing moved you to action, I see.”
“I don’t know what you mean.” I get a beer from the bar and take a long drink.
“Oh, please. You’ve been circling each other all summer.”
I don’t confirm or deny it, but he huffs a laugh and says, “Relax. I don’t care, and I won’t say anything.”
“What about you? I haven’t seen you with anyone. Do you have a girlfriend you keep chained to the bed in your apartment? Or boyfriend?”
“Nah. Too busy right now. It’s the last year on my contract. The next one I sign needs to take me into a nice retirement.”
I lift my beer. “Cheers to that.”
