Page 20 of Not-So Real Breakup

“Quit complaining.” Jeremy wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her against his side. “At least you got to watch the ceremony from your phone.”

“Or if you’re going to complain, do it about the fact that we’re supposed to be playing poker, not gossiping about your relationships,” Tate griped, heaving a deep sigh as he got up and went to the fridge to grab a beer.

Jeremy tucked McKenna tighter into his side and stared down at her with a besotted smile. “Sorry, baby. They’re usually better behaved than this.”

“Don’t believe a word he says, he’s just trying not to scare you off,” Samantha warned. “I’ve been around my brother and Jeremy plenty of times, and they’ve always bickered like this.”

“Bickered?” I echoed, nipping at her neck. “You’re making us sound like an old married couple instead of the manly men that we are.”

“Remind me again why I let my sister work for me?” Landon scrubbed his palm down his face. “Especially now when I have to watch them do shit like that, knowing I’m the one who sent her into the lion’s den.”

“Did you hear that, baby? Your brother called me a lion,” I teased, letting out a low roaring sound that made Landon cringe.

McKenna hugged Jeremy and smiled up at him. “We should bring my grandfather to the next poker night. He’ll fit right in with all of the bickering.”

Jeremy nodded and kissed her. “Great idea, baby. I can see him running the table and taking all of our money, too.”

Tate heaved a deep sigh. “As long as he actually plays the hand he’s dealt instead of leaving his cards on the table and forgetting all about the game, he sounds like a perfect addition to me.”

“That’s assuming I bring you along next time after all the complaining you’ve done tonight. I thought hockey players were supposed to be stoic and shit,” I muttered.

“Nah, you’re thinking of football players like the one my sister recently married.” Tate shook his head with a sigh. “Then again, he’d fit right in with the bunch of you. Not only is he totally gaga over Talia but he also let her think their relationship was fake when they were first starting out.”

“Sounds like he’s our kind of guy,” Landon agreed.

“Maybe I should invite him to the game next month instead of Tate,” I joked.

“No way are you tearing him away from Talia’s side, and they’re all the way out in New York anyway,” Tate pointed out.

Jeremy shrugged. “We came in from LA for the weekend.”

“Exactly. We can bring in whoever the fuck we want. That’s what private jets are for,” Jason pointed out. “I’ll send mine for your brother-in-law and sister, and Jeremy and McKenna can bring her grandfather with them on theirs.”

My phone vibrated on the table and a message notification popped up. “Give me a second, baby,” I murmured to Samantha as I picked up my cell. She looked at me curiously, but I distracted her with a kiss before helping her off my lap and standing up.

“Would you two cut it the fuck out?” Landon grouched.

I flipped him the bird as I kissed Samantha one more time, then strode into the kitchen.

Unknown: Break up with her or she’s DEAD!!! This isn’t a bluff.

My eyes narrowed as I read the message again. Then my blood turned to ice.Fuck!The bastard knew we were at a poker game. They’d somehow followed us from Chicago.

A second text came through, shocking me because they’d never sent more than one from the same number.

Unknown: If I see you two together again, I’ll fucking kill her.

I called Jonah immediately, and he agreed that the stalker had clearly followed us.

“I think you might need to call things off with Samantha until we sort this out,” Jonah advised. “I’ve been doing this long enough to know when it’s escalated to truly dangerous. These aren’t idle threats, James.”

My knee-jerk reaction was to insist that Samantha was safest with me. Except I knew in my heart that Jonah was right. “We’ll have to pretend to break up and lure them out using me as bait.”

“Make sure it looks real,” he cautioned. “If this fucker thinks you’re trying to trick them, it could push them over the edge. Does Samantha have a decent poker face?”

I sighed and hung my head in defeat, knowing that what I had to do was going to rip my heart out. “No,” I admitted. “She’s too real to hide behind a facade. She doesn’t even realize how easy she is to read. It’s one of the things I love about her.”

“Then you’ll have to let her think it’s real, too. But I would tell her brother so she isn’t left unprotected.”

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