Page 9 of Evading the Enforcer

“So you watch my show?”

“I love it. I never miss an episode,” she says. A handsome blond man sidles up beside her. She grips his arm, pointing a finger at me. “Kaiden, you’re not going to believe who this is. It’s Lucy Chase.”

He angles his head, studying me. “Bigfoot’s Hairy Tale?”

I throw my arms out to each side. “That’s me.”

“How cool. I’m Kaiden Hart. It’s nice to meet you.” He shakes my hand.

“It’s nice to meet you too. Rori said you’re on Ryder’s team.”

“He’s the captain,” Rori pipes in before he can reply.

He smiles down at her. “She’s my biggest fan.”

“And Lucy’s,” she adds.

“Well, Rori, I’m honored you enjoy my show so much. We don’t have the largest audience, but our fans are some of the most loyal.”

“Hey, I don’t mean to steal Lucy from you, but she hasn’t even had a chance to grab a drink or a bite to eat yet,” Calista cuts in.

“I need to get some crab dip before it’s all gone,” I say, rubbing my hands together. “I’ll catch you all later.”

“I can introduce you to more people after you’ve had a breather,” Calista says as we approach the dining room table. There’s barely a spare inch of open space between the various appetizers and sweets.

“Sounds good.” I’m not in a rush to meet everyone, especially now that I’ve got this array of food to sample. “You don’t need to babysit me. I know you’re the hostess, and as much as I’d like to, I can’t keep you to myself.”

“I’ll make a quick circle around and be back before you miss me,” she says, popping a chocolate-covered strawberry between her lips.

I blow her a kiss as she hurries off. Conversations continue all around me, but the other partygoers must see how serious I am about gorging on Calista’s food because they leave me alone for the most part.

I watch as Calista’s brother and his wife make their way over to me. Apparently, they’re not intimidated by my rabid eating.

“Hey, Luce, how’s it going?” Darius asks.

I hold up my finger and finish chewing before answering. “Look at me. Can’t you tell I’m having the time of my life?”

“Calista’s food is life-changing,” Evie says.

“Right? I don’t get to experience it regularly anymore.”

“How are you doing without Calista as your neighbor?” Evie asks. “I bet it’s a big change for you.”

“I’m coping but miss my best friend so much.” I swipe away a pretend tear from beneath my eye.

“Have you met Niall yet? He’s renting her house,” Darius says.

“Yeah, we’ve met.”Technically anyway.

“Speak of the devil. Here’s the man himself,” Darius calls out.

No. No. No. Why didn’t I make the connection that Niall would be here?

CHAPTER 4

LUCY

I sensehis presence behind me before I hear his voice. “My ears were ringing. Are you talking shit about me again?” he asks, humor lacing his tone.

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