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I didn’t give a fuck about anyone else at this point.
Geoffrey stood at the door to the ballroom. “Will you please make sure Trinity gets to one of the guest suites, please? I don’t want her driving.”
“Of course, Miss Allen.”
“Thanks.”
Joel appeared at my side. “Are you all right?”
I smiled at him, unsure of everything at the moment. “I’m fine, but I’m tired. My feet hurt. I think I’m going to get ready and go to bed early. I’m still used to the time on the other coast, so it’s later for me.”
“We’ll come with you.”
“That’s okay. You guys enjoy the party.”
A low chuckle skimmed across my skin. “What would there be to enjoy about the party without you here?”
“Not having to keep me away from my ex.”
Joel raised his hand, and one by one they appeared. Emotion pricked my eyes, so I looked away from them and out into the rest of the house. It wasn’t a big thing. I was tired and overwhelmed from seeing Beau and my family andthem. I wasn’t really tearing up about them being willing to leave a party for me. Was I?
The number of times I took a car home alone because Beau wanted to stay somewhere longer than I did…
Gentle fingers brushed my lower back, guiding me out of the room and into the subtle quiet of the rest of the mansion. I could hear the waves in the distance, and the tightness between my shoulders eased.
I hadn’t realized just how much I missed that sound.
We reached our suite, the whole thing lit with warm, low lighting. A slew of blankets and pillows had been stacked on and next to the bed. Whether Mom had told the staff to give us extras or it was Geoffrey being kind, I appreciated it.
Joel’s hand still rested on my lower back. “I feel like I stepped on a landmine back there. Did I?”
“A landmine?”
“Us leaving with you. Or were the tears from something else?”
Fuck. They noticed that. I wasn’t used to being so…observed. It was unnerving as much as it was validating.
“It’s nothing.” They didn’t need to hear my trauma about it. That’s not what I was paying them for.
He caught my arm before I stepped away and guided me back to him, tilting my face up to his with a single finger. I closed my eyes and breathed him in. I’d never been a bourbon girl, but the Alpha made me want to start. “If it bothers you, it’s not nothing.”
“I’m just not used to—you really want to hear this?”
“I do.” He didn’t look away at all. The others were close by and they could hear us too.
I swallowed. “I’m not used to anyone changing their plans for me. If I duck out of a party early, I’m usually doing it alone. Not that I’ve been to many parties this last year,” I mumbled the last bit. The wild weekends at the bar where I worked could be considered parties, I guess, but I left those alone too.
“Beau didn’t leave with you.” It wasn’t a question.
I fought my wince. “Not usually, no.”
All five men were quiet.
Too fucking quiet.
“I’m going to change,” I said softly, and Joel let me slip away from him and into the closet. Good thing I decided to bring my cute pajamas. Even with nothing happening, I wasn’t preparedfor these men to see me in ratty sweats and a t-shirt so thin it was starting to get holes.
Instead, I put on a silky pair of shorts and a tank top. They had little cartoon clouds on them. Not my sexiest look, but not the worst, either.
