Except I didn’t make a mistake, and I couldn’t care less what she thinks. To be honest, I have no clue why she’s acting like she has some sort of proprietary claim on me. It’s more than a little creepy, especially coming from a woman who’s virtually a stranger.
“This has nothing to do with you, her relationship to you or what you imagine might have happened between me and Klein.” My tone is arctic, the kind I reserve for assholes who try to mess with my clients.
“But…” Chad begins, his eyes skittering everywhere as he searches for something to say. He undoubtedly wants his ring back, but isn’t sure how to get it. His brain isn’t big enough to come up with something slick to say and calculate how much he may have to pay out in alimony at the same time. He was always slightly below average, barely climbing up to “average” if he cheated. “But that can’t be right. The ring’s engraved.Love youon the inside andForever and everoutside.”
“Exactly.” Karina’s sharp nod irritates the hell out of me. This doesn’t concern her. She isn’t smart enough to speak for Chad, either. “Besides, the rock’s too small,” she says to me. “You’d do better than that, even if it was just for Ailee.”
Klein isn’t “just Ailee,” but Karina’s right that I’d never buy a ring this shitty. I pretend to consider for a moment. “The rocklooks pretty on her finger, so I didn’t think the size would matter so much. But maybe I shouldn’t have given her a family heirloom for the engagement. It might be better suited for the actual wedding or when we have our first baby.”
“A family heirloom?” Karina spins toward Klein. “You really got engaged to Josh?”
I wince at the shrill tone.My ears.
“Is this true?” Karina’s mother demands, her face red and her eyes blazing. “Did you steal Katt’s man?”
Klein shrinks back at the feral way the older woman glares at her. Her mom looks like she might jump over the table to claw her.
Not on my watch. I step forward, placing myself in front of Klein like a shield. “Who’s Katt?” I ask, bristling with annoyance that the woman’s acting like I belong to a someone I’ve never heard of.
Karina looks at me like I just gut-punched her. Klein stares at me, then her sister, then back at me, confusion clouding her pretty face. It dawns on me.Ohhh… Katt. That’s it.
“Me!” Karina—orKatt—slaps a hand over her impressive bosom, which is heaving right now, drawing all the male attention to it. “We’ve been together for months now.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I don’t think you do, either.”
“We texted—”
“Never received one from you.”
“—and have been to a lot of the same events—”
“I had my own dates, none of whom were you.”
“—and we had so many deep conversations.”
“Nothing comes to mind.”
“Josh!”
“Yes, that’s my name. So what?” My eyes sweep over the table. “Guess you didn’t order anything Klein could eat, givenher seafood allergy. I’ll take her someplace where she can enjoy her food. Didn’t realize my fiancée would be dining with people so inconsiderate and crude. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let her ditch me forher familytonight.”
Katt’s shaking so hard, she looks like she’s about to have a stroke. Actually, seeing how unnaturally red she is, she might’ve already had one. Her parents are too busy fussing over her and arguing what to do about a child as unruly and evil as Klein. The pregnant woman is speechless. Chad continues to stare at the ring like a dog staring at a steak getting away. But he knows better than to act. Aside from the potential for another rhinoplasty, he’s aware that my family owns one of the most aggressive law firms in the country.
Klein looks down, her cheeks scarlet and her teeth digging into her lower lip.
I cup her chin and swipe my thumb over the mouth. “Don’t let the opinions of people who don’t matter get to you.”
She blinks up at me, her mouth parted. Her sweet breath feathers over my skin. A tingling sensation spreads all the way to the top of my skull.
I pick up her purse, then squeeze her shoulders and turn her around. She stiffens at the sight of Ares and Bryce, who just witnessed the scene. They give me knowing grins, then smile at her. Klein’s muscles grow tense under my palms, and I give my brothers a warning look. Unlike them, she’s sensitive.
“Hey, sister-in-law,” Ares says with a laugh.
I nod inwardly with approval.
“What?” Klein croaks.
Bryce winks. “Be gentle with Josh. His heart’s more delicate than you think.”
