Molly sniffed and stood up. “Don’t worry, I’m not coming. No need to stress about it.”
“Hey, just wait a minute,” Kaz said, shooting me a death glare.
“No, really. I have a lot of work to do tonight, sorting and editing the content from this week.”
Our eyes locked together. She didn’t seem angry, but maybe a little bit hurt at the way I’d uninvited her. Still, she gave me a small smile. “It’s no problem.”
A crack appeared in my heart.
“You sure?” Kaz asked, his voice resigned. “It’ll be a fun time.”
“All good.” Molly stood up and smoothed her palms down her thighs. “Out of curiosity, who’s coming?”
“A bunch of musician friends Mason’s picked up along the way,” Kaz said. “Charlotte and her crew. A few other randos.”
Shit.
“Who’s Charlotte?”
Double shit.
Kaz dragged his hand down the back of his neck, knowing full well he’d just said something he should have kept to himself.
I rose to my feet. “A girl I’m seeing.”
The temperature of the room plummeted. It was as if a layer of thin ice had frozen over my skin and then cracked into a million pieces. Molly’s green eyes widened and blinked a few times.
“I see,” Molly said flatly. “Well, enjoy your night.” She turned on her heel and disappeared upstairs.
As soon as she was gone, I stepped in front of Kaz. “What the hell was that?”
“Fuck. I’m sorry.”
It was a genuine apology, but it didn’t tame the turbulent anger inside my chest. “Why would you invite her to the party when I told you I want her far away?”
A spark flared in his eyes. “And I told you I was going to go after her, and you said to go ahead. Her being at the party doesn’t mean she’d be interacting with you.”
“Our house isn’t that big,” I growled. “Thanks for bringing up Charlotte, by the way.”
“Why are you so upset?” he demanded, his shoulders turning stiff. Now he was getting pissed at me. “I’m tired of you acting like a fucking corpse around Molly. You barely speak to her. I get you don’t like her, but grow the fuck up. She’s working with us. Ignoring her is no more professional than being a dick.”
“You want to fuck her, and you’re telling me I’m the one being unprofessional?”
“If I fuck her, you can be sure I’ll still treat her like a human being when we’re at work.”
“You know what else is not professional? Sharing my personal life with her.”
Kaz laughed incredulously. “What’s the big deal with Molly knowing you have a girlfriend?”
“She’s not. My. Girlfriend.”
“Mase, I don’t know what the hell is going on with you. Either you tell me, or we move on.”
I tamed the impulse to lash out at him again. This felt like a real argument, and I didn’t like it. Kaz and I never fought like this, but a few days of working with Molly, and we were at each other’s throats. I had to fix this.
“Okay.” I said, hiding the unease sneaking into my heart. “Let’s move on.”
Kaz shook his head, pressing his back against the wall. “If you don’t want me to get involved with her, just say it.”
