Page 83 of Liberating Lily

And Harvey was just dying to be the one to give him a big shove.

“You.” Rick finally spotted him. He stood up and glared at Harvey.

Hmm, interesting. Harvey would have placed money that he’d have turned and run like the coward that he was. Seemed Rick was braver than he thought, or maybe he just believed he was safe here.

“Look who it is, Harvey Gallagher. My so-called friend, who’s actually a backstabbing bastard.”

Everyone at the table grew silent. The guy next to Rick reached up and grabbed his wrist, tugging at his arm. “Rick, you might want to cool it down a bit.”

“I’m not going to cool it down. You’re a backstabbing bastard, aren’t you, Gallagher?” Rick snarled. “How long have you wanted her? How long have you been fucking her behind my back?”

That same guy, who he recognized as Danny O’Bourke, tugged at Rick more forcefully. “Shut up, Rick!”

“He stole my fiancée.” Rick pointed straight at him as he said that, gazing around wildly as though expecting people to support him.

A look of satisfaction filled his face as people around them gasped and stared. But he really was stupid if he was forgetting who Harvey was.

“I didn’t steal your fiancée, Rick. She was happy to come with me. And before you argue that point, there were witnesses who could attest to the fact that she didn’t put up one ounce of fight. And you know why, Rick? It’s because you’re a limp-dicked little asshole. All you did was deceive and cheat on her, and now she’s with a better person, me. Someone who will take care of her, look after her, and ensure that anyone who harms her pays.”

“Are you threatening me? You all heard him. He just threatened me!” Rick cried.

“He only said that anyone that hurts her will pay,” Paddy piped up. Leaning down, he picked up a piece of garlic bread from a woman’s plate. As she opened her mouth to protest, he just winked at her, and she blushed.

Dear Lord, his brother could buy this whole fucking country club if he wanted to, but here he was stealing garlic bread off someone’s plate. It was all about the rush with Paddy. He needed it to feel alive.

“What? No, I’m not saying I abused her. I never touched her.”

“You never protected her either, did you?” Harvey snarled.

“Protected her? Protect her from what?”

“Everything,” Harvey said. “But most importantly, her bitch of a mother.”

Harvey was walking a fine line here. He needed to guard Lily’s privacy.

As much as he wanted to humiliate Rick in front of everyone, the last thing he wanted was to embarrass Lily.

Everyone was staring at them.

“Rick, we should—” he started to say.

“Anyway, I don’t care about that bitch!” Rick said, interrupting him. “She was a fucking shitty lay. Cold fish. Just laid there and took it.”

Gasps of outrage surrounded him, and for a moment, Rick looked concerned. Maybe he’d just realized that attacking Lily wasn’t the best idea.

What he might not realize yet was he just fully ignited Harvey’s temper. It had already been simmering, but now it was about to become an inferno.

“You’re a cheating asshole and everyone here knows it, Rick. First, you dump Clem when she got cancer and was in a rehabilitation center, recovering from an operation. Then you lie to her and tell her you’ve been sleeping with her sister behind her back. Lily never slept with you, you scumbag. Any time you touched her, her skin would crawl, and who can blame her? The number of complaints that your father has had to cover up from women who you’ve pawed without their permission is disgusting.”

“What are you talking about? There are no complaints.”

“You don’t think I’ve been spending my time with you having fun, do you? No. I know about all the skeletons in the Sampson closet and I’m more than willing to let them all out here.”

“What . . . what . . . no! There’s no need for that, old friend. We’re just having fun here. Harvey and I are good friends,” he said nervously, glancing around.

“No, we’re not. I was only pretending to be your friend. I loathe you.”

“You’re scum of the earth, Rick,” Paddy said cheerfully. “Total scum. We don’t like scum.”