Page 62 of Take The Risk

​I’d die before betraying Phoebe, so if it made the woman happy, I’d sign it. I’d already offered to Phoebe, and she’d declined, looking stricken. “Not a problem.”

​She nodded. “Here’s how it is. Aaron is only Phoebe’s friend. They’ve only ever been friends. Phoebe has always been…different. God, she’s going to kill me for telling you this. Phoebe has anxiety. And not the I-feel-a-little-nervous kind. The I-curl-up-in-the-fetal-position-when-I’m-exposed-to-too-many-people kind. Actually, there are a few other things that set her off, but the end result is the same. One of them is being overly exposed. Being with you will expose her in ways that can cripple her unless you’re able to handle it. She’s been fighting so hard to get over all of this…she’s just not there yet.”

​I knew all of this, even if Phoebe hadn’t said it. My heart broke for her when I saw how she fought it day after day.

​“It’s been this way since she was small. She wrote as an outlet to help her cope. It’s manifested in different ways, but it all comes along with a healthy dose of low self-esteem. It’s brutal watching her sometimes. She’s not someone who doles out small pieces of her heart. She gives her heart in its entirety. She’s incredibly kind. Even when people treat her badly, she’ll still give them the shirt off her back.”

​I narrowed my eyes on her, not liking the sense that she meant something else there. I’d find out about that later.

​“Her heart has been stomped too many times and still, she gives to anyone and everyone around her. She’s also incredibly loyal. It’s made her sick to have feelings for you all this time—”

​“She has feelings for me?” Damn, if that didn’t make my heart happy.

​“Yes, dingus. Don’t you see the problem for her? She’s friends with your mother. Your mother who has made some subtle and then not-so-subtle comments about Phoebe and you being together. Her being with you will feel like a betrayal to Cady-Jo, even though I’m not sure Cady-Jo’s entitled to any loyalty from Phoebe.”

​“My mom’s not—” I automatically defended her.

​“Nope! You get zero say on women’s business.” She held up her hand.

​I wanted to argue but shut up. Alex was right about one thing; Mom had already meddled too much. “I’ll talk to my mother.”

​“No.” She shook her head. “You won’t. You talking to Cady-Jo will push Phoebe over the edge if things aren’t cleared up between you two. She doesn’t need the trouble your mother is threatening when her plate is already full of problems.”

​“What do you mean?” What threats?

​“That’s not my place to say.” She looked at her watch pointedly. “We’ve been gone long enough. I believe what you said, Hammerhead. Know this, though: you now know where you stand.”

​Throwing open the door, she looked over her shoulder at me. “Oh, by the way, Phoebe’s not here on a date with Prescott. I only made it look that way to piss you off and show you what you were missing. You better fix this fast, though. He’s had a thing for her for years.” She craned her neck, looking down the hall toward the dance floor. “And it looks like Phoebe’s having a great time dancing with him, too.”

​With that, she flounced out of the room, leaving me to follow.

​Emerging from the back, I saw Alex walk to Phoebe and give her a smack on the ass. Phoebe laughed, leaning into Prescott to avoid another swat.

​My fists clenched. Now, it was my turn not to cause a scene.

Chapter 24

​“Let’s play a game!” Alex clapped during one of the rare moments everyone was back at the table.

​“What kind of game?” Erik eyed her.

​I groaned. I was tired. My feet hurt. My buzz was starting to wear off, and I was more depressed seeing the way Olivia practically hung off of Ty for most of the night. It didn’t help that every time she touched him, cooed at him, or batted her eyes at him, Cady-Jo and Octavia beamed, sharing conspiratorial looks.

​I’d been immensely grateful I hadn’t had to endure watching Ty dance with Olivia. Yet. I didn’t think I could handle watching him touch the younger woman, who was the epitome of sexiness in the black bandage-style dress that highlighted her model-perfect figure.

​“Musical dance partners!” Alex exclaimed. “Here’s how it works. I’ve put everyone’s names in a hat. Each pair I pull out have to dance the next dance together.”

​Kill. Me. I hated this game. She rigged it for her own amusement, and I was too tired to figure out which person here had earned her wrath.

​“No one wants to play your games.” Preston glared at her, finally looking up from his phone.

​Eww…I actually agreed with him. Now I needed a shower.

​“Psht!” She dismissed him. Not waiting for anyone to agree, she pulled out the first name from a hat she’d “borrowed” from a nearby table.

​“It could be fun.” Louise went along.

​“I agree!” Helen joined, excited. “We need to do something to liven things up.”