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He lifts an eyebrow. “During Romcom Sundays?”
“Sure.”
“Excellent!”
Great.Yet another thing I’ll have to share with the moron. “I call the guest room in the back.”
“Not fair.” Punk pouts like the adolescent man-child he is. “I don’t want the front bedroom. It gets too much sunlight in the morning. I need my beauty rest.”
A snide remark about Punk not improving his looks with more sleep is on the tip of my tongue when Ebony comes tromping in the front door, loaded down with shopping bags. Jared, Jo’s best friend and general contractor, follows behind Eb, his arms filled with more bottles of wine. Red and Candy bring in the rear, making a beeline for the wine goblets in the kitchen.
Jo’s Cane Corsos, Hades and Runt, go ballistic with all the new arrivals, barking and running around in fast circles. Jo jumps to her feet to let them outside before one of them wakes the twins. I can’t help laughing as she corrals them to the front door like a cowgirl.
“What’s up, my bitches?! I brought the goods.” Ebony drops the bags on the coffee table in front of us. “We’re doing hair scalp masks.”
Punk groans, pointing at his shaved head. “Not fair, Eb.”
She pulls out some sunflower oil. “I got you covered. We’ll have you shining like a bowling lane.”
“Thanks,chica.”
I sort through the hair mask options in the bags, coming away with one that grabs my attention. “Oooh. Rosemary and sage. That sounds quite nice. Very holistic.”
Fifteen minutes later, the entire group is in Jo and Atlas’s spacious luxury master suite bathroom, applying the scalp treatments to our damp hair.
Red and Candy whisper, occasionally glancing at me in the mirror before averting their eyes.
I hate gossip. Either say it to my face, or keep your mouth shut. “What’s up?”
Red bites her bottom lip, looking to Candy. Candy shrugs, then asks, “Are you sure you want to confront your dick-for-brains ex?”
“We don’t want you getting hurt,” Red adds softly.
The topic proves too much for my sister. Jo growls beside me, turtle-waxing Punk’s head a little too roughly.
“Ow! Sis, take it easy on my noggin!”
“Sorry, Punk,” she apologizes to him before addressing me. “I’m not on board with you being anywhere near that asshole. It’s taken you a year to move past the trauma of his cheating ass.”
I heave a sigh. “It’s not like I’m doing this because I want to be by my ex-boyfriend and old boss. Trust me. I’d rather go the rest of my life without having to deal with either of them.”
Jared cocks his head at me. “Then why take on the case?”
“Aside from sticking it to Trent and Cynthia?” I hesitate, unsure if I’m ready to admit it out loud.
Everyone looks at me, motioning for me to spit it out.
“It’s…don’t laugh at me, okay? When Chase asked me to work the case with him, it made me, I don’t know. It made me feel special. That he thought so highly of my expertise, he wanted me working with him. He recognized my intelligence. It flattered me. When it came out Trent would assist us, I didn’t want to back out. Partly because I want to show Trent I’ve happily moved on. But more so because I didn’t want to let the team down, specifically Chase.”
All the girls gush in “Aws.” Jared and Punk exchange a knowing look.
“I know my brother. Chase wouldn’t have asked you to join his team unless you were the best candidate,” Punk states. “Yeah, he’s hot for you, but he doesn’t let his feelings affect his work. No one on the crew does—that shit stays separate. Chase assigning you to the case has nothing to do with wanting you on his arm. However, him wanting you off the assignment has everything to do with his feelings for you. He wants to keep you safe, Priss.”
“Trent doesn’t have a chance in hell of getting back with me,” I vow.
Jo scowls. “Doesn’t matter. There was no way I was going to let Jacob back in my life, but look how that blew up in my face when I made contact again.”
“Trent might be a jerk, but he’s not a predator,” I say.
