AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I threw him a wary glance. “What is it you want to know?”
“Why your parking sign near your office building was graffitied.”
Motherfucker.“How did you hear about that?”
“I have my sources. One notified me of it earlier.”
Knowing it could cause inter-family trouble, I hadn’t intended to tell him about Blaise’s stunt. The last thing I wanted was for Dax to be at odds with his cousins. Not merely for his own sake, but because it wouldn’t exactly endear me to his immediate relatives.
When moments of silence went by, he flicked up a brow. “You want honesty, remember?”
Holding back a petulant sigh, I none too gently perched a box of cereal on the counter, making a mental note to transfer the contents into one of the storage containers later. “It was Blaise.”
“Felicity’s son?”
“Yes. It was easy to ID him. He didn’t bother covering his face. Probably because he knew that being caught on CCTV wouldn’t lead to an arrest. You know how the sheriff is when it comes to friends and family.”
Dax let out a knowing, annoyed grunt. “How did your father deal with Blaise?”
“I didn’t tell him. My dad’s reaction would have been overkill.”
He shot me aSo?look.
“Blaise is only nineteen. He did something stupid. Most kids that age do. Don’t get me wrong, if he does anything like that again, Iwillturn to my dad.” I was no sucker.
Dax’s chin inched up slightly. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll deal with Blaise.”
I was afraid he’d say that. “Let my dad handle it.”
“Why would I do that?”
“It would be better for you to stay out of this. Blaise is your second cousin.”
“And you’re my fiancée.”
My pulse did a little tap dance. Weird as it might sound, I hadn’t really considered that I was now technically his fiancée. This was a business deal, not a romance.
“Did he graffiti the sign in a stupid response to something, or was it a random act?”
Frustrated I’d have to also reveal yetanotherthing that could result in inter-family issues, I pulled the freezer door open harder than necessary. “I had a little spat with his mom the day before the vandalism.”
Dax’s eyes flared. “A spat?” A carefully neutral response.
“It was really nothing. She’s smug that Grayden went back to her, and she wanted to rub it in my face, thinking I’d be jealous.” I stared Dax right in the eye. “I’m not, to be clear. I see you doubt that, despite what I said to you at the pool the other day. Did I love him once? Yes. Does that still apply now? No.” I wouldn’t want the guy I was marrying to think I was hung up on another.
Dax watched me for a long moment, emotions working behind his eyes that I couldn’t quite make out. “I’ll contact Felicity, make her aware of the situation, and be very clear how much of a mistake it would be for her or her son to bother you again.”
“She’ll likelyfreakwhen she hears I’ll soon be part of the family,” I said, putting away the frozen meals. “I almost wish I could be there to see it.”
His lips curled just a little. “If either of them ignore my warning and approach you again, I want to hear about it.” It wasn’t anything close to a request. It was an order, plain and simple.
Ugh. “I don’t want to cause trouble between you all.”
“Any such trouble would be on them, because they’d be the cause of it. Not you. By keeping me informed, you’ll merely be doing exactly what you said it’s important for us to do—you’d be being open and honest with me. I need that from you, just as you need it from me.”
I exhaled heavily. “All right.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “I’m serious, Addison.”
