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“Is this the first time you’ve stood up to him?”
“More or less. I was good at being a disrespectful shit, but I never challenged him outright over the way he treated me. Or Rose.”
I pull him to me and whisper in his ear. “I’m proud of you. And I’m so sorry I pushed you about the dating thing. I shouldn’t have done that without knowing where you were coming from.”
“If you hadn’t pushed me, I wouldn’t have a boyfriend right now.” I feel a tug on the lapel of my jacket.
“Yes, but do you want one?” I take a half-step back so I can see his face, letting my hands drop to his waist. “I’ll understand if it’s too soon for that.”
I’m vaguely aware there’s a murmur in the gathering crowd as I wait for his answer. Between the way I’m looking at Tripp and the tongue-lashing the judge is giving his parents, I’m sure they’re getting quite the show.
Tripp rises on his toes to give me a quick peck on the lips before taking my hands in his. “No take backs. You’re stuck with this hot mess.”
“Good answer.” I can’t stop the goofy grin from spreading across my face as a relieved warmth seeps through my chest. “Xander and Niko are waiting in the car. Let’s see if we can’t salvage the rest of this evening.”
“By salvage do you mean I get to spank you?” He bites his lip playfully.
“Are you claiming you won the bet?”
“I mean, people were clearly surprised to see me.”
“Fine, I’ll concede. But only because you’re sexy in a tux, not because I think you won.” I give him a quick kiss and keeping his left hand in my right, I step toward the door only to have him tug me back.
“Rose.” He casts a worried glance toward his parent’s housekeeper, still cowering by the far wall. “I couldn’t take her with me the first time, but I can’t leave her.”
The two of us approach the woman whose eyes are darting nervously around the room as the judge, fresh off his rant at Tripp’s parents, finds us. “Between the three of us we’re creating a bit of a scene. You two should get out of here before the gossip spreads to the rest of the guests and they come running to see the show.”
“We aren’t leaving without Rose,” Tripp says. “When the guests are gone and they don’t have to keep up the act anymore, my parents will lash out at her.”
“Are you saying they’ll get physical with her?” The judge pales, and I feel a twinge of sympathy for the man who clearly just learned he never really knew the people he thought were his friends.
“I don’t think so. They haven’t before that I’m aware of, but they’ve never suffered this level of embarrassment before either. Will you come home with us, Rose?” Tripp puts a gentle hand on her arm.
“I can’t leave.” She looks at him with teary eyes. “They took my green card after I helped you before. They’ll have me thrown out of the country.”
“They most certainly will not,” the judge booms. “It seems I’ve got something else to discuss with them this evening after all. Rose, go get your things while I deal with this. You can stay at my house until this is sorted out. You two.” He looks at me and Tripp. “The cat’s probably out of the bag, but you might be able to limit the damage if you leave now.”
“Damage?” I frown.
“I haven’t seen anything in the press, so I assume you wanted to keep this thing between you off the public’s radar.” He tips his head toward our joined hands.
“We wouldn’t be here together if we were trying to hide anything,” I tell him.
“We didn’t plan to put on a show either,” Tripp says, his wary gaze telling me he’s concerned about what the Bulldogs might have to say when this gets out.
“It’s settled then. You two take off and I’ll make sure Rose gets out safely,” the judge declares.
But Tripp doesn’t budge. “Rose, are you okay with that? I understand if you’re not. Even after I realized my parents were probably bluffing about what the judge would do if I went to him for help, I was afraid to trust him because he was friends with them. After tonight I know differently, but if you don’t want to go with him we’ll wait for you to get your things.”
She glances between the two men, finally relaxing a bit when her affectionate gaze settles on Tripp. “He’s right, you should go now. I’ll be okay, Mr. Tripp.”
My boyfriend, who’s still skittish about showing affection without the promise of sex, hugs Rose, and then the man who calls himself Tripp's uncle, which almost makes me tear up. If the one good thing that comes from tonight is Tripp learning that this guy has always been in his corner, and isn’t going anywhere, then this shitshow of an evening will have been worth it.
The judge pats Tripp on the back and lets him go. “Good to have you back, son. Now get out of here. And call me this week. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
His hand locked in mine, I lead Tripp out the front door and past the photographer who clicks away as we get into the car and drive off.
Chapter 22 – Tripp
