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“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 twenty-two
Tripp
“Damn, the press are fast. It hasn’t even been a full hour and the pictures are already up.” Niko holds his phone so we can see the snaps of Noah leading me hand-in-hand to the car, opening the door for me, and the four of us driving away.
Huddled in a back booth of a club all the Bulldogs have an exclusive membership to, we’re able to drink in peace. It’s not our preferred scene—to uppity—but tonight the rich dark atmosphere, and the discreet staff, is sort of a godsend. Even if people recognize us here, they won’t approach us or put us on the spot, and after the night I’ve had, I’m grateful for whatever privacy I can get. Not that I give two shits about my parents’ downfall or the role I ended up playing in it, I just don’t want to be drawn into it any further before the evening ends. There’s plenty of time for that later.
“Cute pictures, though,” Justus says offhand. Why he and Luca showed up, I’m still not sure. I suspect it’s because they were some of Niko’s biggest supporters when his personal life went public, so they must be playing the same role for Noah. “Noah looks very protective of you, Tripp.”
Not too long ago, that statement would’ve freaked me the fuck out—and in some ways it sill does. I’m new to this whole relying on and trusting other people thing, but as far as Noah’s concerned, I have to agree with Justus. It’s cute.
“Have they figured out who I am yet?” I ask Niko.
Niko scrolls down the page. “They’re going with Mystery Man.”
