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When I’m done, I wash my hands and take a deep calming breath. But the second I slip back into the hall, my heart catapults into my throat.
“Idon’t think we’ve met,” Mr. Ashworth says coolly.
But it isn’t Theo’s dad I’m surprised to see. It’s the man standing beside him. The man from Vaughn’s photo.
“You’re Elliot’s plus one?”
“I… that’s correct.” I purse my lips, trying to steady my racing heart.
“Pretty little thing,” the other man says. “What did you say your name was again?” He laughs and it’s so full of arrogance and entitlement that I vomit in my mouth a little.
“I didn’t.”
“Raine Storm, I believe.”
So he has heard of me.
I school my expression, refusing to back down.
“Quite the name,” he adds with mild distaste.
This man oozes self-importance, the smug glint in his eyes telling me all I need to know about Theo and Millie’s father.
“For quite the girl, so it appears,” the other man says.
“Stan, let’s not scare the poor thing. From what I’ve heard she’s had quite the upbringing.”
My stomach curls with uneasiness as the two men openly leer at me. Mr. Ashworth’s glare seems full of disdain like he thinks I’m beneath him. Beneath Theo and his friends. I can feel his judgement permeating the air around us.
But his friend—Vaughn’s target—looks at me with a kind of longing that makes my stomach churn.
“If you don’t mind,” I say as politely as I can manage. “I should probably get back to my friends.”
Without giving them a chance to reply, I slip past them. But Mr. Ashworth grabs me, his grip a little too hard. My eyes flash to his, narrowing slightly.
“Is there a problem?” I ask.
“I don’t know, you tell me.”
“What—”
“Dad,” Theo’s voice cuts through the tension, and his father drops his hand.
“Theo, Son. I was just saying hello to Elliot’s date.”
I glance over at Theo as his jaw tics. “I think he’s looking for you. You should probably get back to your table.”
With a small appreciative nod, I hurry past him. But I can’t stop myself from looking back at the three of them. Theo says something to his father, the two of them in a clear battle of the wills, while Stan stares brazenly in my direction.
Creep.
I hurry back to my table and say a silent prayer for this night to be over sooner rather than later.
“What did he want?” Elliot asks me the second I sit down.
“To introduce himself, I guess.”
“Stay away from him, Raine.”
