into my chair feeling the deflation of King leaving. The reality settles in—the heaviness of the situation I now find myself in.
My father is trying to arrange a marriage to Hunter McHale—arrogant asshole extraordinaire.
Titus King, my ex, is back on the scene, willing and ready to tear me apart—again.
I need a fucking miracle to save me.
Because Lord knows, I probably won’t be able to save myself from whatever is coming my way.
After eating as much as I could, I made my way home. Heading inside then up to my bedroom, it’s exactly as it was when I lived here as a teenager. The pale pink walls do not represent my favorite color now—the theme spreading across the entire vast space. My giant king-size bed is draped in plush pillows—the headboard lining the wall almost to the ceiling with velvet tufts. The chandelier in the middle of the room I used to think was amazing as a child, now I just think is tacky. Opposite my bed is a giant built-in desk with a bookcase. It was great for schoolwork, but honestly, it was just another place for the maids to clean. My oversized pink chair with gold studs sits on the other side of the room with my unicorn stuffed toys, which I have barely looked at, let alone played with, for years.
The bench seat under the massive bay window, however, is my fondest memory of this room. It’s where I spent most of my childhood years with Jovie, being bratty girls, talking about boys but mostly about King and how much I was crushing on him.
Then later it was spent making out with King.
Then more.
Much, much more.
Walking over to the bench seat, I fluff the cushions before sitting down, throwing my legs up like I have done countless times before, and peer out the window to the beautiful day outside. I need to call Jovie back—I hung up on her abruptly. She’s going to be wondering what’s going on. So, I pull out my cell, scrolling to my recently called numbers and hitting hers.
“Twice in one day. Anyone would assume you’re having withdrawals,” she mocks.
I can’t hold it in.
I wanted to ease into it.
But it just comes blurting out. “I saw King.”
“What? Where? When? Is that why you hung up on me?” The concern in her voice doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Yeah. At the patisserie. He saw me and came over.”
“And you told him to go to hell, then punched him in his junk, right?”
She’s serious.
I hesitate as my muscles tense. “I gave him my phone number and giggled. Goddammit! I giggled like a damn fool, Jovie.”
She’s quiet. I understand what that silence means. She’s disappointed. We made plans. We thought this day might come where I would see King again. We had this whole strategy where I would punch him and tell him how much he hurt me.
It all flew out the window the second I saw his eyes.
God, those eyes.
“You’re mad…” It’s not a question. It is an observation.
She exhales. “No. I know how much you adored him. I’m just worried you’ll fall into the same trap. You were on a penis pause when you left the clubhouse. What happened to that?”
“I’m only going to catch up with King to reminisce about old times, not fuck his brains out.”
“Mm-hmm!”
“I’m not! And anyway, even if I wanted to, he probably doesn’t. So it’s a non-issue.”
“Sav, please tread carefully. I’m not there to help you if shit backfires. You’re already fragile because of your mom.”
“Jovie, I love you, but honestly, King is nothing to worry about. I have it handled.”
“Just know… I say this shit because I love you.”
“I love you, too. I gotta go. Tell Kevlar and the kids I say hi.” I end the call feeling deflated and like maybe Jovie is right.
Maybe King is history for a reason.
Because let’s face it, the past should stay in the past.
Hunter
A Few Days Later
I’ve been working on a proposal I believe will help the families merge, but I’m not sure how it will all turn out in the end if Savanah doesn’t get on board. The merger of the businesses is a complete front. What she doesn’t know is what her father actually is, or more importantly, who.
Her father has kept his ‘other’ life hidden. She thinks their family is wealthy from François being a French mogul. In actual fact, he holds a high position in the Le Milieu, also known as the French Mob. His ties with my family go