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“Well, Eli had to leave early because there was an emergency with one of his clients, so it will more than make up for it.”
“I don’t think his date even noticed he’d left,” she mutters.
I follow Arianna’s path of sight to discover Eli’s date, Fiona, I think her name was, slipping out of the room with Chase “Jerkoff” Torres.
“He’s a shitty husband.” Arianna’s tone drips with disgust as she remembers the encounter she had with him the first night we met at the bar. “Where’s his wife?” She surveys the room.
“Suzanne found out he wasn’t being truthful about his whereabouts during the week and now she’s divorcing his ass and taking him to the cleaners. Max is representing her.” He specializes in divorce.
“Poor guy, I feel bad for him,” she says with a sigh.
“Really?” I ask, surprised by her reply.
“Nope, not one bit.” She shakes her head. “I hope Max squeezes every single penny out of him.” Her chest shakes against mine with laughter, and I join in.
Arianna’s laughter turns into a stifled yawn as if not wanting to give her sleepiness away.
“Tired?” I ask.
“It’s been a long night; I’m ready to go home now.”
“Let me say goodbye to Mom and then we’ll leave.”
“Okay,” she agrees as I take her hand in mine, and we head off the dance floor.
“Ari.” Someone from behind us shouts her name to get her attention, stopping us in our tracks.
“Julie.” Arianna drops my hand before throwing her arms around a woman I know all too well.
JuliefuckingHanson, a journalist forThe Golden Telegraph. She’s a shit-stirrer and all-round thorn in Hart Law’s side.
Max dated her for a while. It was a long time ago now and it didn’t end well. We discovered she’s pretty fucking handy with a golf club and Max never did forgive her for the damage she did to his 1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe. The one he saved every cent forfrom the age of sixteen, working for my father on the weekends to have restored.
Julie is a fucking tornado, out of control and completely unpredictable. I get that she was heartbroken when her and Max split, but while she thought they were going to settle down, get married, and have lots of babies—all the things Max did not want with her—Max was slowly moving her out of his apartment. In the end, when she refused to leave, we had to file a restraining order, one that has since lapsed.
I’m kind of wishing it was still in place. Six years wasn’t enough.
“Nathaniel.” Julie greets me with a tight smile.
“Julie.” I give her a curt nod. “I didn’t think vampires came out this early.” She always did have a knack for sucking any good vibes out of the air. “Played any golf lately?”
Julie folds her arms around herself, tilts her head to the side, and rolls her eyes. “Very cute. It’s been years, get over it.”
Arianna watches our interaction, ping-ponging her gaze from me to Julie and back again as if trying to work out what the hell we are talking about.
“Not long enough.” I push my hands into my pockets and kiss Arianna on the cheek. “I’ll grab your purse. Meet me in the foyer, and don’t say a fucking word to this one.” I point at Julie. “She’s a fucking snake.” She’s written numerous articles about us, each one factually incorrect. Who the hell knows what goes on in that twisted mind of hers.
“Nathaniel,” Arianna scolds me, pinning me with an angry look. “Julie is my friend.”
I tut, then lick my lips, annoyed that Arianna doesn’t know how sneaky and vindictive Julie is. “If you class her as a friend, you need to find new ones.”
Julie blows me a kiss then flips me the bird. “Love you too, Nathaniel.”
“Classy as ever, Julie.” I turn my back on her. “Five minutes,” I tell Arianna, and I can feel the anger bouncing off my girl.
Fuck, now I’ll have to tell Arianna about what happened between Max and Julie when Max never wanted anyone outside of the family knowing what went down between them.
Well, screw him. Arianna is one of us now.