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“We’re not,” I assured him.
“You’re not supposed to be in here without a jacket,” he told me. He calmly put down his spoonful of pate, then eyed Jenny with distaste. “Andyouaren’t supposed to be in here at all. Members only. No illegals.”
“I’m not illegal anymore,” Jenny said, grinning at him. “In fact, I am your son’sbona fidegirlfriend. He officially asked me.”
Lewis Bryson raised his eyebrows and turned to me. “What the hell do you want, son? I already told you if you’re dating a hooker, you’re dead to me.”
“Yay,” I said, “that’s perfect. Because you’re dead tome. Mom would be so ashamed of the way you’ve been acting.”
“Don’t you dare drag your mother into this?—”
“She’d be so ashamed that you didn’t even give Jenny a chance,” I said, the words coming out in a rush. “She’s the best person I know. Mom would’ve loved her. She would’ve welcomed her with open arms and made her part of the family.
“This is the first time you’ve ever met her, and yet you’ve treated her with nothing but disdain. I could never be ashamed of her, but I am ashamed ofyou. When Mom died, I swear you forgot what it meant to be human. What you did hurt Jenny, Dad. There’s no excuse for it. And there’s no excuse for how you’ve treated me for years.”
“I don’t need an excuse. I’m protecting my family, our fortune?—”
“Not anymore, I’m afraid. You’re being investigated for bribing Ramos, and the feds are getting involved. Apparently, this is part of a pattern with you. They might get you on RICO charges, Dad. Do you know what that means?”
My father’s face was turning red. His brows knitted together. “You better not have screwed me with this. I will ruin you?—”
“But you can’t because your assets are about to be frozen.” I gloated at him. “And guess what? Your sole heir is going to be named administrator of your estate.” I waggled my eyebrows at him as I grabbed Jenny’s hand. “Stick that in your pate, old man.”
I held my head high as I marched Jenny out into the sunshine and away from the formal darkness of the Bromfield Club and the solo, sad diner in its once bustling restaurant.
JENNY
“We are absolutely goingto kick their ass,” I said. “They’re fromMiami. They don’t even haverealicein Miami. We’re going to step on their throats!”
“Have I told you lately that I love you?” Cole asked, putting his hand on my thigh and squeezing it.
“You have. You tell me all the time, and I love it.” I leaned over and kissed him, loving the taste of my boyfriend, who was also my best friend and the best guy in the whole world. “Now, can you please get me some nachos and a Diet Coke? I need my snacks to focus!”
Our seats were in the owner’s box at theThunderversusPanthersgame, and I was so excited. It was the first game of the season, and we were absofuckinglutely going to step on our opponents’ throats. Hockey players from Miami,pfft.
This was shaping up to be the best week of my life. We had the game tonight, and I wore my favoriteThunderhoodie. We had reservations atAlfonso’sfor dinner tomorrow night with Shirley and her husband, Mike, and then we had the rehearsal dinner for James and Audrey, and their wedding was that weekend. We would be hanging out with Todd and Evie and allthe usual suspects—except for Celia Preston because her bony ass was still hiding from the paparazzi. She still got invited to the wedding, though. I tell you, that Audrey was too classy for her own good sometimes.
My auntie Theresa was still in jail. No one had paid her bail, could you imagine? So hopefully, she was rotting in her cell block with all the other traffickers and people who had done bad shit. Maybe some other inmate had made her their bitch.
A girl could dream, right?
Cole’s father had fled to the Cayman Islands, but apparently, they were extraditing him or some shit. All his assets were frozen and were being watched over by none other than Cole himself.
Life was good. Life was unexpectedly, ridiculously good.
The game started, and Cole came back with my nachos. I scarfed them down, guzzled my Diet Coke, and cheered my freaking head off. At the end of the first period, the Jumbotron started showing pictures of couples kissing. This was literally my ultimate dream to be on the Jumbotron kissing Cole at a Thunder game.
“Oh my God, Cole! You have to kiss me!” I turned to him, but he was gone. “What the heck?”
But he was on the floor in front of me, doing what I had no freaking clue. “What the heck are you doing? It’s the Jumbotron kissing camera—we’re missing it!”
Cole looked up at me, and I saw that he wasn’t fumbling on the floor for some weird reason. He was down on one knee.
I blinked at him. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw us on the Jumbotron.
“Jenny,” Cole said, bringing out a small black box. “You are the love and the light of my life. I can’t imagine living without you for one day—one second. Babe, will you marry me?”
He opened the box and revealed a boulder of a diamond engagement ring. Its sparkles were so mesmerizing I couldn’t speak for a moment.