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“Who the fuck is that?” the white suit groans from the ground.

“Stay down, rich boy,” I growl as I whirl around. I loom over him and point at Stacy. “She’s mine.”

“What?” Stacy gasps. “Wh-who…?”

“We’re out of here,” I snap, grabbing her wrist.

She stumbles as I drag her away.

“You’d better have a damn good explanation—! I know that man!”

“Yeah, I bet. He seemed real friendly.”

“Not likethat,” she hisses. “He’s a client at the bank!”

“Move.”

Her heels click on the concrete as I pull her towards the gate we came through. We’re almost there when Monica’s voice cuts through the mess.

“Are you two completely brain-dead?! You just ruined a perfectlynormalparty!”

She continues screaming but I ignore her. She’s Raul’s problem, not mine. Glancing over my shoulder Raul looks like he’s about to say something stupid. Like I was supposed to keep him calm or some shit.

“Shut it,” I bark.

And I drag Stacy through the gate.

7

STACY

God, I’m an idiot.

I built it up in my head—every second of it.

A perfect plan for the perfect night. All I had to do was get Monica to come with me, and the rest would fall into place.

I had it all perfectly planned out in my head. If Monica came, Raul would come too. And Raul never shows up without Ray—not when Sam and Erica already had plans. They’d show up and Ray would see me talking. He’d get jealous, grab me by my hand and demand I come with him.

Laughing, kissing in my car, maybe pull over somewhere along the old highway, unable to keep our hands off each other. It was supposed to be a storybook night—spontaneous, charged, and reckless in the best kind of way.

That was the plan. But I should’ve known better—nothing in my life ever sticks to the script. Instead of passion and sparks, I got chaos. Violence. Screaming. A complete disaster.

I couldn’t believe it. He’d acted like a damn animal. No plan. No flash of bravado in a calculated display of alpha male claiming. Instead I got him barreling in like a bull in a china shop. Smashing, striking people, knocking a guy into the pool and threatening Steve Wilkins. I'll be lucky if I have a job when I get back.

I’d wanted him to show up. Of course I did. That was the entire plan. Even Monica thought it would go okay. She was more worried about Raul who was the hot-headed one of the Crawfords. Not Ray, who was always the peacemaker. The one who never lost control.

Except he did.

Shame coils in my belly—hot, tight, relentless. I want the ground to open up and swallow me whole. I want to disappear and not just from North Haven, but from everyone who knows me—especially Monica.

God Monica. Sweet, loyal Monica. What a mess I’ve made. Monica’s been my person since we were twelve. Loyal to a fault, loving with a fierceness I’ve never deserved. I know she’ll still love me even after this, but I don’t want her to see me unraveling. It would break her heart and how can I inflict this on her? After the scene I caused? And the fight between her and Raul? That’s my fault too.

No. Not me. Ray.

He’s the one who ripped the night to pieces in a violent storm of drama and ego. Monica, bless her, lost it. I didn’t think it was possible. In all the years I’ve known her she’s never raised her voice in anger. The stress of finals week didn’t make it happen. Her boss throwing her under the bus last spring didn’t.

But Ray Crawford was more than she could take.