Page 12 of If You Claim Me

“Ishould go.” I’ve accomplished what I set out to. I thought it would be harder—that she might laugh at the audacity. I was fully prepared to offer half a million a month to sweeten the deal, but apparently the idea of being married to me isn’t quite as reprehensible as I’d expected.

And now Meems’s ring is on Mildred’s finger. A perfect fit. It looks good there—like it belongs, despite Mildred being used to a modest life.

She’ll be my very own Cinderella, complete with evil in-laws.

Meems will be thrilled, and that’s the goal. I need her to believe I’m settled, and I won’t spend the rest of my life alone—that someone other than her can love me.

Mildred pushes her chair back and stands. “What happens now?”

I ruin your life for the next year. “I’ll take this letter to my lawyer and have him dig into it.” I slip the document from her landlord into my pocket, alongside the contract. “But I’ll be able to get it all straightened out.”

She blinks up at me, her beautiful, guileless, wide eyes searching mine. “I mean with us. Now that we’re engaged.”

Oh. “We’ll have to make an announcement, but you can leavethat to me.” I’ll make this as painless as possible for her. The parts I can, anyway. “After the announcement, we can negotiate timelines.”

“What will you say to Meems?” she asks.

“That we’ve been spending time together for months.”

“And you think that’ll be enough?” She tugs at the hair tie on her wrist, then folds her hands behind her back.

“Yes. She wanted me to ask you out and here we are.” I’m confident Meems will be easy to persuade.

“A date is a little different than an engagement.”

“I can be very persuasive,” I assure her. “Especially when it comes to Meems.”

She looks like she’s on the verge of panic, and I can’t have her changing her mind. Not now. Not when Meems’s happiness, and maybe even her life, is on the line. A full heart has a better chance at survival than a half-empty one.

I need to get out of here before she asks for the papers back. “I’ll call when I have an update,” I assure Mildred.

I leave her standing in her tiny, run-down kitchen and step into the hall.

As if I’ve somehow summoned him, the door to the right swings open and Flip, the Terror’s golden boy, appears. In the eyes of the team and the media, he can do no wrong. He’s like Teflon. Bad things slide right off him.

The easy smile drops from his face and appears on mine. It’s almost a conditioned response for me to derive joy from his misery. Flip has always had all the things I want: a family who adores him, friends who support him, a team that’s always backed him, a best friend who lights up everyone’s world. And even if it’s only temporary, this special piece of his world is now mine.

I shouldn’t be an asshole, but I can’t help myself. Besides, it’s what everyone expects.

“What are you doing with Dred?” He crosses the short distance and grabs me by the collar, shoving me against the wall. “I told you to leave her alone.”

My smile widens. He’s aware that we both attend Callie’s games. Maybe he even knows I sit beside her. Every time I so much as say hello to Mildred when she’s with her girl squad, Flip gives me another warning. This is how it’s been between us since our Hockey Academy days. Flip is the phoenix who rose from the ashes of poverty and struggle. I’m the spoiled, rich brat whose family bought him a pro hockey career. The joke’s on Flip, though, because my family never for a minute believed I was talented enough to make it. They expected me to come home with my tail between my legs. Even my teammates expected me to fail, yet here I am, a constant thorn in Flip’s side.

He doesn’t realize that he’s the knife shoved between my ribs.

He has always had everyone’s allegiance, and I’ve always been on the outside. Nothing has changed since I joined the Terror. I’m forever the outcast, the problem that can’t be solved.

“I asked you a fucking question.” Flip pushes into my personal space, his nose an inch from mine. “What are you doing with Dred?”

“That’s my business, not yours.” I goad him and hope he takes a swing. I deserve a split lip and black eye for what I’ve just done to his best friend.

The door behind me opens.

“For fuck’s sake.” Mildred sighs and tries to push her way between us. She gives me a look that reeks of disappointment. “Let Connor go, Flip.”

I arch a brow. “Yes, Flip, let me go.”

“You’re not helping,” Mildred snaps.