Page 24 of Scandalous Kingpin

She gave me an extra hug after we untangled from the other girls. “How are you doing?”

“Excellent now.” I squeezed her tight. “I can’t believe you’re here even at eight months pregnant.”

Davina let out an exasperated breath. “I’m pregnant, not dying.”

“I had to bring her or she would’ve murdered me,” Liam added, watching his wife with affection. Beyond his six-foot-something frame, Liam Brennan was one of the best-lookingmen I knew, aging like a fine wine. He had a heart of gold and treated our girl like the queen she was.

“This brings back so many memories,” Wynter said, a glimmer in her eyes as she scanned the club.

“You mean the days when you four went around robbing people?” Liam, who also happened to be Wynter’s uncle, added dryly.

“Don’t mind him.” Davina linked arms with me and we led the gang over to the bar. “Tell me what the deal is with this man you’re marrying.”

“Oh, he’s nobody,” I said with a click of my tongue.

“Aiden Callahan is hardly a nobody,” Wynter replied.

“He’s clearly nobody toher,” Juliette explained, her voice clear now that we’d stepped away from the dance floor’s speakers. I glanced a few feet past her, locking eyes with a man who spoke into his earpiece. My friends followed my gaze and glared at him, unimpressed.

Juliette marched over and I shot my friends a confused look. “What?—”

“You need to get lost,” Juliette said, shoving him away. “She needs space. Beat it, or I’ll have my husband deal with you.”

I bit down on a grin when the bodyguard followed her demand, effectively chastised. Why was she being so overprotective? I could handle my own battles.

“Oh my God,” Wynter groaned when her cousin returned to stand next to us. “You’re going to cause a war.”

“If that’s what’s needed to keep Ivy away from those Callahans, then so be it.”

Wynter’s face soured. “We have to tread delicately.”

“We’re too young to become widows,” Davina explained, shaking her head. “So, before you act, use that beautiful head to think things through, Juliette.”

She rolled her eyes to the back of her head. “But I thought we were planning to?—”

Before Juliette could finish her statement, Wynter grabbed her hand and yanked her away.

“What’s that about?” I asked Davina, who was already flagging down a bartender and ordering me a drink.

“Drink up, girl,” she announced once the bartender appeared with the saltshaker, a lime wedge, and a shot of tequila.

I frowned. “It doesn’t feel right drinking alone.”

“I would, but you know…” She rubbed her belly and cocked a perfectly shaped brow. “Bottoms up.”

Before I could slam my glass on the bar top and focus on keeping the contents of my stomach down, another shot was in front of me. Then another. I winced, choking a little as I bit down on the lime, the room spinning.

“I have to pee,” I said, laughing and feeling lighter than I had in a long time.

Davina laughed, glancing behind me. “Perfect.”

I turned to see who she was looking at but couldn’t make anything out in the amber glow of the nightclub. I slid off the barstool, slightly wobbly, and headed toward the restroom signs at the back of the club.

“There’s another bathroom there,” explained Davina, steering me to the left. “That one’ll be crowded.”

I turned down another hallway when my shoulder bumped into a hard body. I started to apologize when I found a familiar gaze sizing me up.

I stole a look at his eyes—these ones the perfect shade of blue—but before I could say anything, I felt a prick in my neck.