Page 74 of Wicked Temptations

His jaw tightened. That little muscle jumped near his cheekbone the way it did when I got under his skin just right.

There he is.

“You’re such an asshole,” he said.

“I learned from the best.” I grabbed a fork and dug into the pad Thai. “Come on. Sit.”

“I don’t—”

“Jude.” I looked up at him. “Sit down before you fall over.”

A mixture of anger and exhaustion flashes across his face, and it had no right making him look that sexy. He made his way to the other chair with slow, careful movements, propping the crutches against the wall within reach. When he finally settled, he didn’t look at the food, just stared at the table like it might give him answers.

I ate. The noodles were lukewarm, and the sauce had started to congeal, but I’d been running on adrenaline and spite for the last four hours, and I was starving.

After a minute, Jude reached over and pulled one of the spring rolls toward him. He picked at the wrapper before taking a small bite.

Good boy.

“How’sSimonworking out?” His voice was flat, but there was no way for him to completely hide the snark.

“Fine.” I swallowed a mouthful of curry. “He’s good. Professional. Shows up on time, knows his cues.”

“Sounds boring as hell.”

“It is.” I tore open one of the chickpea pouches and shook some out onto a napkin on the table. “He’s dating this girl, Amanda. Calls her every break. They’re disgustingly in love.”

Jude’s mouth twitched. Almost a smile. Almost. “Yeah, I know.”

“She sent him cookies last night. Homemade. He shared them with everyone, and Jonas nearly cried because apparently she makes them with real vanilla bean or some shit.” I popped a chickpea into my mouth. It still tasted like cardboard with delusions of grandeur and too much spice, but it was addictive in a warped way. “Riley spent twenty minutes interrogating him about the recipe.”

“Did she get it?”

“Fuck if I know. I was busy getting my ass handed to me by a twelve-year-old.”

That got his attention. His eyes flicked up to mine, questioning.

“Kid interrupted our chat,” I said. “Looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘My sister could scare me better than you.’ Then walked away laughing.”

“Brutal.”

“Yeah.” I grabbed another spring roll. “His mom looked mortified, but the dad was losing his shit. I think he gave the kid twenty bucks.”

Jude’s shoulders relaxed slightly. He finally took a second bite, chewing slowly. “Little asshole probably deserved the twenty.”

“Did you see the video Jonas posted?” I kept my tone casual. “The one from tonight’s final set.”

Jude’s hand stilled halfway to his mouth. “No.”

“Really?” I leaned back in my chair. “Because Simon and I fucking killed it. Crowd went nuts. Even Parker said it was our best run yet.”

The muscles in his jaw jumped again. He set down the spring roll, fingers tight on the edge of the table.

“I haven’t watched it.”

“Liar.” I held his gaze. “You were online half an hour ago. It’s trending.”

His jaw worked. He looked away, back down at the food. “Fine. Maybe I saw it.”