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I turn and study Cade. He’s back into his bodyguard stance–except his jaw and shoulders are tight. Is he jealous? Surely not. Nothing is going on between Trenton and me. Now or ever. “Trenton, this is Cade Hughes. We work together back in Kansas City. He’s doing some security work for me. Cade, this is Trenton Thompson, one of my long-time friends. You remember me telling you about him, don’t you?”
Cade nods and shakes Trenton’s outstretched hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Same here. I hope you don’t mind me interrupting, but I’ve got an early morning tomorrow, and I didn’t want to leave without speaking with Lola.”
“No problem. You two go ahead. I’ll stand here and look menacing.”
Trenton chuckles. “Good sense of humor. I like this guy.”
A wave of happiness rushes through me. I want all my friends to like Cade and approve of us being together. Trenton might look like a snob, but he isn’t, and I need all the support I can get–my family is going to hate us together. My hands shake. Are we together? Or am I staring down this rabbit hole by myself?
I blink. Early? What did he say? Trenton doesn’t do anything early. And on a Sunday. “What’s your rush? You don’t ever do anything in the morning.”
“Dad put me back on the board. I convinced him he didn’t have to worry about me running off with the help or marrying someone who’s only after money.”
I smack him on the hand. “Don’t. You’re starting to sound like our families.”
“They have a point.” Trenton slugs back half a glass of whiskey. “Until I met her, I would have never believed it.” Lacey. Her name is Lacey. He still won’t say her name. The big baby.
“You don’t know if that’s what happened.” I shift from one heel to the other. Fuck. My feet are killing me.
“No matter what, she took money to end a relationship with me. It’s kind of hard to say she wasn’t in it for money.”
“I met the girl. There isn’t a self-serving bone in her body. You should give her the chance to explain. Has she tried to contact you?”
“No, which kind of explains a lot, doesn’t it?” Trenton frowns and signals a waitress to bring him another glass.
“You might have gotten farther if you wouldn’t have called her a gold-digging whore.”
Trenton pouting is not a good thing. It’s time to cheer him up before he heads out, feeling sorry for himself–drinking and planning something stupid.
***
Cade
As Lola and Trenton continue their verbal sparring, I listen with one ear and keep my eyes constantly moving. With the sunglasses on, no one can tell where I’m looking. Ripley and Sloane are dancing under the twinkle lights on the terrace. Even though they appear oblivious to everything that is going on, they’re on high alert.
The other jewels were stolen when the perpetrators followed the victims into isolated places and robbed them of their merchandise. How in the hell does he do it without anyone noticing? None of the security cameras have caught anything, and the victims were no help. They were alone. The lights were out. And the jewels were taken.
Were those individuals involved with Maitland? That would explain how the gems that were forcefully taken were pilfered in plain sight. Other cases were homes broken into when the victims were at charity events. The security cameras picked up nothing in those instances either. If he has the security schematics for those homes, he could have gotten past surveillance mechanisms.
My gaze darts back to Lola. She’s a spitfire. When she told Maitland she planned to invest over six figures, I’d almost passed out. What is she going to do if he presses her for the money? Her father refuses to give her a dime until she returns home and marries this Trenton character.
What am I doing? Her father will never approve of me–of us. Her eyes dance as she teases Trenton to cheer him up. Damn it. She’s everything good in life, and I can’t walk away. She’s going to have to throw me out on my ass to get rid of me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch movement. My back tenses and the tightness of my skin puckers my scars. Senator Harris is on a mission. The one man I’d hoped to avoid is hellbent on joining our group. He sweeps past without giving me a second glance.
“Lola, where have you been hiding?” His booming voice draws the attention of several of the other guests. “Your father assured me you were here, but I couldn’t seem to find you. You weren’t hiding from me, were you?”
She quickly embraces the man. “Not at all. You know I wouldn’t leave without seeing you. It’s been too long.”
Trenton excuses himself to locate his family as the other guests return to their previous conversations.
“Can I offer to get you a drink? Or something to eat?”
Like she can’t get her own food. My teeth grind together. What’s wrong with me? I inhale and concentrate on relaxing my muscles. Ripley sticks up his thumb and forefinger, fake shooting me and winking. Asshole.
“Thanks, Andrew. I appreciate the offer, but I’ve reached my quota for the evening. I won’t fit in this dress if I indulge too much.”
