Page 59 of Challenge Me

“Aw, you care.” When I shot him a glare, he burst into laughter. “Come on, man. You’re smitten. It’s obvious.”

“What are you, a matchmaker?”

“Not even close. I make a mess of most things I touch, but if you need one, I can introduce you to my friends.”

“I don’t want to meet your damn friends.”

“Good call. They’re insufferable.”

“Sounds like you need new ones. Luckily for you, I’m in need of a favor.”

“How is that lucky for me?”

My lips curved. “It means I’ll owe you. Once two men do a favor for each other, they form an unbreakable bond, didn’t you know?”

“Sounds gay, honestly.” I smacked him in the arm, breaking his serious expression. “Fine. What do you need?”

I tossed my keys at him, and he barely caught them. “A covert operation. The most important of your lifetime. Come out the other side successfully and you’ll have free drinks for life at Remi’s.”

“Goddamn, you’re dramatic. Almost as bad as West, if you added a bucket of immaturity to the mix.”

“Hey, I met a West once. Dude had a mouthful of blood and a killer smile. I admired the hell out of him for a split second.”

“Weird. The name must be cursed.”

“Must be.”

Chapter 16

Amir

With the game over, it was impossible to keep my focus on anything but the disaster that waited for me. I paced while Shawn said some bullshit about our loss. Sure, it sucked, but I wasn’t going to dwell on the scores too much. Once the season started, we’d all think about it night and day.

I couldn’t bring myself to shower when we were finally given the go-ahead to leave. After grabbing my bag, I rushed out of the building, looking in every direction to make sure there were no sleazy reporters lurking around. Clara would’ve no doubt noticed my family since she was committed to stalking me for the foreseeable future.

Remi had sent me a text telling me where to meet them—some restaurant not too far from the hotel. Ever since then, though, he hadn’t responded to me. He read the damn messages, so I was fuming internally over the whole thing. Being surprised, then left in the dark, was enough to drive a man crazy.

The place I pulled up to wasn’t something I would have chosen. It was rundown and the parking lot was bumpier than a rural backroad. I had no idea what kind of cuisine they served, but I assumed it would give me food poisoning.

Maybe it’d be nice to have an excuse to take tomorrow off.

When I got out of the car, I locked it twice, just to be sure. Since I hadn’t showered, it was probably a good thing he’d chosen this hole in the wall. Once I stepped inside and was hit with the incredible smell, I decided food poisoning could actually be worth it.

The three of them were at a table in the corner. Avery seemed somewhat out of place, but she didn’t look miserable while Remi talked, using his hands for emphasis. As Mal wrote in her notebook, I tried to identify how she felt. I knew my daughter well enough to assume that I’d have to pry a bit to figure it out.

Remi spotted me and said something to Avery before he got up. I started toward them, but he shook his head once. When he reached me, I noticed that he wasn’t quite as easygoing as he’d appeared back at the table. He smiled, but there was a pinch to his brows and his walk seemed forced.

“What’s stuck up your ass?” I asked.

He gave me a mocking laugh. “Don’t look so disgusted by me. There are eyes on us.”

I didn’t bother to check behind him. Avery would no doubt be assessing the situation. It was only natural, and I’d probably do the same whenever she started dating. Maybe she already was, although we’d agreed to be open with each other about it, out of respect and because of Mal. Yet, as far as she was aware, I’d broken that promise on my end, so she didn’t really have a reason to keep it.

“Why’d you bring them here?”

“Because it’s the best spot around.”

I glanced at the old walls and tacky décor. “I’ve never heard of it.”