Page 88 of Devious Obsession
The answer is yes, of course. Love is this fragile little thing, wrapped in trust and respect. If one of its shells cracks, the love can break. Or—sometimes it just means that love becomes more jagged.
Fucked-up shards of love, cutting everyone and everything.
That was her and Dad.
“Is this your family, Aspen?” Violet asks from behind me.
I step aside. “Yes, sorry. These are my sisters, Dakota and Lennox. My mom, Mari, and…”
“Stephen O’Brien,” he introduces. “Pleasure.”
“Same,” Violet answers. “That’s Thalia, who you might already know, and Willow.” Violet’s gaze travels over my siblings and then my mom. “We were going to go to the Japanese place down the street. Do you all want to join us?”
“Oh, no, we have reservations at a steak house,” Stephen says.
I got used to him being… normal, I guess? Like, over the summer he would wear jeans or shorts and t-shirts, he’d do work in his yard or bike ride with my sisters. Hell, he even took my mother on a fishing trip once, decked out in waders and those wide-brimmed hats.
But now he’s completely in his element asthe rich guy. The expensive, perfectly tailored suit. The haircut that probably cost more than my entire outfit. His gleaming watch. And Mom’s dressed in a different manner than I’m used to, as well. She went for black pants and a caramel-colored sweater, with layered necklaces. But her hair is curled, her makeup flawless.
Her demeanor is different, too. Less skittish.
I eye Stephen, chewing over what Steele told me on the bus. That he wants dirt on his own child to get him out of college and out of hockey. To force him on a path he doesn’t want. It sounds achingly familiar, and it makes me loathe Stephen just a little bit more.
“Aspen, are you joining us?” Thalia asks.
“We didn’t think we’d see you before the game, honey,” Mom says, her expression contrite. “We could adjust our reservation—”
“No, no, it’s okay.” I step back, closer to my friends. “I’m going to have dinner with them. We’ll see you after the game.”
They nod, and Stephen herds my mom away. The girls follow a bit more slowly, eyeing me with confusion.
“That was awkward,” Thalia whispers. She loops her arm around mine. “Are you going to put that on or just hold on to it all night?”
I sigh and shake out the jersey. It smells like him, which is probably the best—and worst—part. After what happened on the bus, thelastthing I need is to have him on my mind every second, thinking about his hands on me.
Jeez. I need to get a hold of myself.
Slipping the jersey over my head feels like I’m being invaded by Steele from all sides. And it’s not unpleasant either. In fact, part of me never wants to exhale.
Did he wear it before he gave it to me?
Or spray it with his cologne?
I wouldn’t put either past him. Especially since his smell is so visceral, it drags up every lust-filled thought. And memory.
“Ready,” I say, smiling at my friends.
Friends. Plural.
Haven’t been able to say that in a while. But for the first time in too fucking long, I feel like it’s a hundred percent true.
* * *
Me
How’s your dinner meeting?
Steele
