I curse while pulling up at the restaurant. The cab is also rolling up, depositing Tria at the front door, and I watch as she blows me a kiss and gives me a wink before going in. Maybe I should just fold. If she doesn’t give in by Saturday, I will. Even though I’m enjoying the spirit of this game.
Who am I kidding? I’m ready for this asinine game to be over with.
“My fist collided with his face a few months ago after he ran Tria off the road. He left her alone for a while, apparently taking time to cover his ass and keep us from finding him again. Keep digging and keep me informed.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll see if I can’t backdate that. If you could send me the exact date, that will help with my search.”
I make a note to do so before hanging up, and then I climb out of the car. Tria left a few minutes before me, and the cab driver was hitting on her the second she walked out. She’s dressed to kill, but it’s only to slay me.
Corbin walks out just as I near the entrance, and he nods for me to follow him. Curious, I do as he silently beckons.
“What’s with the cloak-and-dagger exit?” I ask as he leads me around to the side where no one’s at.
He sighs while running a hand through his hair.
“Wren’s mom called and asked Rain if she would take Edward’s boxes to him. Apparently he still had work files in his study at their house. You know Rain’s history with her father, so I was hoping you could ask Tria to do it instead.”
Immediately, I feel defensive. “Yeah, well, Tria’s relationship with him isn’t any better than Rain’s.”
“She was daddy’s girl for eighteen years. Rain has never had a relationship—”
“Exactly,” I bite out. “She loved him, was close to him, and then he cut her out of his life because he’s a coward that can’t face someone after he disappoints them.”
“You’re seriously suggesting that Rain go instead of Tria? You’ve been dating Tria for a few weeks, but Rain has been like our sister for years.”
My anger starts to burn under my skin, radiating off me in waves that has Corbin taking notice.
“Rain has plenty of people defending her and looking out for her. Tria has me. Get me the address. I’ll take him his fucking stuff since he can’t even find the balls to go get it himself.”
Corbin takes a step back, obviously surprised by my anger, which only pisses me off more. Did he really think I’d just put this off on Tria without any concern as to how she’d feel about it?
“Dude, sorry. Didn’t realize things were that bad between them. It’s no big deal. I’m sure Dane will do it.”
“No. I’ll do it. Don’t mention this to Tria, because it’ll just put her in a sad mood. She’s got enough shit to deal with since Mercer is being a pain in the ass.”
Corbin nods slowly. “I’ll tell the others not to mention it.”
After running my hand through my hair, I walk away from him and head into the restaurant. Tria’s eyes meet mine immediately, and her smile forces me to put on a mask, denying my anger the right to surface. Edward has two great daughters that he can’t appreciate because he’s too busy wallowing in the miserable bed he made for himself.
“Where’d you two disappear to?” Maverick asks as he sips on his beer, eyeing us like we’ve got a secret to tell.
“Just had some business to sort out,” Corbin says, using a tone that tells Maverick something is up but to drop it.
Maverick heeds the silent warning and flips the subject. Corbin sits next to the empty chair that is next to Tria, and I sit between them, playing it cool for the crowd.
“Kode, you should probably change with Corbin,” Dane says, frowning when he sees me next to the girl that is driving me crazy in too many ways.
Tria bites back a grin before using her menu to cover it, trying to act as though she’s not secretly enjoying my brother’s disapproval. Corbin snickers before taking a sip of his beer, and I ignore Dane while ordering a drink for myself. Before I even think about it, I’m ordering one for Tria, too, which earns a few eyebrow raises.
I shrug it off, pretending as though I didn’t just slip up. Tria doesn’t acknowledge it. She engages in a conversation with Rain about one of her new books, and we all groan when they start talking about the mushy stuff.
Even though it’s not an actual date, it’s nice to be sitting beside her in public. The only way it could be better would be if I could just kiss her without causing a few heart attacks. I’m sure there’d also be a few hell-froze-over comments in there, too.
By the time we finish eating—and drinking profusely—the table starts getting louder, and Tria turns to me, keeping her voice low.
“Are you okay? You’ve been quiet.”
She’s the only one who has noticed that anything is wrong. Other than Corbin, but only because he knows what’s wrong.