“I think Vick’s the only one not able to see it.”
I sucked on my teeth. “She sees it. She just has her daydream glasses on to filter out the glare of his every annoying move.”
Gloria nodded as we pulled up to Stonewood Tower. “I suggest you dispose of those glasses of hers before she ends up in the wrong man’s bed for good.”
The woman slid out of the SUV to leave me with one thought.
Victory Blakely had turned into a reality I wanted.
And what I wanted, I got.
21
Vick
Jett: You set up a bar and music in the office? Wasn’t the haunted house enough?
I smiled.The man was fuming but an epic party meant drinks, music, dancing. We’d piled back into our SUV to make our way to Stonewood Tower. After Jett had disappeared so quickly, I slid out of his jacket, uncomfortable that I wanted to be in it even when he didn’t want to be anywhere near me.
Yet, I sat there smiling at his text and smoothed my hand over the jacket on my lap before I responded.
Me: Don’t sabotage it by standing there looking unapproachable. You gave me one night to motivate this team. It has to be fair.
Jett: This is getting ridiculous.
Me: Oh, just you wait. ;-)
I tried to curb my excitement. I imagined tons of people would show up at the Tower even if they didn’t opt in for the haunted house.
Steven pulled me close in the SUV. I waited for an explosion of feeling or even a small spark. But my stomach didn’t flutter, my palms didn’t sweat, my heart didn’t beat any faster.
Steven wasn’t Jett.
That was a good thing, I told myself. But my body didn’t agree, it recoiled from him much like he’d deserted me in the haunted house.
I tried to romanticize the moment. I smoothed my hand on his chest. “I love you as Peter Pan.”
We were the cute couple finally. After our date, we’d decided to go as a pair to the party. Tinker Bell and Peter Pan had been my idea.
Steven smiled at me so wide, I could practically see his molars. Was his smile always this cheesy, this docile, this boring?
I glared at Brey, her words echoing in my ear. She’d planted the idea in my head, planted my mediocre reaction. I snuggled closer to him and pushed my long ponytail to the side.
"You look fantastic, Vicky." His chuckle burst out of him. "Jax, I have to wonder if Jett’s fine with the ladies dressing like this for a work event?"
Jax eyed him for more than a second. Jaydon chuckled to himself while typing on his phone, no doubt very aware of his brother's overprotective nature with Aubrey. “My brother shouldn’t be looking at my girl’s outfit and neither should you.”
Steven’s smile died while Brey face-palmed in embarrassment. “No, I just meant …”
“Stop while you’re ahead, bro,” Jaydon chimed in, still texting.
I grabbed his phone and turned it off. “Don’t be a dick.” He sighed and slumped back into his seat. “We’re dressed to make jaws drop, Steven. You saw people at the haunted house. We’re all fine.”
He looked my outfit up and down again. For the first time, his incessant need to please the Stonewoods and be part of the pack irked me. I wiggled in place, suddenly uncomfortable.
Jaydon leaned into my ear and whispered, “Don’t, Tinker. You look hot as hell, woman. Perk up.”
I gawked at him, concerned Steven had heard, but Jaydon rolled his eyes like he didn’t care at all.