Zack (Blue-Collar Billionaires 4)

The thought catches me by surprise. My side? But I realize that whenever we’re in her bed, I always take the left side. A few months ago this level of familiarity would have freaked me out. But with Jo? It seems so natural. Of course I have a side. Of course my shoes are under her bed. I belong here. It all just feels so right.

Gabe walks over to Josie’s desk. There’s an entire stack of pictures on top. I already know they’re all of me. He flips through them, his movements more agitated every second.

“Are you kidding me? I asked you to convince her it was a bad idea. Not volunteer yourself as fucking tribute!” His face twists into a sneer as he drops the pictures back onto the desk. “I guess you saw your opening and took it, huh?”

It’s a struggle not to lash out. But both of us being angry won’t make this situation any easier. “That’s not how it went down.”

He shakes his head. “I know exactly how it went down. You waited until the first moment she was vulnerable to take what you wanted.”

I freeze in place. It’s hard work to control my breathing because it feels like I’m almost hyperventilating.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You think I’m blind, Zack? I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at her lately.”

My skin boils under the heat of his censure, shame lighting me up from within. All this time I thought I’d hidden my little obsession for Jo from everyone. Turns out I was about as covert as a freaking billboard.

“We’re adults, Gabe. It’s none of your business.”

“The two of you don’t even get along! She’s confused! It hasn’t even been a month since she broke up with her boyfriend. She doesn’t know what she wants right now.”

“That’s unfair. She knows exactly what she wants. And it’s me.”

“You know what, I’m done.”

The look of disgust on his face almost takes me to my knees. Growing up we got our fair share of those looks from others but we always had each other. My brother was my partner in crime, my confidante and my best friend. I never thought that he would look at me like I’m lower than trash.

He stops in the doorway and points his finger at me.

“I can’t believe you’d take advantage of her like this. You’re the last person I would have thought I’d need to protect her from.”

chapter twelve

†

JOSIE

Sasha follows me downstairs to the kitchen. We glance at each other as Gabe’s voice gets louder and louder. It’s hard to make out what he’s saying but it’s pretty clear he’s pissed. I hear the words fucking tribute and cringe. Sasha glances back at the stairs and then crosses her arms.

Geez, this is awkward.

“You don’t think they’re actually going to fight, do you?” Sasha asks.

“I hope not.”

Sasha looks unsure but then pastes on a bright smile. “They’re intelligent men. I’m sure they can handle a disagreement without resorting to violence.”

Part of me wonders if I should tell her about all the times they’ve thrown fists in the past. Sometimes I used to think they fought just to let off steam. I decide to keep that to myself since that likely won’t make either of us feel any better. All I can do is try to distract us so I turn my attention to our reason for being in the kitchen.

“I’ll get the bacon started if you don’t mind mixing up the batter.”

“Of course. However I can help.”

She accepts the large mixing bowl I hand her and then I line up the pancake mix, eggs, milk, and the butter. She cracks the eggs in the bowl one-handed with an expert twist of the wrist.

“Measuring cup?” she asks.

I point to the cabinet behind her. After she grabs it, she starts measuring out the different ingredients into the bowl. The voices above us get louder and louder.