Wicked Dirty (Stark World 2)

He paused a moment, his back to her, then forced a smile as he turned, ensuring he wiped away any trace of his melancholy thoughts. "Yeah?"

"You did good." She passed him her phone, which was open to a picture of him and Frannie and Laine.

He bit back a wince. For the last thirty minutes, he'd managed to not think of her at all, and now there she was, back in his head again. The way she laughed. The way she felt.

Most of all, the way she made him feel.

"She's a great girl."

"You should bring her to the SCF brunch. That would be another nice photo opp."

He shook his head. "I played the game. The vultures got their pictures. Frannie met her, blessed her. As of now, I officially have a girlfriend. One who doesn't like the spotlight and who works long hours."

"Lyle." His name was delivered like an order.

"No," he said, be

cause on this he was holding his ground. He needed to cut ties. Needed to stay clear. A woman who snuck into his life as quickly and deeply as Laine had could end up spinning his entire world out of whack. "We're good right now. Just let it be."

He could tell she didn't want to, but before she could argue, Frannie strutted over. "You should have brought Laine," she said. "She probably would have enjoyed seeing this."

He ignored the way Evelyn's eyebrows quirked up in a definite told-you-so kind of way. "She's not big on the limelight," Lyle said. "She's home having a lazy Sunday."

"Well, it's your call, obviously. I just thought it would be a nice time to announce your engagement to the press."

He froze.

He just plain, fucking froze.

"What do you think you know, Frannie?"

Her eyes went wide, her expression genuinely horrified. "Oh dear. I didn't realize it was still a secret. I mean, I figured if Rip knew, then most everyone did. Especially since you two don't talk that much anymore."

"Rip told you that Laine and I are engaged?"

"Last night at the gallery."

"He knew her name?"

"I think so." She frowned. "I mean, he asked me who you were with, and I told him. Then he nodded and said that he thought so. He hadn't met her yet, but he said that the two of you were engaged."

He clenched his fists at his side. "What else did he say?"

"That it was a whirlwind, but that you were gloriously happy and telling all your friends." She lifted a shoulder, pouting a little. "I was hurt, actually. Considering everything, I thought you would have at least mentioned it to me."

"Actually, Rip's just being an asshole," he said, working damn hard to keep his temper in check. "We're not--"

Evelyn coughed loudly beside him.

"--ready to announce yet. Not officially, anyway."

He caught Evelyn's eye, saw the subtle rise and fall of her shoulders.

"Oh," Frannie said.

"A few close friends know, and I was planning on telling you after this madness," he added, wondering just how long his nose was going to grow. "Someone must have told him without thinking."

"Well, now I feel doubly bad. I just assumed it was out there, and when I was talking to a group of media guys, Gordy asked if I knew about the woman you were with last night, so I told him."