The Favor

I let out a long breath and rolled back my shoulders.

Heather began arguing with her parents, pointing her finger and jutting out her chin.

Dane crossed to me, eating up my space. He slid a hand up my back and curved it around my nape. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “Glad it’s over. Can we go?”

He swiped his thumb over my mouth, as if to wipe away any trace of Owen. “Sure. Once I’m done with that bitch over there.” He made a beeline for Heather.

Uh-oh.

She paused in ranting at her parents when she saw him coming. Her eyes widened as he stepped right into her space.

“You went too far,” he said, his voice low but like a whip. “You knew what would happen if you fucked with my wife again, but you did it anyway.”

“Again?” echoed Wyatt.

“Say goodbye to your blackmail money, Heather,” said Dane. “Because that money well is going to dry up the moment the man’s wife finds out about the kid’s existence.”

She shook her head, her eyes panicked. “You won’t do anything. You won’t.”

“Blackmail?” Wyatt repeated. “Will someone please tell me—” He cut off at a hard nudge from Melinda, who was staring at the house.

Tracking her gaze, I saw Junior standing on the doorstep, his headphones hanging around his neck. He glanced from person to person, taking in the tension and seeming uneasy.

The others then noticed him, but it was Melinda who hurried over to Junior and tried leading him back inside with little success.

“Let’s just go, Dane,” I coaxed, crossing to him. I put a hand on his back. “I’m hungry and tired and my head’s starting to throb again.”

His gaze slid to me, dark and hard, but then cut back to Heather. “Don’t even think about turning up to the reception on Saturday,” he told her. “You’ve burned every chance that Vienna asked me to give you—you’re now officially out of them.”

Chapter Thirty

Looking up from my e-reader the next evening, I sighed at the cat sitting in front of me on the bed. She was staring at me, twitching her tail. “He’ll be here when he’s done in his office,” I told her.

Dane had been very insistent the first night he brought her home that Blue didn’t sleep in the room with us. But after hearing her meowing and scratching at the door for what felt like hours, he’d given in. She didn’t actually sleep near us, though. She made herself comfy on my closet shelf. Understanding she’d claimed the spot as her own, I’d moved her bed in there.

When Dane had earlier headed upstairs to his office after dinner, I brought her to my room. I’d fed, petted, and played with her before she disappeared into the closet for a nap. But, yeah, she was apparently tired of me now. She wanted her hero.

I went back to my e-reader, needing to wind down a little. I felt completely wired. Up until now, I hadn’t been nervous about the reception. I mean, it was just a party. But now that it was only two days’ away, I felt constantly restless.

I wasn’t nervous in a bad way. It was the kind of nervousness you felt during the run-up to something important. There was a sprinkle of anticipation and a thread of excitement all mingled in with it.

It only made it better that Heather was officially uninvited. Neither Melinda nor Wyatt had objected or been upset with Dane’s decree that she wasn’t to attend. Which was a very good thing, because nothing they could have said would have made him change his mind. They’d just stared at their daughter, their eyes sad.

Heather had stormed out of the house, dragging Junior with her. She hadn’t been bothered that her invitation was revoked. No, she’d been pissed that her parents didn’t put up a protest. And it was then I realized why she’d claimed to be dating Owen. It wasn’t merely to hurt me. She’d wanted Dane to kick up a fuss so that her parents would intervene. She’d expected them to defend her and toss Dane out of the house, knowing I’d have left with him. And then, bingo, she’d have finally caused a divide between me and her parents.

It was a good plan. Her parents had always defended her in the past, so she’d had every reason to be certain that they’d do so again. Hell, even I hadn’t expected them to speak up last night. Although I was glad that they did, I was sad that they’d been put in a position where they had to do so.

They were hurting now and worried she’d keep Junior from them out of spite. She probably would, but only until she needed a babysitter. Then she’d appear at their door and act like she was doing them a favor by letting them see their grandchild. Really, she’d just want him off her hands for a short while.