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  “Nor will he be in the future,” Mason concluded.

  He watched me as he spoke, and I saw a flicker of emotion there. I wanted to ask if they’d found out anything on their golfing adventure, but Matteo was here. Mason didn’t want him affected by our battles, so I held my tongue. I’d ask later.

  We all stood and looked across the club’s lobby. Just on the other side of some glass doors was the pool veranda, already filled with people from my old school. No one spoke, but Mason started forward. I followed, as did Nate and Matteo. We followed our leader into what I was beginning to think of as enemy territory once again.

  As we reached the last door that separated us from them, their conversations began to stop. It felt like one by one, everyone was turning to watch us enter.

  I couldn’t blame them.

  Mason reached behind him, and I slipped my hand into his.

  Mason and Logan were gods to them. There were legendary rumors and stories about the Kade brothers, and even though Mason and Logan had gone to public school, I knew first-hand how much everyone had wanted to be like them or be with them. Even now, eyes widened, mouths opened, and people were almost gawking at Mason.

  This was his football celebrity. They would’ve had something akin to this reaction before, but it was more now.

  Nate leaned close, whispering, “I forget about his football status, you know?”

  I nodded. “I know what you mean.”

  A part of the crowd shifted, and Adam appeared first, with Becky in hand, followed by Mark. My stepbrother stayed back as Adam approached with his hand held out.

  “Mason, glad you stopped by.”

  Mason frowned, looking at him with narrowed eyes. He didn’t move to shake his hand. Unease slithered down my spine. This felt staged. Something about Adam’s approach seemed off. He had an odd look in his gaze.

  I looked at Becky, saw the fear there, and knew whatever Adam was hoping to accomplish, it wasn’t good. I stepped forward, intentionally bumping Adam’s hand aside.

  “What are you talking about? My stepmother is throwing this party, remember? You’re acting like we weren’t invited.” I leaned closer, but made sure everyone could hear my words. “It’s more the other way around, Adam. Something like your engagement.”

  I felt bad seeing the hurt flood Becky’s face, but knew the others would speculate about what I meant. That was what I wanted. We weren’t beneath Adam. He wasn’t going to push us that way.

  An unreadable mask came over his face, but I didn’t care about him. I stepped toward Becky. “Can I talk to you?”

  Her eyebrows pulled in before she nodded. “Okay.”

  I led the way back to the front lobby, but I didn’t stop. I kept going, veering into an empty conference room.

  “Sam? What’s going on?”

  I moved around her, shutting the door. “Is it true that Adam’s going into politics?”

  “What?” She hugged herself before her mouth set in a determined line. “How is that any of your business?”

  But she knew what I was going to say. Just like she’d known the whole time.

  I nodded. “So he is.”

  “Why are you asking?”

  “Tell me one thing. Was it your idea for me to be at your engagement party?” I waited a beat, watching the questions flit across her features. “Or Adam’s?”

  “It was mine.” She looked away. “I might’ve mentioned it a few times.”

  That told me everything I needed to know. “Becky, don’t marry him.”

  I reached for her hands, but she pulled them away.

  “How dare you?” She took a step back.

  “I dare because you knew this is what I would say. That’s why you wanted to reconcile. He wanted me, Becs. Not you. He plotted to get me, over and over again. That’s why Mason hates him. And now this, your engagement, him going into politics—you wanted me back in your life because I’m the only one who’ll tell you the truth.”

  She turned away, still hugging herself, but she made no move to leave. She was listening to me, and I had to think it was because I was saying what she wanted to hear.

  I softened my voice. “He’s going to cheat on you.”

  She sniffled. “How do you know?”

  “Because you know.” There were windows in the room that looked out over the pool. Adam wasn’t watching us, but he kept glancing at the doors that led to the lobby. I noticed Jessica and Lydia next to him. Jessica reached for his hand, and he turned toward her.

  It was a flashback for me; only instead of Adam, it had been Jeff.

  I couldn’t help myself. “Is he already cheating on you?”

  “What?!” She whirled around, saw what I was watching, and shook her head. “No.” She sounded a little stronger now. Her small shoulders rolled back, and she lifted her head higher. “But she’s been trying. I’ll admit that much.”

  “He’s not sleeping with her?”

  She shook her head, standing next to me. “I installed a program on the computer so I can monitor all his emails and social media pages.”

  Um. Holy shit? I felt my jaw falling.

  “She’s been private messaging him, but so far he’s not responded. He’s just been polite, as he’s been with all of them.” Her gaze lingered on Lydia before moving on to Miranda and Amelia. It stayed the longest on Amelia.

  “She’s the one you’re worried about?” I felt so proud of her. I couldn’t explain why, but it was like my little sister had grown up before my eyes.

  “Yeah. She’s the one he shares the most with.”

  “They were friends in school.”

  “Not that great of friends. It changed a year ago. They worked on a project together at college. It’s been…different since then.”

  “What about Miranda? She dated him.”

  “She’s in love with Peter.” Becky shook her head. “I used to worry about her, but she only talks about how great Peter’s been in their messages. She asks about me, too. Amelia’s never brought me up.”

  “That says a lot.”

  “I know.”

  “You just needed me to say it, didn’t you?”

  She let out a deep breath, her eyes downcast. “I needed someone to say it. I’ve felt horrible thinking it, but yeah. I needed someone else to voice the same concern. I’ll be fine now. It’s like you gave me permission to doubt the man I love.”

  “You’re going to still marry him, aren’t you?”

  She turned away from the window, looking me square in the eyes. Her gaze held mine steadily. “Yes. I’m not going in blind, and I do love him. I always did. I chose him over you. I turned my back on a good friend, and I’ve felt regret ever since. Marrying him is a small way of making it right. I know that probably doesn’t make sense, but he can provide me with a good life until we divorce, if that’s what happens.”

  “You’re going to keep monitoring him?”

  “Oh yeah. If he leaves me, he won’t know what hit him. I’ll have years of evidence.”

  I reached out and took her hand. This time, I meant it when I said, “I’m glad I have your friendship again.”

  She squeezed my hand so tightly. “Me, too.”

  We were heading back to the pool when Malinda stopped us as we crossed the lobby. “Hi, Becky, honey.” She touched my hand, still beaming at Becky. “Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. I’m so happy for you and Adam.” She looked at me. “Sam, can I have a minute with you?”

  “Uh, sure.”

  Becky hugged Malinda before she went back outside, and my stepmother pulled me in the opposite direction Becky and I had just come from.

  “What’s going on?” I asked her.

  She didn’t answer, just increased her pace. She wound back outside, but we took a hidden path behind the pool. Palm trees and shrubbery blocked us from view. I heard raised voices, but couldn’t place them until we rounded a corner.

  Standing in a small group outside an entrance to the country club’s tennis cou
rts, with a bunch of golf carts behind them, were James Kade, Steven Quinn, Adam, and Mason. There was no sign of Matteo or Nate.

  I leaned forward. “What’s going on?”

  She wrapped an arm around my shoulders and whispered. “Your father is coming to help with the situation, but I thought it was a good idea to have a woman present. I can’t stay. I have to get back to the party or someone will start wondering if something’s wrong.” And on that note, she pressed a kiss to my forehead, then hurried back.

  I approached, hearing Mr. Quinn yell, “It’s my son’s engagement party. I can enter if I want to.”

  Oh, goodness. He was drunk. He flung an arm in the air and would’ve hit Mason if he hadn’t ducked. Instead, Mason caught it, twisting it around Adam’s dad’s back and pulling it tight.

  Ignoring Mr. Quinn’s yelp of pain, he said quietly, “All of Adam’s friends are celebrating over there, and yes, it’s your son’s party, but you’re drunk, sir. I don’t think you want their memory of Adam’s party to be about your drunken antics. Or do you?”

  He bucked against Mason’s hold. “You’re just jealous. Your future’s been mapped out since before you were born, and you can’t stand how happy Adam is.”

  I didn’t move closer. I wasn’t sure if I was the best female presence for this job.

  Mason shot Adam, who looked exasperated, a dubious look.

  “Dad.” Adam reached out, touching his dad’s shoulder. “That’s not the case, and you know it. Yes, I’m very happy with Becky, but Mason’s happy with Samantha.”

  “Samantha.” Mr. Quinn gurgled out my name. “That’s the girl, Adam. You should’ve been with her. I like your little Becky, but she doesn’t have the breeding Sam Strattan does.”

  I wasn’t hearing this. There was no way.

  “Dad!” Adam barked out.

  Mason’s eyes took on a murderous glint, but he didn’t say anything. He continued to hold Mr. Quinn’s arm behind his back.

  “Steven,” James waded in. “You had too much whiskey playing golf. Let your son call a car for you and go home. Sleep this off.”

  “Oh, yes. Breeding.” Mr. Quinn’s smile turned into a leer. “You know what I’m talking about, James. I bet she’s like Analise in the sack—”

  No. No. No.

  I was rooted in place. I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t even lift my hand to cover my ears. So I closed my eyes.

  “Steven!” James yelled.

  “Dad!” Adam screamed at the same time.

  “Hot…writhing…” Quinn’s tone was warm, gushing, and I felt sick again. He kept going. “She can buck you like a wild mustang, if you know what I me—”

  My eyes flew open as I heard a punch.

  Quinn would’ve fallen if Mason hadn’t been holding him up. After a second punch from James, Mason let go. Adam grabbed his father, and Mason moved to shove his own father back.

  “Dad,” he said. “Stop.”

  “When did you sleep with her?” James strained against Mason’s hold. “When?!”

  Quinn looked oddly calm. He wiped his mouth and looked at the blood on his hand. Then he laughed. “Wow. I can’t believe—James, you punched me.”

  “When did you sleep with Analise?”

  Adam held his dad back, but he didn’t need to. Steven Quinn wasn’t moving. Adam looked over his shoulder, his eyes closed in pain at James’ question.

  “Not when she was with you,” Quinn said.

  I heard another set of footsteps behind me. I knew those steps. I’d been listening to them all my life, and I reached out when the man who raised me drew near.

  “Dad,” I said, my voice a hoarse whisper. “Don’t.”

  “It was when she was with Strattan,” Steven continued. “She was with almost all of us. You had to have known, James.”

  James was shaking. If Mason hadn’t been holding him back, he would’ve been on Adam’s dad again. Adam and Mason looked strained and tense, alert for any other attacks. No one was paying my dad or me any attention.

  “I don’t care if it was when she was with David. You don’t talk about her like that!” James yelled.

  My dad turned and left, as silently as he’d come.

  I looked back, and Mason met my gaze. When he saw David’s retreating back, he nodded. That was all the permission I needed. I hightailed it out of there, hurrying after my dad. I ran across Nate on my way, and ignoring what he started to say, I pointed to where I’d come from.

  “Mason needs your help. I gotta handle something of my own.”

  “But—”

  I was already gone.

  I found my dad in the parking lot, weaving through the vehicles to find his. He wasn’t even waiting for the valet. “Dad! Wait.”

  He was close to his truck when he turned around, keys in his hand. “Honey, I’m okay.”

  I searched his face, unsure if that was true or not. I saw some strain, but for the most part, he looked like his usual loving self.

  I swallowed a knot in my throat. “Are you sure?”

  “I made my peace with what your mother did long ago. I left because that fight isn’t mine anymore. Whatever Analise did in the past, it’s in the past. I have you, and I have Malinda. That’s all I need.”

  “And Mark.”

  “And Mark.” He nodded. “You’re right. I’m proud to have him as a son.”

  David Strattan wasn’t my biological father, but he was my dad in every other sense of the word. I realized now that neither of his children was biological.

  I frowned. “Dad…” Could I ask what I wanted to ask? Was it even my business?

  “Sam?”

  “Can Malinda still have children?”

  “Oh, Sam.” He pulled me in for a hug. “I know what you’re thinking, and I don’t need children of my own. Your stepmom and I have talked about children, but if we decided to have them, we wouldn’t go the biological route. We’d adopt. She went through menopause early. She can’t have any more children.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  He shook his head. “It’s not for you to worry about. It’s not even for you to think about. There was a time I wanted my own child, but I had you, and those were the days when I worried whether Analise would even let me keep you as a daughter. You were enough for me. Then I was lucky and got Malinda and Mark, too. I have a daughter and a son, and two more stepchildren with Mason and Logan—four if you count Nate and Matteo. I’m very blessed.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I am.” He hugged me again. “You should go make sure Mason’s okay. Steven’s a nasty drunk. I have no doubt he’ll start ribbing Mason about you. That’s what he does. He searches for a person’s weakness and pushes on it. He already knows Mason and James’ weaknesses: the women they love. That was another reason I left. If Quinn had started in about you, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

  “Oh.” Well, fuck. New alarms sounded in me. “Yeah, I should head back then.”

  But when I got there, the two fathers were gone. Adam and Mason remained, and Nate right next to them.

  I approached, unsure if I was still needed. “Everything okay now?”

  “Sam.” Adam’s chest rose with his head. The regret in his eyes mixed with anger. “I’m sorry for what my dad said. I didn’t know you heard any of that until Nate came out, but he was drunk. No. That’s no excuse. He… I know you think I was coming at you guys earlier, but I wasn’t.”