“You know what? Tell him I said thank you.”

“That’s my girl,” Angie says with a wink.

Texas, here I come. Let’s hope I make it out with the cage I built around my heart still intact.

Kai

Shane: Brooooo come on I’m available

Shane: You owe me anyway for not telling me you know Olivia freaking Harding

My jaw clenches as I reread Shane’s messages for the third time. Shane is one of my best friends and one of the few people, outside of my family, that I would trust with my life. The others being my other friends—Lincoln, Isaiah, and Dominic. They have been my extended family, my brothers, since I was twenty-one years old. I don’t know what I would do without any of them, but you know what I don’t trust Shane with? Olivia. He may be the sweet guy but he’s also a manwhore. He isn’t a huge soccer fan but he watched a game with me once years ago and saw Olivia, igniting his celebrity crush. Have I wanted to knock his ass out several times as he raved about her “hotness”? Yes. Mainly because hot is a dumbass word and calling Olivia that is an insult to her beauty. It doesn’t even make the top five list of words that should be used to describe her. Gorgeous, stunning, incandescent, even ethereal would be more appropriate. Have I ever shared with him my history with Olivia or that I even knew her? Hell no. What would I even say? It’s not like Olivia and I were on speaking terms.

I asked Olivia to let me know when she was flying in so I could assist her, but she insisted I not pick her up from the airport. Stubborn-ass woman. In my frustration with her, I ended up telling Shane about her being my new client and how we grew up together. He’s been harassing me to let him pick her up from the airport ever since. I’m tempted to let him because I don’t want her having to deal with getting a cab or Uber with her crutches but fuck him. I don’t want him drooling all over her.

I type out a quick response to him.

Me: I owe you nothing

He takes no time at all to respond

Shane: Hey you think she’ll sign something for me? What’s her favorite dinner food?

Shane: Better yet what’s her favorite breakfast food? *wink emoji*

I almost launch my phone across the room.

Me: You’re not taking her to dinner and you’re damn sure not making her breakfast

Shane: Mmm I think that should be her choice, no?

I’m going to kill him. I should hit up Lincoln’s wife, Ciara, to find out the best ways to dispose of a body. She writes thrillers for a living and she kills people off in some interesting ways in her books.