She turns to me, pouting. “But he’s so pretty.” Her attention gets pulled back to the fight when Axe, the other headliner, takes a cheap shot at Rampage. “Rampage, get your head out of your arse and finish him like a Chinese dinner.” She pauses. “A vegetarian one because we love animals.” She stops, turning to the group. “We love animals.”

  Dad, having just scoffed half a burger in his trap, gives her a thumbs up, nodding. “You tell him.”

  She nods, leaning over the balcony. “Rip him to shreds,” she screams.

  Rampage glances up, amusement written all over his face before he goes in for the next round.

  “Babe, really? Stop drooling all over him.”

  She wraps her arms around my neck before sitting down on my lap. “This place is awesome. I feel so alive right now. I could totally take one of them on.”

  “And win,” Dad adds, egging her on.

  That look is one I’m becoming all too familiar with. “No, Charlotte.”

  Her gaze goes over my shoulder. “Harriet!”

  She dives over me, nearly twisting her ankle to reach Harriet. “Charlotte,” she squeals, reaching for Gabby next to her.

  Gabby fist pumps the air. “Partayy,” she yells.

  Charlotte giggles. “Where are the rest of the girls? How come you are here?”

  “We heard you were coming tonight so Woods hooked us up with standard tickets.”

  “Shouldn’t you be downstairs?” Charlotte asks, frowning.

  Harriet waves us off. “Like Woods could keep us from finding you. We just had to wait for the right time to sneak in.”

  “It wasn’t hard,” Gabby comments.

  Charlotte reaches for their hands, pulling them closer to the table. “You have to meet everyone.”

  After introductions, people begin to shuffle around to make room for the girls to sit down next to Charlotte.

  Charlotte takes a look down at the fight that is nearing the end. “You’ve got this, babe.”

  Harriet turns to me. “Did someone make her do a shot?”

  I grimace. “Yeah, why?”

  Gabby sighs. “Never give her a shot. She always gets boisterous and loud on shots.”

  Harriet slaps the table. “Horny on wine.”

  “Cranky on cider.”

  “What about Vodka?” Dad asks, grinning.

  Both of the girl’s shoulders drop. “You really don’t want to know.”

  “She’s happy,” I comment, and both girls seem pleased with the answer. My eyes widen and I shoot across the chair to reach for her, pulling her back into her seat. “You’re gonna fall.”

  “That lolly sucker tried to punch him even after that guy that keeps getting in the way called it.”

  “That’s the ref,” I remind her, my lips twitching. I pull her into my lap. “You having fun?”

  “The best; you’re the best,” she tells me, leaning into me before her gaze narrows on the empty plate in front of Dad. “That’s not an animal, is it? We discussed this and animals are our friends.”

  “The cow had it coming,” he tells her, his lips twitching. “I’m saving the environment.”

  She shakes her head in disappointment. She doesn’t really care that he’s eating meat. I’ve seen her family eat. I think she just likes playing him up.

  “Are you staying for dancing later?” Harriet asks.

  Charlotte’s eyes light up. “Dancing?”

  My shoulders shake as I lean in, pressing a kiss to her neck. She shudders, cuddling closer. “If you don’t get us kicked out before then.”

  She pumps the air. “Yes.”

  Polly, a wife of one of Dad’s friends, leans forward. “Make sure you come to the next one. These things were starting to get boring but you have made this night enjoyable.”

  Charlotte’s chest puffs out. “Thank yo— Oh my God, is that Rampage?” she yells.

  I see him walking through the crowd toward us, now wearing a T-shirt and cleaned up from the fight. I stand at the same time Charlotte does. More to keep her from pouncing on him than anything.

  “I’m your biggest fan,” she yells. “You really knocked him out.”

  He grins, giving me a chin lift. “I heard.”

  “Holy fuck balls,” Gabby sighs. “Why am I gay again?”

  “You love vagina,” Charlotte answers, sighing dreamily at Rampage.

  His gaze moves past Charlotte to Harriet, who was staring dazedly up at him. “Good fight, man.”

  “Thanks, although my manager said you were paying more attention to your missus.”

  Laughter bubbles from my chest. “She got a little excited.”

  “You know him?” Charlotte asks.

  “Who do you think trained him?”

  Her eyes widen. “That is so hot.”

  Hiding his smile, Rampage takes a step forward. “Thank you for the cheering tonight.”

  “Was it a little much?”

  “My opponent asked how much I paid you to cheer me on.”

  Charlotte chokes. “Dude, I can totally talk to him for you.”

  I pull her back when she goes to walk off. “Maybe not.”

  “Or not. I’m good with my mouth.”

  Eloise sidles up next to Rampage, Natalie next to her. “Fancy seeing you here,” Eloise drawls, running her finger down his arm.

  He rebuffs her touch, his gaze going to the woman behind us. From a quick glance, Harriet is trying her hardest not to look, but from the way her body is coiled tight, she has noticed him.

  “I’m a fighter,” he deadpans.

  Natalie laughs before her gaze comes to me. “Drew, could I have a moment to talk to you somewhere privately please. It’s important.”

  Natalie can be manipulative but something in her tone has me nodding. I glance down at Charlotte. “Can I trust you not to fall head-first over the balcony if I leave?”

  She waves me off. “Of course not. Rampage can keep me company.”

  I roll my eyes, turning to him. He holds his hands up before I can speak. “Mate, her hair caught my attention but as soon as Neil said she was yours, I had to come up and see for myself.”

  “She has that effect on a lot of people.”

  “Believe it,” he mutters, his gaze going back to Harriet.

  “Yo, Charlotte, did you get to try the three-ninety-six, turbo, triple twist vibrator?” Gabby yells.

  Charlotte’s nose scrunches up. “It looked a little confusing with all the dials.”

  Harriet snorts. “She never tries them. She only picked it because it came with that fluffy feather whip and had glitter on the control.”

  I chuckle, leaning down to capture her lips. “Be back in a minute.”

  When Eloise goes to leave with us, I turn to Natalie. “I thought you wanted to talk privately?”

  “I do. Eloise is family.”

  “So is my dad and extension, everyone in this family.”

  Charlotte leans on my arm. “Eloise, if you want, we can find that number?”

  Dad chokes on his beer. Eloise’s smile is brittle. “Rampage can keep me company, that is, if Drew doesn’t get pissed at him again. He can be overprotective.”

  “He wasn’t angry about you,” Rampage answers before I can.

  She waves him off. “You don’t have to lie to protect her,” she sweetly tells him.

  I snort, pushing away from them. I jerk my chin at Natalie, and head to the back hallways. The music is drowned out the minute the door closes.

  “If you are here to bad mouth Charlotte, you can forget it.”

  She places her hands on her hips, narrowing her gaze on me. “Do you think it’s really wise to date her? She’s a stripper, for god’s sake. She’s embarrassing, Andrew. She’s done nothing but make a mockery of you tonight and you let her. How do you think Mum is going to react when she finds out?”

  “Like I care what she says,” I snap. “She’s having a good time. No one but you has had a problem with it. She’s not uptight. And for the last time, she’s not a stripper.”

  “She goes to Tease.”

  “She was doing research for a book.”

  She stomps her foot. “People are going to think we are common.”

  “I am common,” I growl, and she wisely clamps her lips shut. “You stand there trying to belittle Charlotte, and yet, she has worked her arse off to get where she is. She owns a library, and is a successful writer from what she has said.”

  “Eloise has been in your life since you were kids. You slept with her, Andrew. How can you just keep brushing that aside?”

  “I’m going to stop you right there,” I tell her, my voice low, menacing. “Eloise was a drunken one-night stand.”

  She takes a step forward. “Andrew. Give her a chance. Don’t waste your life on someone like that girl out there. She’s immature and beneath you.”

  “See you later,” I gripe out, wishing she were more like Alison. It would be easy to like her then. She makes it so hard that there are times when I wish I didn’t have to be in the same room as her. The only reason she gets away with half the crap she says and does is because she’s my sister.

  “Andrew, wait,” Eloise calls out, coming in from the other door. I groan, running my fingers through my hair.

  “You’ve been planning this all night, haven’t you?” I declare, narrowing my gaze on Natalie.

  “Just hear her out.”

  “No.” I turn to leave, but her next words have my hand pausing halfway to the door.

  “I was pregnant with your baby.”

  I slowly turn around, not saying anything. Running her hand down her black sparkly dress, she tries to appear nervous when I know she’s anything but. Natalie gives her a warm smile, prompting Eloise to take another step forward. She flutters her lashes.

  “I know I should have told you. I kept it from you and I can understand why you would be angry,” she tells me, her voice shaking. “I tried on so many occasions, I swear, but you never gave me the chance. I’m hoping you’ll give me one now.”

  “Andrew, please, hear her out,” Natalie pleads. “She wants that back. She can give you that back.”

  Do they both think I’m stupid?

  Nervously, Eloise glances away from Natalie. “She’s right, Andrew. We can work this out. We are meant to be. Me falling pregnant proved that.”

  When I still don’t say anything, Natalie blows out a heavy breath. “Andrew, I know she kept it from you, but can you blame her? You blow hot and cold.”

  “Are you done?” I ask her, not even sparing Eloise a glance.

  Natalie gasps. “Andrew.”

  Eloise takes her arm. “It’s fine. He needs time,” she tells her before turning to me, her expression fake with anguish. “I know this is a lot to dump on you, but when you are ready, I’m here to talk. Okay?”

  Does she think talking in a sweet voice will butter me up, will make me believe the crap coming out of her mouth?

  And the tears.

  I inwardly snort. “Mum is going to hear about this,” Natalie threatens.

  I stop myself from storming out, knowing Mum will believe the shit coming out of her mouth. I narrow my gaze on her. “You believe this?”

  Natalie sniffs. “I was there for her.”

  “Really?”

  “Andrew, this girl has you being an insensitive prick. How can you treat a long-time family friend like this, someone you shared something so special with?”

  “Because the only thing I remember from our encounter was pulling off the used condom in the morning,” I snap, and she pales, stepping back.

  “We had sex more than once,” she argues.

  “No, we didn’t,” I tell her, my voice firm. “I might not remember much from that night, but I remember passing out blind drunk, which explains why I still had the condom fucking on.”

  “We had sex, Andrew. I was pregnant. I lost our baby at eight weeks.”

  I think back to that year. I had argued with Mum because I switched to fitness and business. She had been so mad and I went out and got shit faced. The same year, I had to stay with Dad because it had become too much at home. Eloise, I have no clue. She isn’t on my radar now, and she certainly wasn’t then.

  “If you lost a baby, I’m sorry, but I wasn’t the father. I don’t appreciate you telling me I was either.”

  Her expression tightens. “You are only saying this because of her.”

  “Why are you so threatened by her?” I ask, my words biting. “Even with her out of the picture, you still wouldn’t stand a chance, Eloise. I don’t like you like that. At all.”

  “You’ll see we belong together,” she argues, tears gathering in her eyes. “Everyone wants us together. It’s just you who won’t see it.”

  I throw my hands up. “Because it’s only my decision that matters. Just because someone says it should be ‘so’ doesn’t mean it should be. I’m sorry you’re upset, but I’m done here.”

  “Andrew,” Natalie yells.

  I stop with my hand frozen on the door handle and turn to her. “Don’t, Natalie. I understand her being your friend, but you’re my sister. You more than anyone should know when the bitch is lying and stand up for me. Instead, you enable her lies to continue, and in turn, could have tarnished my reputation.”

  She has the gall to look ashamed. As she should. “Andrew.”

  I leave, slamming the door closed behind me. I head back to the table, coming to a stop when I find it empty.

  “What the fuck?” I whisper. I glance around and on the other side of the room, is Charlotte, leading a conga line with nearly every fucker in attendance behind her.

  She waves from the other side of the club and I chuckle, my mood lightening. Dad breaks off, coming to stand beside me. “If I was—”

  “Not even then,” I warn him, knowing what he was going to say.

  He chuckles. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  I watch her draw closer, her smile lighting up her entire face. “Best date ever.”

  No. She is the best date ever. She moves past, and I arch an eyebrow at Rampage, the bulky, muscled guy in line. He shrugs, grinning. “And here I was afraid of tonight being boring,” he yells.

  He moves past, and when I spot Howie, one of the event organisers who is in his eighties also in line with his wife, I chuckle. “Bring her again next time,” he calls out.

  Dad claps me on the shoulder. “They love her.”

  I turn, arching an eyebrow. “How could they not?”

  He tilts his head side to side. “You got me there,” he replies, his forehead creasing. “What did Natalie want? And don’t think I missed that bitch following behind.”

  I sigh, running a hand through my hair, and quickly run over everything that was said. “I just don’t get why she would take up for her like that.”

  “I do.”

  “What?”

  “It’s no lie Eloise gets around. She’s a snake waiting to strike, but I’ve been hearing rumours.”

  “What rumours?”

  “Her dad has threatened to cut her off if she doesn’t hurry up and get married. He wants a male heir for his business and he’s too old for any more kids.”

  I snort. “And she’s picked me?”

  “They’ve all picked you,” he points out. “But like I said, she gets around, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she wants you to give her a chance so she can get pregnant.”

  “To trap me,” I surmise. “Natalie has always teased about her becoming a real sister eventually. Now I know why.”

  Dad shudders. “That woman is made of ice,” he tells me, before laughing at the dance Charlotte has them all doing. “Unlike that one. She’s all warmth.”

  “And she’s mine,” I warn him, grinning. I leave him laughing to go and get her. All these fuckers have had her for long enough.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHARLOTTE

  Tonight has been filled with so much laughter. My face aches from being unable to keep the smile off my face. And there’s a fine shine of sweat beading on my chest and back from all the dancing I had done.

  To top the night off, people are interested in my library. The fighter pauses, glancing up from his phone. “And this is on Main Street?”

  “It is. We have various books on the subject, and if one of them isn’t the right fit, I can order some in for you. It’s not a problem.”

  “What are you doing now?” Drew asks, his arms snaking around my waist.

  I lean back into him. “Trevor needs some coursework books. I have them. I was just telling him studying in this light isn’t good for the brain.”

  Pressing his lips against my shoulder, I feel him smile. “Yeah, sorry for taking her time up, man,” Trevor announces, yet his focus is still on his phone. “Thanks again, Charlotte.”

  Dev and his wife, Michelle, step forward. “And thank you for those tips. We’ll get on it.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Once they leave, I turn, placing my hands on Drew’s chest. His gaze flicks away from the couple who have just left us, to me. “What tips?”

  I lean in. “They heard about the sex toys from someone at our table and asked what I’d recommend so I recommended this book at the library. It has some amazing tips on how to spice things up, and oddly enough, it’s the same list I went by first to see if we had, in fact, done every position.”

  His lips twitch, but the normal happiness isn’t there. Ever since he headed off with his sister earlier, he has been tense, not fully here with me, and I’m beginning to worry it’s me. Sometimes I can get carried away and I’ve been told once or twice to grow up.

  “And have we?” he asks.

  “Well, if you include destination and then a certain area on my body, then no, we didn’t do it all.”

  His pupils darken as he pulls me flush against his chest. “Maybe we should rectify those.”

  “Hmm, maybe,” I tease.

  He leans down, pressing his lips to mine. I press against him, clutching his jacket. When he pulls back, his pupils dilate. “Tease.”

  I shrug. “Are you having a good night? I feel bad it’s our first official date and I’ve been wandering around.”

  He brushes my hair off my shoulder. “As long as you’re having fun, I don’t care. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed tonight.”