Chapter 17

Christian bursts in before Arrick can say anything else, despite looking like he’s trying to find the words. Throwing his arms around my shoulders from behind and kissing me on the cheek by the ear in a rather sloppy way. I try to shrug off the wet, slobbery kisses as I catch Arrick frowning and turning away, that Carrero death glare making a real play on his face. He looks out across the room behind him, catching Nathan’s eye, and walks off toward him without another word. I watch him go, knowing this is out of character for him, being so rude as to walk off without even a goodbye or a hello to my friend. It goes against all his normal good grace and manners that he is famed for. I grit my teeth to push everything down and throw on my winning smile as I turn to Chris. Acting like this hasn’t bothered me in the slightest, hoping he didn’t notice how rude Arry was. Jenny strolls up towards us, from the direction of Nathan, with a beaming smile and rosy glow on her cheeks.

“You