“You all talk about me, planning my life as if I’m not in this very room with you.” I level a hard stare at each of them. “I’m tired of this bullshit.”
Vance props his chin on a fist, a hint of pride glinting in his eyes.
“If we didn’t want you involved in the discussion,” Landon says, “we wouldn’t have asked Hugo to bring you along.”
“See? That’s the problem!” My voice erupts, echoing off the walls. “You think of me as a tagalong. I’m not a fucking tagalong. I’m a human being, Landon, and I should have a say over my own life.”
“Then have your say.”
“There has to be someone else in this tower?—”
“There’s no one else. You already know this.”
“What about Miles? He wants nothing to do with me.Perfect. So find something hedoeswant.”
“That’s not happening,” Liam cuts in. “He’s not getting anywhere close to this, or to you.”
“Fine.” My voice climbs. “Then don’t rig it at all. Let’s just end this.”
Sebastian will make it back in time. He has to.
“You could do that.” Oliver turns away from the view of the rough sea. “Though I imagine the legacy members would be fascinated to hear what’s been planned by all of you.”
Is he bluffing? His eyes give nothing away, and that’s the trouble with Oliver—I can never be sure of the lines he’s willing to cross.
“Then tell them.” I throw my arms wide. “Maybe the legacy members will want to fuck me too.”
Landon chokes on his drink. Liam goes pale. Ford loses a fight with a grin, and Vance…
Well, he seems impressed.
But it’s Hugo who speaks up. “No one is telling anyone anything, Novalee.” He actually glares at Oliver, which stuns me. “I know you don’t want to hurt her like that.”
“He’s right, I don’t.” Oliver closes the space between us. “So stop being dramatic. Everyone here can see what’s between us. If I can accept it, so can you. We’re all adults, so what are you so afraid of?”
My eyes burn hot. I can barely acknowledge it to myself, let alone say it out loud. “Don’t make me do this.”
He swallows hard, never breaking eye contact. “We need a moment alone, gentlemen.”
“Out of the question.” Liam lets go of the chair and takes to pacing.
“It’s not your call.” My words stop him mid-stride. “It’s Hugo’s.”
“Actually,” Hugo says, shaking his head, “it’s your choice, my queen.”
What a foreign concept, a decision that belongs to me.
So foreign that I’m not prepared for it. But God help me, as reckless as it seems, I’d rather face Oliver without an audience.
Because he’s right—they all see it. I’m not hiding a damn thing.
“Five minutes alone,” I say, then pull in a deep breath. “That’s it.”
Liam rounds on my brother, objection at the ready, but Landon heads him off.
“Let them have a moment. She’s a big girl, Chancellor.”
Oliver tilts his head toward the hall, and I slip past him without a word, my heart a frantic drum in my chest. The relief of leaving that crowded room hits me immediately, though it’s short-lived.