The Perfect Stroke (Lucas Brothers #1)(31)

As much as I don’t want to, I pick her up and quickly walk to the entrance. I set her down and she’s barely hit the floor before she wobbles, picking up her long dress and walking into the entrance. I can do nothing but follow, especially when a wet Riverton and his buddy come up behind us.

I look immediately for CC, just needing to make sure she’s okay. The only thing on my mind is to get my girl and get the f*ck out of here. I should have known with women it is never that easy.

“Claudia Cooper, you did this!” Cammie screeches, and everything seems to come to a halt as if in slow motion—all the music, the talk, and the chatter. Hell, even the servers stop moving, and all eyes go to CC who is standing there looking beautiful and entirely too close to some f*cking man. Cammie pretty much resembles a drowned rat.

Shit.





I can’t deny the glee that runs through me as I hear Cammie’s familiar and ultra-annoying shriek. I’m talking with Jason again and I school my face to show nothing but dismay. Years of dealing with shit like this makes it easy. As if on cue, I gasp when I turn around. When I see Cammie standing there like the drenched rat she is, I have to admit, it’s not that hard. Behind her is Gray and he’s wet, but he doesn’t look mad. No, there’s something else in his eyes—almost humor. Behind him are Cammie’s dad and some other man I’ve forgotten the name of.

I turn my eyes back to Cammie, taking in her ruined hair, the running mascara, and her dress… oh my. Wearing no bra was definitely a bad fashion decision; getting that white material wet made the dress see-through. Whoops.

“Cammie! Oh my God! What happened to you?” I ask, doing my best to lace my voice with disbelief and shock. Gray coughs in the background and I refuse to look at him because he might see through me—you know, as easily as I can Cammie’s dress.

The girl really should invest in support bras.

“You know exactly what happened to me! You did this!”

“I did? I hardly think I can control the weather, Cammie. We should get you some towels or something to cover you up. I’m afraid you’re flashing the whole club, sweetheart.”

Behind me, Jason laughs as well as a few others. Damn, did I fail to keep my tone from being sarcastic there? Did I give myself away?

Gray takes off his jacket, which is really wet, and puts it over Cammie, hiding her ta-tas.

“Is my daughter right? Did you do this, Claudia?”

My head jerks around. God, how I hate this man and the fact that he thinks it’s okay to talk to me in that tone. I’m taken aback for a minute because honestly, David Riverton has not spoken to me in years. Years. But while I’m trying to form words and swallow down the bitterness I have where this man is concerned, Gray tries to defend me.

“Really, David, I doubt CC could turn the sprinklers on for the club. For one, she’s only visiting here. Do you really think she could even know where the controls to the lawn are?” Oh, look. He’s so cute defending me. It almost makes me feel guilty for trying to drown Cammie. Almost.

“Besides that,” Jason pipes up, “she’s been with me the entire time, and I can assure you that she didn’t have time to do anything other than make me a very happy man by agreeing to dance with me.” Aww, Jason! Covering for me even though he probably suspects that I did, in fact, turn on the sprinklers—which, by the way, unless someone finds the controls, have turned the green grass into grass with mini-rivers running through them. I look up at Jason and smile as he puts his arm around my shoulders in support. It kind of shocks me, but the small growl I hear from Gray shocks me more. I look at him and can clearly see jealousy shooting out of his eyes. Inside, the little girl in me is screaming: yes!

“You’ll have to wait for that dance. I need to go home and change, and since CC is with me, she’s going too,” Gray says, his voice hard.

“She can stay if she wants. I’ll be glad to escort her home. After all, if I had been her date, I wouldn’t have left her all alone in a room full of strangers,” Jason says. Yikes, what have I gotten myself into?

“I want you gone!” Cammie says like the spoiled child she still is.

“I don’t. Really, David, you need to control your daughter. Making these wild accusations against my friend and now demanding she leaves? It’s all very childish and unprofessional,” Jason says, and if I wasn’t afraid Gray would tear his head off his body, I just might kiss him right now.

“Yes, well…” Cammie’s father begins, looking very uncomfortable. Jason might not be on par with Riverton Metals, but his mother and father definitely are, and Jason isn’t exactly a slouch. Gray must get tired of all of this—especially Jason. He comes over and very securely pulls me into him and away from Jason. He locks his arm around me, keeping his hand on my hip. He’s warm and it feels good to be in his arms again, even if he is wet. How does a man get to be so bone-snuggling hot when he’s wet? That should be impossible, but Gray feels like a heater right now—my own private heater. Mine. One that Cammie can’t have. Who knew I could be territorial?

“I’ll be taking CC home, since she’s my date for the evening, but I think she’s at the very least owed an apology.”

Geez! Okay, this might be taking it too far.

“What?” Cammie shrieks again. Seriously, that woman’s voice. I’m surprised the windows didn’t shatter. “I most certainly will not apologize! I don’t know how, but I’m sure she did this!” Time to pack it up and go home. Not because I want to back down, but because I’m standing entirely too close to David Riverton and my knife is nowhere around with which I would geld him.