Page 202 of The Villain We Tempt

“She does.”

I try, but I doubt I fully keep the smug grin out of my tone when I say it.

Nacho’s head lowers as he nods quietly. “Okay.”

“But, hey,” I shrug. “There’s other fish in the sea, pal. A lid for every pot, right?” My brows knit. “Uh, trust the process and all that good shit.”

He says nothing.

But I’m pretty confident this is a message received, even if it came at the expense of Nacho’s heart getting a little bruised up and his pants potentially a little soiled.

He’ll live, though.

“Slide into her DMs again and I’ll cut your fucking head off,” I toss over my shoulder, for no other reason than maybe freaking him out again will stop him from feeling so heartbroken.

I meant what I said, though.

Galina ismine.

33

GALINA

“Okay,I know we’re supposed to be talking aboutmeand all of my bullshit right now…” Wren sighs as she slides her sunglasses down and eyes me over the rim of them. “But you clearly have secrets. And I want to know them. To help you, obviously,” she grins.

I giggle. “Andbecause you can’t help yourself when it comes to spilling tea.”

“Um, duh?”

I laugh as I flop back in the chaise lounge. “No secrets. I’m an open book. Besides, you’re right. I only came here to talk aboutyouand your decidedly juicier issues.”

She groans as she pulls off her shades and rolls her eyes. “Please. College student has shitty breakup and drinks so much she winds up in the hospital?Boooring. Who hasn’t seenthatLifetime movie?”

I laugh despite myself, then shoot her a look. “How are you, though? Really.”

For a hot second, after Wren ended up in the hospital after The Reckless party at The Garrison, we were all terrified her parents would take her out of school. A big part of me would totally understand if they did, especially since Wren’s mom, Lark, dealt with her own addiction issues when she was young. And honestly, if they pulled Wren from Knightsblood to put her in a facility where she could truly get sober, I’d be all for it, even though I'd miss her terribly.

Luckily, though, they found a better solution.

Wrendidmove off campus. Her parents thought being right here in the thick of all the parties would make it hard for her to stay away from alcohol. But she’s not living at a rehab facility.

She’s living at Laz’s place.

On the surface, it seemsinsaneto have Wren living with Laz Kislev. Yeah, he’s friends with her parents, and we’ve known him our whole lives as like a fun uncle. But Laz isalsoWren’s ex Bryce’s stepdad, technically speaking.

Technically speaking, as in, Wren and Bryce were already together when out of nowhere, Laz married Bryce’s mother, the oil heiress Victoria Donahue. Papa won’t tell me athingabout that, but it was clearly political. Either way, it’s barely been six months since the wedding, and in a crazy plot twist, they’re wrapping up their divorce.

Meanwhile, Laz has moved into a stunning house he’s had for years as a rental property up here in Hawthorne Hollow. It’s something like seven thousand square feet, so there’s plenty of room for Wren. Not to mention, it sits right on the rocky shore just outside town.

Wren exhales heavily. “I’mfine,” she sighs. “I mean, it sucks being away from you guys, and Laz is a fuckingrule-master,” she groans. “But?—”

“Wren?”

We both twist around in our loungers on the back patio overlooking the water to see the man himself standing in the doorway the leads to the vast living room.

Laz is in charcoal-gray slacks and a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled to the elbow and a few buttons undone at the neck, both of which show off his impressive array of Bratva ink.

“Yeah?” she answers.