Calculated Vendetta

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So this was what it felt like to be pinned to the wall.

The moment was surreal, as though the past three months hadn’t happened and he’d somehow time warped into his old life, with Casey by his side and Meredith and Phil as his friends.

It was one thing to run into Meredith. She was merely Phil’s wife, not a key player in everything that had happened three months ago.

But Phil? Phil was another story. One he definitely didn’t want brought up in front of Casey. After the way the other man had acted the night Travis and Casey had split, he couldn’t even look at the friend who had once walked with him through some of the hardest moments in his life.

But the way Meredith and Casey were both watching him now, they expected him to start talking.

He cracked a smile and crossed his arms, digging his fingernails into his palms. He’d honestly never expected to make this introduction. “Nothing to tell. Meredith and Phil, and yes, this is Casey.”

“Just Casey? Not my friend Casey? My acquaintance Casey?”

Man, Meredith was pushy. She couldn’t let this go? Couldn’t stand there like her husband and be silent? No, she couldn’t. He’d known her since high school in Florida. Even then, she was a talker driven by the need to know everything. Meeting Phil at North Carolina State and settling into marriage with him hadn’t dimmed her nosiness.

Casey’s cheeks reddened, and she looked at the table as she extracted her hand from Meredith’s. “Some of Travis’s former teammates are helping me with an article I’m writing.”

True, but he hated the way her voice quieted, like she wasn’t quite worthy of being here unless there was a practical reason. He hazarded a glance at Phil, who was watching Casey with an expression Travis couldn’t read.

Phil caught Travis looking and scratched his chin, his fingers crisscrossed with fresh scratches and bruises. “I remember Travis saying you were with Public Affairs. What’s this story on?”

“Someone I interviewed a while back gave me an idea for something else to chase, so I’m pursuing some leads.” Casey’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes as she tilted her head and let her gaze fall to Phil’s fingers. “You look like something chewed you up there.”