Maya threw her head back and laughed — the kind of laugh designed to draw an audience.
"PIERCE Group?" She pressed a hand to her chest like Sloane had just told the best joke of the evening. "Declan Pierce is your boyfriend? Honey. Do you hear yourself?"
Every eye at the table swung to Sloane.
She didn't blink.
"I know it sounds unlikely," she said, voice smooth as glass. "But there's really no accounting for taste. He just—" She lifted one shoulder. "Likes me."
The table went uncertain. A few exchanged glances. Because the thing about a lie delivered without apology is that it starts to feel
like the truth — and Sloane wasn't flinching, wasn't laughing, wasn't giving them anything to grab onto.
Then Tyler's voice cut through the noise.
"If he's your boyfriend—" He leaned forward,
