As I watched the exchange between mother and son, a cold smirk tugged at my lips. Whether Jared decided to look or not, that was his business—I wasn’t going to meddle in his karma anymore.

Quinn, who’d been shoveling food into her mouth, suddenly looked up at me and asked, “That guy Jennings—did he ever ask you about me?”

I froze with my fork halfway to my mouth. So Quinn still wasn’t over Ryan.

Yvonne blinked her big, dark eyes and asked, “Auntie, are you talking about Ryan?”

Quinn nodded. “Yeah, that guy. He’s so ungrateful. I was offering him a shot at an easy life, but he turned it down. Serves him right to be stuck working like a beast of burden.”

Jared finally realized his sister had a thing for Ryan. His expression turned cold as he glanced at me, then said sternly to Quinn, “You don’t have a shot with him. Stop fantasizing.”

“Who says I don’t? If he’s willing to be with me, the Holcomb family is his golden ticket,” Quinn replied, flashing Jared a cheeky grin. “If he becomes my boyfriend, you could totally get him a cushy job, right?”

Honestly, I didn’t even know what to say anymore.

Jared, deadpan, shot down Quinn’s fantasy. “Who knows, maybe one day he’ll be Yvonne’s stepdad. You really think that could happen?”

“What?” Quinn slammed her fork down on the table, glaring at me. “Victoria, did you reel him in?”

I just smiled. “He’s just a guy, not some fantasy character—how could I ‘snag’ him?”

“You… you’re using my brother’s money to keep a pretty boy? That’s disgusting,” Quinn snapped. She’s always been all brawn and no brains, never one for deep thinking.

Yvonne shot me a mischievous, gossipy look. “Mom, are you really with Ryan now? What about Nathan?”

Sally, who’d been in a good mood when she came in, now looked irritated. She dropped a piece of meat onto Yvonne’s plate, gave Jared a look full of disappointment, then turned to me. “Victoria, how could you do this? Even going after your sister-in-law’s crush? That’s just messed up.”

Quinn glared at me, her expression a mix of anger and hurt, like I’d stolen Ryan from her just to be mean.

“Did you divorce Jared because you were holding a grudge? Because we kept the kids, and now you’re just taking it out on us by going after Quinn’s guy?” Sally’s voice got sharper with every word. “You were the one who wanted the divorce, and now you’re just stirring up trouble.”

I turned to Jared, who had been silent this whole time.

It was like someone flipped a switch in Jared. Even though he clearly didn’t want to, he finally spoke up for me.

“Mom, this isn’t on Victoria. Ryan’s the one who’s into her, that’s the only reason they even talk.”

Quinn totally lost it.

“Jared, are you for real? She’s spending your money on some guy, and you’re still taking her side?” she fumed.

Jared raised an eyebrow at her. “Ryan’s not just anybody. The Jennings Group is huge, both here and overseas. Compared to them, we’re not even in the same league. Get your head out of the clouds.”

“What?” Quinn’s face went blank and she slumped into her chair. “He’s just a guy who’s a bit better looking than average…”

“Try reading a book for once instead of making a fool of yourself everywhere,” Jared said, his voice cold.

Quinn’s face drained of color, as if a terrible memory had just hit her.

She buried her face in her hands, groaning miserably. “Crap, last time I even called him blind and told him to get his eyes checked. Do you think I made him mad?”

Yvonne let out a surprised “Whoa!” “Ryan’s family is really that powerful?”