I cleared my throat. “Right. Cool. So this is going great.”
A long beat passed. Then, with a sigh that felt like it had weight to it, she set her drink down, reached for the top button of her cover-up?—
And undid it.
One by one.
Slow, steady, like she was doing me a favor or a dare or maybe both. Her eyes stayed locked on mine as she slowly unfastenedeach button. An eyebrow quirked, adare, sitting right in front of me.
Then she peeled it off and?—
I died.
Just fully perished on the spot.
The swimsuit was red. Not a soft, gentle red — a come-to-Jesus, kiss-your-morals-goodbye kind of red. A deep wine red I would happily drink fromforever. It had a neckline deep enough to pray to and legs that went on for miles. Vintage cut, maybe, but it wasn’t fooling anyone. It clung to her like it had been tailored by the devil himself.
I forgot what my own name was.
“Oh,” I said. Out loud. Just that.
Juniper turned her head. “What?”
“Nothing,” I lied immediately, completely, stupidly. “Just. You know. Nice suit. Very… red.”
Her expression didn’t shift, but Iknewshe was trying not to smile. “Thanks. I bought it to feel like a woman with secrets and a grudge.”
“You nailed it,” I said before I could stop myself, mouth dry and my tongue heavy. “You look like you’re here to ruin lives and inherit a fortune.”
She tilted her head, lips twitching. “You’re staring.”
“No, I’m not,” I said, shaking my head. I was absolutely staring.
“Want to take a picture?”
“No,” I lied again, this time so fast it came out with a crack in my voice. “I mean, not for — personal use. Or any use. Jesus Christ.”
She snorted.Snorted. And then turned away to pick up her drink like she hadn’t just peeled the flesh from my bones with a single outfit choice.
I took a massive sip of mine. It tasted like regret and tequila.
God help me.
We ended up at the edge of the pool. Juniper sat with her knees hugged in front of her, toes dipping into the water, her damp hair pulled off her neck in a loose knot. She looked so painfully out of place here. Too real. Too sharp around the edges. Tooher. She’d left her glasses with our things, worried she’d get them wet or ruined.
I sat next to her, still fully clothed, still nursing my drink as though it could save me from the spiral I’d been in since she took off that damn cover-up.
She glanced sideways. “You gonna swim?”
“I’m too pale,” I said, gesturing uselessly to my legs. “If I take my shirt off, someone’s gonna throw a tarp over me and call FEMA.”
Juniper made a soft snorting noise that made my chest hurt.
Then a voice — too loud and too smug — cut through the music.
“Well, well. Look who finally crawled out of hiding.”
I didn’t even need to look to know who it was.
