“How do you figure that?”
He side-eyed me as he took Molly’s free hand in his much larger one. “I bought mine with my own money. Not daddy’s trust fund.”
Molly and I exchanged a ‘fair enough’ smile. Hudson worked on and off at the yard, shoveling fish guts. He had inheritedsomemoney from his father, but he hadn’t kept it, and no, it couldn’t have been compared to trust fund standards. A portion had been used to get Micah out of a mess of his own making, and the other he’d donated to the Seven Seas Foster Agency. The agency responsible for placing us all with Ma. Hudson hadhatedhis father when he was alive, and with good reason.
As we got to the front door and waited for our turn to go in, I glanced across the wrap-around driveway. Everyone was dressed for the warm weather in either shorts and shirts or dresses. Some wore bikinis underneath, others didn’t. It was a mix, and I was relieved when I saw a group of girls from our high school who were less formal in denim cut-offs.
Molly looked super pretty. She was wearing a long, flowing white sundress over a white bikini and strappy Greek sandals that tied up her ankles.
As we entered a high-ceiling marbled hallway with a large sweeping staircase, I fiddled with the frays on my black denim shorts. I wore them over Molly’s gold bikini with a white tank top and toe post shoes. I had left my hair down, so it covered most of my scars. And for the first time in years, I didn’t feel anxious at the thought of people seeing my disfigurement. Phoenix would chew me out for calling it that. Shit. Why the hell did he keep jumping into my thoughts?
As we walked through the beautiful hallways where paintings lined every wall, we threaded our way through the guests. I could hear classical music playing softly through the hordes of people. It was all very high-brow and proper, not like the usual parties I had been to. Walking through Storm’s house should have felt like I was moving through enemy territory.
Everyone was dressed to behave themselves, and the ages were mixed, from high schoolers to the elderly.
“How are you feeling?” Molly whispered as we walked through the kitchen and out of large bi-folding doors. My eyes scanned the huge stone-flagged patio. It was busy with guests milling around, some were seated at small circular tables, and others on rattan sofas.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just a bit dumbstruck.” The place washuge.
The gardens rolled into the distance, and there appeared to be a maze, tennis courts, and a large swimming pool. Various trees surrounded the estate, and I spotted a cluster of apple trees, which must have made up a small orchard.
There were already people in the water, but most were sitting on the side, paddling their feet, or lying on sun loungers scattered by the poolside. I watched as Molly waved at Laura and Lily, two girls from our school who were also seniors. They were twins and were wearing matching pink bikinis.
“Thanks, Mols. For convincing me to come, I mean. I need to do stuff like this more often.”
“Stuff like this?” Molly questioned.
“Yes,normalstuff.”
She squeezed my arm as we came to stand by a poser table close to where a bar had been set up. There was also a DJ at the bottom of the steps into the garden who appeared to be setting up his equipment. I wondered if he would replace the Mozart vibe with more upbeat tunes once all the posh people got shit faced. I grinned at an image of the old couple standing at the next table, going wild and throwing people into the pool.
As I scanned the crowds, I saw a few more students whom I recognized, and then my eyes landed on our hostess. Storm Summers.
I nodded my head at Hudson and Molly, and they turned to where I had motioned.
“There she is,” I said with a twist of my lips.
“Play nice,” Molly warned. I did the Scout's Honor sign with my fingers. I wasn’t a bitch on a normal day, but Storm had tormented me for an entire year of high school. That shit didn’t go away overnight.
She was wearing a white floral playsuit and what appeared to be a blue bikini beneath it. Her sun hat was huge, hiding part of her face, but I knew it was her. She was standing beneath a blossom tree, surrounded by a group of men who wore pants and shirts and appeared important. Mayor Summers was standing next to her, looking uber smug. He was a big man, like Phoenix.
“What would you ladies like to drink?” Hudson said, turning to check his cell.
After shooting off a text, he pushed his phone into the pocket of his shorts. “Baby?”
Molly looked up at him with such love in her eyes, and I felt another twinge of envy. Would a boy ever look at me that way?
“Is everything OK?” she asked, motioning towards the pocket where he’d placed his cell.
“Yeah. It was just Reed, bitching that he can’t get parked.” So, Reed was coming. Of course, he was. He would have been Storm’s number one guest. I wondered if that meant Phoenix would be with him. I felt a twinge of excitement at the thought of him seeing me so scantily dressed. Reed’s comment at the table about me dressing like a teenage boy hadn’t gone unforgotten.
So, I’d gone all out. There was no way I looked like a boy in that get-up. Phoenix had to notice me now.
I was always so buttoned up compared to the other girls I’d seen Nix with. And he’d never seen me in a bikini. I usually wore bathing suits with long sleeves and shorts when I was swimming. I hoped he liked what he saw.
“So, drinks?” Hud repeated as he cleared his throat.
“Oh, just a Coke, please.” Molly didn’t drink much.
