Sienna releases me, but looks me in the eyes and says, “I’m happy you’re here, Paisley.”
I nod like a bobblehead. I don’t know what to say. My sister can’t start being nice now. I need her to be self-centered and self-absorbed, so I can be mildly antagonistic and low-key disagreeable while still meeting her expectations.
“Me too,” I answer. It’s not a lie. I don’t want to be left out or left behind. And I like having Klein here on the island.
“I had lunch with Dad just before I came here. He told me what you said to him last night.”
I nod slowly, rubbing at my dry eyes as a trickle of dread filters through me. Where is this going?
“He said he’s proud of you, Pais.” She takes in my shocked expression and adds, “He also said all this would’ve been a hell of a lot easier if you’d stayed on the path he set for you.” She rolls her eyes. “He’s stillDad. But I think maybe he’ll come around.”
Wren sets an armload of ribbon and other supplies on the table and asks, “Who wants champagne?” We all raise our hands.
Farhana, Maren, Sienna and I work on unboxing the favor components. We separate them into sections, taking place along the large table and forming an assembly line. Wren makes two trips into the kitchen and back, delivering champagne.
Farhana turns on Taylor Swift, and we listen while we work. Maren talks about a guy she matched with who claims to be an environmental lawyer. She says she has her doubts about his truthfulness because he won’t tell her the name of the firm where he works. Everyone, with the exception of my sister, trades online dating horror stories that make me happy I’ve never joined an app.
I’m quiet, listening to them chat. There isn’t much for me to add that wouldn’t be a lie of some degree.
Sienna brings me into the conversation when she says, “Klein seems like a really good guy, Pais.”
“He is,” I nod, doing my job of tying light blue ribbons around the tops of the small glass candy jars. Klein should be out of the bathtub by now. I wonder how he’s feeling, or if he needs anything?Besides my fine ass. The thought brings a smile to my face.
“Ohhh, look at that grin,” Wren says, polishing off her champagne. Mine is long gone. There wasn’t much else to do while they all talked. “That’s the smile of a woman in love.”
I finish tying the next ribbon. “I don’t know about love. We haven’t talked about all that yet.”
“You don’t have to talk about it. Just watch the man’s actions.”
“The way he looks at you,” Maren says dreamily. She affixes the personalized tag to the little knob on the top of the candy jar after I’ve tied the ribbon.
“That,” Wren says, a smile sliding from one side of her mouth, “and the fact he threatened to castrate Shane.”
I freeze. “What?”
To my right, Sienna echoes me.
Wren shifts uncomfortably. “I assumed you both knew.” Her eyes dart between us. “Shane made a tasteless joke about Paisley, and Klein didn’t appreciate it. Tag was standing next to them and overheard Klein.”
My eyebrows creep up my forehead. “Tag heard Klein threaten castration?”
“In a manner of speaking. He used the word ‘eunuch.’ We had to look it up.”
Maren nudges her. “Who’s ‘we’?”
“Me and Tag.”
Maren smacks her forearm. “Was he in your room last night? Is that what I was hearing?”
Wren blushes. “Maybe.”
Farhana gasps. “You ho.”
Wren cackles. “We’re on a secluded island for five more days. You should both be trying to get laid, too.”
While they argue back and forth about the merits and pitfalls of a fling with people they might have to see again in the future, I nudge Sienna’s foot under the table. Her furrowed brow worries me.
I’m fine, she mouths.
