I gave my hand over, the one that didn’t have my scar, to the lady. Either she noticed I wasn’t too thrilled about being touched by a stranger, or she was just known to talk while working. She told me all about how she got into loving these nails. It only took her less than a minute to put one of the strips on my thumb.
“Really simple, see?”
“Cool.”
“What color do you think fits her the best?” Zevon asked, looking at the different types. There were dark simple colors to glitter ones.
“These. Bright red. Bold, but quiet in its own way.”
Before I could protest, Zevon handed over cash and the slim packet of nails were in his hands.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said as we walked away.
“It’s time you figure out how to be a girl, Scarlett. Now come on. Let’s go see what else there is.”
“So, what do you think?” Zevon asked as we found an empty spot at one of the picnic tables that were set up under a section of trees.
“It’s not so bad,” I said, still slightly on edge. “But too many people for my liking.”
“What’s with you and your aversion to people?”
“I don’t know. I’m just not a fan of having so many people in my personal space.”
“Hmmm.” I could the questions burning in his mind that he wanted to ask, but he refrained from doing so. “Sawyer is gonna run up behind you,” he warned a moment later.
“What?”
My eyes widened, and my body stiffened on impact. Sawyer’s arms wrapped a bit tightly around my upper body for a moment before she plopped herself down next to me.
“Hiya!”
“Do I even want to know how you knew I’d be here?” I asked, letting out a breath then letting a real smile touch my lips.
“Your lovely cute friend, of course,” she smiled. “He told me this morning when I came to pick you up and you were still getting dressed. Figured I could join you when I got off of work. Plus, I would have come anyways. I love events like this. So, what have you found?”
How could she have so much energy?”
“He keeps buying me things he thinks I just have to have,” I huffed with a glare at Zevon. “I don’t need any of it.”
“I was told to buy you stuff, so I did.”
“By whom?”
“Him,” Zevon said, tilting his head towards the right of us. My gaze quickly moved that way, landing on Ace and Caesar.
“H-how?” I didn’t know what to say, let alone what to do. How had I not thought about them popping in if Zevon mentioned them? I was like a deer stuck in the headlights.
I couldn’t get my body to work as the two men walked up and sat beside Zevon, across the table from me.
“Good to see you, nipotina,” Ace said with a dip of his head.
“Uh...hi?”
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
“I...guess so.”
“You could have at least given her a heads up,” Ace said.
