Reaching up, I pry her lip from between her teeth with my thumb. Her gaze finds mine, quickly turning molten. Her eyes are bottomless pits of blue as I swallow past the surge of desire for her that's suddenly coursing through my veins before I turn my attention back to the road ahead.
“You don’t need to be nervous, Red. My parents have already met you and they loved you. My dad even made sure I was being nice to you when I first got here. He's the reason I brought you the peace offering brownies. He knows how much you help Pops, and he appreciates how you’ve taken care of him.”
Her eyes are fixed on her lap, her hands fidgeting with the silk dress. “I'm just a little out of my element here. All dressed up with heels on instead of my boots. I don’t quite feel like me.”
My eyes roam over her. “You look beautiful, but if you had come in your jeans and yourSame Bitch Different DayT-shirt, I wouldn’t have stopped you. In fact, watching everyone’s faces when they read it would have been the most entertaining part of the evening.”
She laughs as I put the car in park. When she palms my cheek a moment later, I’m struck by how even the city lights don’t shine as bright as her eyes when she smiles. “Thanks, Wes. Just don’t leave me to the wolves, alright?”
“I won’t leave your side all night.” I seal my promise with a kiss before getting out of the car and opening her door for her.
We walk into the party hand in hand. Sawyer gapes at the huge hall. It’s over-the-top with servers carrying trays of hors d’oeuvres, a four-tier birthday cake displayed on a big table surrounded by gaudy decorations and a thousand balloons. The hall is full of people milling around. There’s a bar on the left side of the room, and I have a mind to start the evening there. A drink might be good to settle the nerves.
I lead Sawyer in that direction, but I’m halted by a hand on my shoulder. I come up short and turn to find my sister, eyes wide, with a harried look about her. “Quinn!” I pull her in for a hug and she tries—and fails—to smooth her face into a neutral expression. “What’s wrong?”
She looks around me at Sawyer and drums up a welcoming smile. “You brought a date, I see.” Her eyes dart to me and I can’t quite figure out what her expression is trying to convey.
“Yeah,” I say, giving her a questioning tilt of my head. “You remember Sawyer Addams?”
“Of course!” she says, catching Sawyer off guard by throwing her arms around her in a hug.
“It’s good to see you again,” Sawyer replies, patting Quinn's back awkwardly.
“We need to catch up,” Quinn announces. “But first, I need a minute with my brother. Do you mind if I steal him for a sec?”
I clench my jaw, hating that Quinn is asking me to go back on that promise I made to Sawyer already. We haven’t even been here five minutes. “What’s the problem?” I bite out under my breath so only Quinn can hear me.
She tugs my arm, urging me in the opposite direction.
I give Sawyer a helpless look. She smiles and rolls her eyes. “I’ll grab us a drink from the bar.”
I extricate myself from my sister’s grip and step back toward Sawyer. “Thanks, Red. I’ll be right there.” I lean down and brush my lips over hers in a brief caress before following Quinn to the other side of the hall.
Once we’ve reached a secluded corner, Quinn looks over my shoulder to make sure we aren’t being followed. “What is your deal?” I ask, taking in the worried look clouding her normally perky demeanor.
“Mom invited Hannah,” she snaps, glancing around before finally meeting my gaze. I freeze, trying to sort through how I feel about my mother inviting my ex-fiancée to her birthday party.
Technically, it’s her party and she can invite who she wants to, butHannah?
The woman who dumped me the night of our engagement party?
She’s met with my silence, so she smacks my chest. “Did you hear me?”
No wonder Quinn looked so worried. She knew exactly how humiliating that breakup with Hannah had been for me. But here Mom goes again, meddling in my life. She wanted me to end up with Hannah, so now she's pulling the strings, manipulating the controls, and pushing us back together.
“Yes, I heard you,” I answer so she doesn’t hit me again.
I catch sight of my mom and dad speaking to some friends at a table in the middle of the hall, and I stride toward them. I can hear Quinn’s heels clicking behind me, and I’m not sure if she’s following me to play mediator or just to watch the show.
I lean over and grumble in Mom’s ear. “Can I talk to you?”
She smiles a little worriedly at the way I’m addressing her for the first time in weeks, but she nods and excuses herself from the table with Dad following behind her, a weary look on his face.
"You could use a shave, dear," she says, eyeing my beard with distaste.
I ignore her remark. “You invitedHannah?” My voice is thick with accusation.
“Well, you two always looked so good together, and she’s been talking to me the last few weeks, telling me how much she regrets leaving things the way she did with you.”
