She pursed her lips. “Not awful, but definitely on a different level than a friend party. Do they know about …” She held up her ring finger.
“They do. The real story.”
“Oh, okay.” She flashed me a relieved smile. “That changes things. They’re not going to be testing me like I’m actually about to become an Ashford.”
“Nah, they think the whole thing is hysterical. You’ll probably get the little sister treatment.”
“Bring it on,” she said, curling her arm to reveal the world’s tiniest bicep. “That I can handle.”
As I watched her scratch Winston I realized that I’d never doubted it for a minute. From what I’d seen, there was nothing Emilia couldn’t handle. The woman continued to surprise me, and yes, impress me too.
I’m sure by the end of the party, every Ashford would be under her spell.
I chose not to think about whether that included me.
14
EMILIA
“C’mon you guys,” Carter whined. “Eric mixed enough for all of us, so get over here and drink with us!”
I was a little worried that Carter might still be in hair-trigger mode after the incident with Kristen and Drew, but he seemed to have forgotten it. Maybe our faux engagement really had been all that was needed to calm him down. Or maybe his attention span was so short that he hadliterallyforgotten about it. It wouldn’t surprise me if both answers were partially true. But whatever the reason, things were back on steady footing, which was great to see.
We were at the bar in Roux, one of the resort’s restaurants, where Eric the TikTok famous bartender was churning out a variety of options for their signature cocktail for the wedding.
I glanced at Drew and he shrugged.
“Why not?” he asked.
Well, because we were being paid to be professional, not party with our guests.
“Do it,” Dorian encouraged from behind a wall of people. “It’s fun. One little drink.”Said the spider to the fly…I found myself thinking even as I started walking over. If I refused to join in the fun, I’d stand out too much from the pack. Better to blend in, as usual.
Drew was already belly up to the bar. He held out a tall glass that was too pretty to drink, with a deep pink liquid settled along the bottom that faded to a light blush at the top, with a raspberry on a skewer dropped in.
“This is a Raspberry Fizz,” Eric explained as I took it. “It’s prosecco, Triple sec, and fresh muddled raspberries.”
I took a sip. “Oh wow, this isamazing.”
“Agreed,” Kristen said. She was already halfway finished with hers. “I definitely want this one. We know how I feel about pink.”
“Hold up,” Carter put his hand on top of her drink. “Let’s make this interesting. Who’s in for a couple rounds of ‘never have I ever’?”
Nope, this was gettingwaytoo informal, especially with cameras watching us.
“Yes, let’s!” Kristen squealed.
It felt a little like we were court jesters being forced to dance for the king and queen. Drew shrugged as if he recognized the same thing.
“One round,” Drew said. “That’s it.”
“I’ll mix up something different if you’re doing a drinking game,” Eric said. “Something that gets the job done.” I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but it didnotsound like a good thing.
The cameras pushed closer as he mixed.
“Do you really think this is a good idea?” I whispered to Drew.
“No it’s absolutely awful, but what choice do we have? Carter’s happy now and the last thing I want is to set him off again. I’m already on thin ice. We’re drinking.”
