As for what had led her out to the woods… A drink did sound like a great distraction from her failed attempt to kiss Brayden.
“Sure. Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Achill breeze and the sounds of crickets surrounded them as they climbed up the precarious wooden staircase to a full-sized tree house nestled in the branches of an enormous tree. Scarlett gripped the smooth wooden banister, but the steps were steep. A fall from any point would be disastrous. She wished she’d worn something warmer. Brayden and James were both dressed in trousers with hooded sweatshirts, so at least she wasn’t underdressed.
Finally, they emerged onto a circular wooden platform. Minnie’s door stood before them, and an adjacent wooden bridge went off toward the neighboring homes. The view was gorgeous, with the flickering lights in most of the homes cheery and welcoming amidst the night-drenched forest. Scarlett inhaled the earthy, fresh scent of the lush plant life. Everything around her was so gorgeous and so different from home. It felt like she’d come to another planet instead of the country next door.
James opened the front door without knocking and stepped into a cozy living room. Bookcases lined the walls, and plants grew in all corners. It was a surprisingly normal living room for a tree house, and Scarlett sighed in relief, her tension easing in thewarmth of the room.
A pretty, raven-haired woman with piercing blue eyes stood at the end of a long, thin table, surrounded by several onlookers. She glanced over as they entered but kept her attention on the table. “You three had better be my new good-luck charms,” she muttered. “I’m on the verge of disgrace or glory here.” She held a little golden ball and was focusing on two cups at the other end of the wooden table, where a lanky redhead with her hair in double buns stood with her arms crossed.
“Woo! Go, Minnie, go!” shouted Brayden. There were some hoots and claps from the rest of the observers.
Minnie bounced the ball off one cup and into another. Scarlett grinned as she whooped and did a high kick into the air. The redhead picked up both the cups the ball had touched and downed one of them. It wasn’t a game Scarlett was familiar with, but it looked simple enough. And fun.
Minnie approached them. “Good evening, friends!” She gave James, who was closest to her, a side-hug. “Who is this fair creature?” She cocked her head toward Scarlett. Her purple feathered earrings exaggerated the movement. “You have the most elegant bone structure I’ve ever seen. I’m Minnie, and this is Keeley.” Minnie held out a hand. The redhead gave Scarlett a friendly wave.
“I’m Scarlett. Nice shot, by the way,” she said with her friendliest smile as she took Minnie’s hand in hers. She glanced toward Brayden, who was hugging Keeley. She wanted to finish their valor discussion, but they could do that later. After the party, maybe.
“Where are you from?” asked Keeley, her eyes lighting with interest.
“Soleil,” said Scarlett.
“Scar’s grandmother is from Clair de Lune,” Brayden said.
“Oh, Scar—I love the nickname,” said Minnie.
James took a couple of steps toward the hallway. “Minnie, I’m heading outside, if that’s all right?”
Minnie waved him on.
James locked eyes with Brayden, a wicked smirk on his face before he disappeared.
The room emptied as the rest of the people who’d been watching the game followed him.
Before Scarlett could guess at what James’s deal was, Minnie asked, “Keeley, can you please give this woman a drink?”
“Thanks,” Scarlett said as Keeley handed her one of the cups from their game.
Scarlett studied Minnie. Her short white dress showed off a large tattoo of a cluster of leaves and flowers covering most of her outer right thigh. Scarlett envied her—the girl looked like her life was her own and she had no cares in the world. She’d probably been drinking for a while, judging by the look of the room, which had random cups and bottles sitting on many of the available surfaces. Scarlett glanced inside the cup Keeley had handed her. It looked like beer, so she took a sip. Lukewarm. Yuck. She set it down, hoping Minnie wouldn’t notice.
“Scar, how’d you meet the Maddox brothers?” Keeley’s white T-shirt was covered in cartoon mushrooms and tucked into a hot-pink miniskirt. She also wore white fishnet tights. These girls were possibly the coolest people Scarlett had ever met.
Brayden put his arm around Scarlett. “What you should be asking is, how did she meetme?”
Scarlett fought to contain her grin as she leaned into him. He was just trying to cheer her up after the awkwardness earlier, but she was grateful things weren’t weird.
“Ooh, she’smine, he says.” Minnie arranged the cups back into a triangle formation. Then she froze. “Wait, is this the girl you’ve been talking to for years? The one you’d never actually met?”
Brayden’s arm tightened around her. “Yep. This is her.”
Scarlett felt the rumble of his answer in his rib cage and thrilled at the closeness.
“Bray, fancy a game?” Keeley was halfway through refilling the empty cups with beer.
