“It’s a blog post by Alistair Davies. Do you want me to read it to you or give you the Cliff Notes version?”
Alistair Fucking Davies.I was not in the headspace to deal with his bullshit right now. This was the last thing I needed.
“Gimme the summary,” I said, my jaw clenched as I worked conditioner through my hair.
“Well, it’s pretty much only about you. There’s a bunch of photos in here, but they all look like they were taken from a distance. There’s one of you by yourself in a greenhouse. There’s another of you looking panicked at the tree cutting. And there’s one of you dashing into the bathroom at the palace with your hand clamped over your mouth. The gist of the article is that you’re mentally unstable, unpredictable, and regularly drink in excess. I think these photos are supposed to be ‘proof.’ They’re noted as being from an ‘unnamed sourceclose to the competition.’ Oh, and it brings up the airport vibrator situation again. Apparently, you’re also ‘sex crazed.’”
I stood still for a moment, water and anger washing over me in equal measure.Renata. She had to be behind this.
“Bee, are you ok?” Sam asked quietly, breaking into my thoughts.
“I think I need a minute, Sam. Can you go ahead to the party? I’ll meet you down there.”
“Sure,” she said, closing the bathroom door behind her as she left.
I took the rest of the shower to gather myself.Well, at least you have something else to worry about besides Knox,I thought wryly.
After putting on an oversized knit sweater and leggings, I doused myself in my perfume and followed the sound of music and voices downstairs to the billiards room.
Vince hadn’t been kidding when he said he was throwing a party. I walked in to find far more people than I had expected, with each arrival being checked off a list and screened by security at the door. Along with the women that I knew, there were probably a dozen people I had never seen before, including a group of women in their early twenties dancing on the pool table in the middle of the room. A bar was set up in the corner of the room, filled with every kind of liquor imaginable and half a dozen varieties of beer.
I looked around the room for Sam, not spotting her anywhere. I felt eyes on me and turned to find Knox and Oliver by the floor-to-ceiling bookcase on the opposite wall. Knox held a bottle of beer in one hand and had the other propped against a shelf as he talked to Oliver. His eyes watched me intently. Oliver spotted me and waved.
Nope, nope, nope. Can’t do this yet.
Since Sam was nowhere to be found, I made a split-seconddecision and darted out the open doors to the terrace, where I found Adelaide and Tej chatting by the stone railing.
“Hey,” I said in greeting, hoping I didn’t look as flustered as I felt.
“Hey, Birdie,” Tej smiled at me. “How are you feeling? I heard about your mishap in the palace kitchen.”
“I’m much better. Thanks for asking,” I said, my heart warming. Tej was one of my favorites of Oliver’s friends. He was genuinely kind and never seemed to have an ulterior motive. He cared about the people around him regardless of social standings or clout.
I spotted Renata, Gemma, and Ginny through the doorway as they strolled arrogantly into the billiards room. “Ew, why are they here?”
“Chauncey invited Ginny and she brought the other two,” Tej answered, rolling his eyes.
I turned to Adelaide. “Have you seen Sam?” I had to find her before I threw caution to the wind and punched Renata right in her smug face.
“I thought I heard her say that she and Mel were going to try and find a bathroom or food or something?”
Neither of them mentioned the article. I hoped no one else had seen it yet; I wasn’t ready to be the laughingstock of the party.
I could feel blue eyes on me again and when I looked, Oliver and Knox were making their way through the billiards room to the terrace.
“I’m going to go look for Sam.” I sidestepped the group as the men approached, pointing over my shoulder as I backed away.
“I'll help you,” Knox offered.
“No!” I said far too quickly. “I’m good. I can findher myself.”
Oliver looked between the two of us, clearly questioning the awkward exchange.
He knows. I know he knows. I’m a shit liar and it’s probably all over my face. He’s going to know and freak out and kick me out of his country for being a big fat jerk for sleeping with his best friend when I was supposed to be here courting him.
Wait, no. He’ll kick me out for being a mentally unstable, sex-crazed drunk who slept with his best friend.
Fucking damnit.
