“They already do.”
“Just be careful who answers for you.”
He clapped my shoulder and headed back toward the lights, already being intercepted by someone with a glass and a story.
It was happening. Slowly. Messily. But it was happening.
For the first time in months, the weight in my chest eased. We were closer to getting the meds where they had to be. Helping the people who needed them.
I turned and scanned the crowd. Where was she?
I stood, suddenly desperate to find her, to tell her… to have her understand why any of this mattered. To let her see this part of me, the one that didn’t fit into polite conversation.
Because I hadn’t been lying to Hugo.
If she’d let me, I’d build my whole life aroundher.
I scanned the terrace again. She was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 36
Andrea
“You know, thosecocktails are engineered to encourage optimism.” Toby crossed his legs at the knee and looked out as the opening notes of “Blurred Lines” slid across the dance floor.
“Is that so?”
I couldn’t care less what they were engineered for. Although something that repelled a man like Toby would have been useful.
“What’s in these, my man?” He lifted his chin in the direction of the bartender, like he personally employed him.
“Schnapps, white rum, orange juice, cranberry.” The barman pushed a menu toward him. “It’s a Georgia Peach.”
“Ethanol and sugar pretending to be special,” Toby said under his breath, smiling at me like we were somehow above it.
“One more, please.” He clicked his fingers at the barman before turning back to me.What an utter arse.“I’m sure it’s delicious, although you don’t strike me as the sort who enjoys being tricked.”
“By a cocktail?” I scoffed. “It’s a wedding. They’re meant to be pretty.”
“Ah, of course.” He nodded. “Social contracts. Temporary delusions. I forget people come for that.”
The music pulsed faintly, the bass thudding in the distance.
Toby leaned back in his chair. He didn’t look like he planned to move. He’d already made himself comfortable.
I glanced down at my Georgia Peach. Still half full.
“You disappeared,” he said. “I wondered if you’d had enough.”
“Of what?”
“Of all this.” He waved a hand in front of us. “The performance.”
“I was getting some air.”
“Mm.” His mouth tilted. “That tracks.”
I turned to look at him. “Why?”
