Page 95 of My Beautiful Sin

My heart is pounding so hard in my ears that I can barely hear my own voice. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I know you’re wrong.”

She doesn’t answer. Just looks me up and down. Then she shrugs and says, “I tried. It’s on you, now.” She turns on her heel and pushes into the crowd. I start to follow her, but a tall man hurries past me into the bar, and in the time it takes for me to realize I’ve been blocking the door, she disappears.

“You okay?” the hostess asks.

“I’m fine,” I lie, then point to the back corner. “I’m with them.” I’m already walking before the words are out of my mouth.

Devlin sees me coming, his smile lighting his face as he stands and pulls out the chair next to him. I don’t sit, though. Instead, I wrap my arms around him and press my face against his chest, breathing in his scent. He gently strokes my hair. “What happened?”

I shake my head, clinging to him for a moment longer before pulling back and tilting my head up so that I can see him. “Nothing. I ran into an old friend. Let’s just say she’s not in your fan club.”

His brow furrows. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not now. Later.” That’s two things for us to talk about. Carrie and the revelation that Peter might have been involved in porn. For a day that started out light and breezy, it’s fast turning into something dark and depressing.

No.

With a mental shove, I force the thought away. This is our day. A day to be out in the world with our friends. No worries, no demons, no responsibilities. “I’m fine,” I say firmly. “Right now, I just want some food, a boatload of wine, our friends, and you.”

“I think we can manage that,” he says, before kissing me lightly. But I see the worry that lingers on his face as we sit. And I see that same concern reflected on every face at the table. Fucking Carrie. She always did love to grab the spotlight.

“I’m fine,” I say. “Truly.” I meet Brandy’s eyes. “I bumped into Carrie. She was in one of her bitchy moods.”

Beside me, Devlin stiffens as Brandy shoots a sideways glance at Christopher. “We went to high school together. We hung out together sometimes, but she straddled the line between us and the mean girls.”

“It wasn’t a big thing,” I say, not looking at Devlin in case my face betrays the truth. “Just a weird reunion.”

Anna, who’s on Christopher’s other side, leans around him, her hand pressed on his shoulder as if for balance. “I had friends like that growing up,” she tells Brandy before shifting her attention to me. “Never liked running into them again.”

She leans back in her chair, but I notice her hand lingers on Christopher’s shoulder. He doesn’t seem to notice, though, and I remind myself that it’s not a big deal. I know they’ve become good friends. I could tell that much from the time I walked in on them while they were going over plot ideas for Christopher’s book.

“So what did she say that pissed you off?” Brandy asks. “Or was she just her usual charming self?”

I wave my hand dismissively. “Just catching up bullshit,” I say. “Let’s move on.”

“Hear, hear,” Christopher says, raising his wine. I have a full glass waiting at my place, and I lift my drink in toast, too, as does the rest of the table. For a good half-hour, we settle in to food and chatter, talking about nothing much and a little bit of everything.

Lamar stands to go to the restroom, and I consider heading that way, too, but I’m feeling more than a little relaxed after polishing off a full glass of wine, plus most of another. Instead, I stay put, listing a bit to the right and enjoying the feel of Devlin’s hand pressed lightly against my back.

I’m sitting like that when Devlin lifts his other hand in greeting. I follow his line of sight to see Ronan and Reggie standing in the line at the bar for to-go glasses of wine, something that’s allowed during festival days in the Laguna Cortez Arts District.

Ronan notices and raises his glass in greeting as Reggie turns, then smiles when she sees our group.

“Are they together?” I ask Devlin, keeping my eyes on Reggie’s face as I try once again to figure out why she seems so familiar.

“You mean dating? Not that I know of. But they’ve worked together enough to become good friends.”

“I think they went out once,” Anna says. “I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a second date.”

Devlin chuckles. “Not too surprising.”

“Why?” Brandy asks.

“They’re both too strong-willed,” he says.

I cross my arms over my chest and capture him in a hard stare. “And we aren’t?”

He tilts my chin up and kisses me. “We are,” he says when he pulls away, leaving me more than a little unsatisfied. “The difference is, I like it.”