Risky and Wild(81)
A winter wedding, huh? Before the weather changes? As in, right now. As in ASAP.
Nice move, Janae. Very slick.
“I prefer fall weddings,” I say, forcing myself to smile as I slip out of my coat and toss it over the deck railing. “I guess we'll just have to wait until next year.”
Without waiting for a response, I head over to the cooler to grab a beer, finding myself congratulated along the way. I snag a bottle for Royal, too, and rejoin him, passing it over as he leans in and presses his lips against mine. The kiss is hot, possessive, burning the bare flesh on my arms as Royal grips my biceps and pulls me close. I'm aware of noises in the background, catcalls and raucous laughter, but I don't pull away. I know this is some sort of stupid, male posturing display, but the feeling of Royal's mouth against mine is … divine. I guess I can let it slide.
When he lets go of me, I wink at him and turn away, eliciting more sound, more laughter from the group. I make sure to hold Dober's dark stare as I climb up the steps to the deck and move inside.
There aren't nearly as many women as there are men here. Besides Janae, Fauna, Glinda, and Serenity, there are eight others that I can see. Five of them are older, maybe around my mother's age, sitting together in a cluster in the living room with Fauna while Janae and Glinda lead the rest in preparing a meal.
It's a little … medieval for me, but I square my shoulders and suck it up. If I have to shuck corn once a month at a get-together to make it work with Royal, I can handle that. If—and this is a mighty big if—my parents ever accept him, then anytime we spend with my family will be in uptight restaurants with white table clothes where nobody talks and all the food is served in micro portions by waiters in tuxes.
“Put me to work,” I say with a smile, purposefully moving over to stand next to Glinda and across from Janae and Serenity. Fauna's daughter glances up at me with a smile, either oblivious to the tension in the room or just not caring. Considering she is a teenager, I'm betting on the latter.
“This is sort of like your pseudo engagement party,” Serenity says, tucking some blond hair streaked with red behind her ear. “Just sit and relax, get drunk.” There's a pause as she stops to scoop some whipping cream into her mouth, wrinkling her nose and adding more sugar before she starts to whisk it again. “Fauna even bought you a cake.”
“A cake?” I ask as Janae's mouth tightens a bit and she glances up at me. I think she feels threatened by my presence here, like I'm trying to take her spot as Queen Bee. If she knew she had nothing to fear from me, she could relax a little, like letting the incumbent know that you don't plan to run in their district.
“Well, we all knew Royal fancied you,” Glinda drawls, sweeping back her Barbie blond hair and pausing to grab a little girl by the shoulder as she sprints by. She licks her thumb and wipes a smear of dirt off the corner of the kid's mouth. The little girl—a towheaded, blue-eyed mini Glinda—and I exchange a look. Poor thing. “And when he said he had an announcement to make, well, we just up and guessed.”
“Funny. You seemed to know before I did,” I joke with a forced a smile and a laugh. When Glinda flicks her blue eyes up to mine, she's almost frowning. I look down at the floor, wondering exactly how manipulative I want to get right now. In the office, it's all the way because nobody else will hold back wondering if they're going to offend someone. No, politicians always go for the throat. “I hope these heal before the wedding,” I say absently, quietly, like I'm talking mostly to myself.
All the women in the immediate vicinity hear me.
“That's bullshit what Mia did to you,” Serenity says, and I hear Janae make a tight sound in the back of her throat.
“Quiet. You have no idea what happened,” Janae snaps at her, but Serenity just rolls her eyes.
“Yeah, I do. We all do. Mia's been panting after Royal for years.”
“Outside,” Janae snaps, tossing the girl a caustic look that doesn't seem to faze her much. But she obeys, like she's been taking orders from this woman for years. With an eye roll, Serenity disappears from the room and saunters outside. Through the glass, I can see her pausing next to Glacier, their arms practically touching. Uh-oh. Looks like somebody has a crush.
My eyes flick back to Janae's pale brown ones, watching her suddenly hurried movements as she adjusts her dark ponytail and purses her reddened lips. I decide this is as good a time as any to move away, let both her and Glinda cool down for a moment. This isn't about winning, not a contest to see who can throw the most barbs; I just want them to know that no matter what they think, I'm strong enough to handle this.