He smirks. “Actual Netflix, or more of theand chillvariety?”
I deadpan a look at him because he’snothelping. “You already know the answer to that.”
Colin’s smirk morphs into a warm smile. “I know. I’m just screwing with you.” He points at me as his dark brows climb up his forehead. “And not in theand chillvariety.”
“Good. Because there will be nochillingthis—”
“Hey, Colin,” a tiny, little bird-like voice chirps from right next to us, and I turn my head to see Liliana has joined us, anduhh…I really hope she didn’t just hear all of that because this charade would be over before it really had a chance to begin.
Colin is cool as a cucumber as he opens his arm to her, and she goes in for a quick side hug. “Hey, Lili. Good to see you. How’ve you been?”
After he squeezes her shoulders, Liliana steps away to stand next to us both. “I’m good.” Her full, red lips pull into a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes as she cuts her gaze between us both. “Joaquin said you were bringing your girl.” She holds out a delicate, perfectly manicured hand to me. “I’m Liliana, the annoying little sister type.”
Even though Colin’s reasoning for why he apparently has a history of breaking this poor girl’s heart makes total sense, I feel a surge of solidarity for her. Because honestly, even afterfive secondsof being around her, I already like Lilianaway morethan I like Colin. She clearly has a lot of grace under the pressure of a situation that she musthate. She’s also obviously not at all the rich bitch type like Mrs. Ursula DeRouen.
I take her hand, give it a single shake, but then pull it closer to me as I lean my head forward. “I’m Elle, the girlfriend, and I can assure you that if anyone in this situation isannoyingit’shim.”
Liliana chortles as I let go of her hand, and then her smile is a little less pained, and I feel a little better about this than I did a second ago.
“Hee-eey,” Colin says with a good-natured, but obvious whine.
“It’s true,” I say to Liliana, raising my eyebrows. “Did you know he’s never seen Parks and Rec? And let me tell you,that’sannoying.” I gesture at the waiter who’s approaching with two crystal tumblers of amber liquid. “He ordered us Lagavulin and then totally didn’t get my Ron Swanson reference. I have about a dozen jokes I could make, but they’d all be lost on him.”
Liliana laughs again as Colin rolls his eyes and takes the drinks, handing one to me.
“That’s a shame, Colin,” Liliana says, folding her arms across her chest. “You should watch it. The writers came from Saturday Night Live, and we all know how much you love that.”
An impressed frown tugs at the corners of his mouth. “Is that so? Well, I guess I don’t have a choice in the matter then.”
“Nope,” I say, saluting him with the glass.
Liliana gives another light laugh and offers me a smile. “Well, I’m on Isla duty and I need to get back to her so we don’t have a runaway bride situation, but I just wanted to say hi and meet Elle.”
“Wait, back up.” Colin thrusts his glass through the air toward her. “Arunaway bridesituation? What does that mean?”
Liliana purses her lips and lets her head fall to one side, her thick, ebony waves cascading down her shoulder. “Exactly what it sounds like. I’m sure you’ll get the scoop later, but obviously I can’t explainhere.” She offers me a knowing lift of her brows. “We’ll be over in the cottage lounge this evening, so you two should come for drinks and cards and gossip.” She lifts her hand to flick her fingers in a tiny wave. “Nice meeting you, Elle.”
I smile. “You, too.”
Colin lifts his hand to wave back, and then settles it on the side of my waist, tugging me to his side. “See you later, Lili.”
As Liliana winds her way through the crowd of party-goers, Colin angles my waist so that we’re nearly chest to chest again. “Thanks for that.”
I tilt my chin up. I’ve noticed his height, but it isn’t until right now that Ireallynotice his height. I’m wearing heels, and he’s stillwayup there, and there’s something about a guy who’s hella tall, butalsobroad. As in, Colin’s the furthest thing from spindly. Even at what has to be about six-two, he’s stacked like an athlete. A hockey player or a boxer or something else that requires someone to be large and solid as a brick wall.
“For what?” I wave the crystal tumbler through the small space between us. “Calling out your lameness for not knowing who Ron Swanson is?”
Colin half-smiles, that persisting dimple pulling deep into his stubbled cheek. “For being cool with her. On top of everything else, I’m going to get extra brownie points for you not being snooty like most of these people.” His eyes drift downward like he’s assessing my form, but not in the same heated manner as a few minutes ago. “See? You fit in just fine with these people. There was nothing for you to worry about.”
“I’m getting a sense that your little adoptive family isn’t like the rest of these people.” I bring the tumbler to my lips in preparation to sip. “The two that I’ve met are actually nice and seem pretty normal. The same can’t be said of your friendMrs. DeRouen.”
“Yeah, the DeRouens are classic snobs.”
I drop my head dramatically to one side. “You don’t say.”
Colin chuckles, and I drift my gaze to eyeball Ursula and her cohorts, who are still cutting glances at us. It’s so obvious that they’re talking about us that I feel like smugly saluting them with the tumbler like Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby. Instead I tilt the glass to take a large sip and instantly realize I’ve made a horrible mistake.
It’s like drinking a brush fire the size of a city block, complete with plumes of smoke that rival skyscrapers.
