Head cocked, she spared a look back toward the others before studying me again. “Because I don’t like you when you’re pathetic.”
“Wow.” Ouch. “Thank you?”
Rachel shrugged. “I don’t like them when they’re smug. This new brooding, angsty gumbo they’ve cooked up? Unbearable. You’re the common denominator.”
“Fantastic.”
She handed me her drink before plucking the wine out of my grip. “It’s water. Hydrate. You’re going to need it.”
“For what?”
Rachel smiled without any teeth. “Because you’ve officially entered your villain era. Trust me—everyone just noticed.”
Chapter
Twenty-Four
FRANKIE
We slipped away from the open pool area and into the hedge garden beyond. The noise from the party faded to a dull throb behind us. Here, with the string lights casting soft shadows as the sun continued its descent. The hot breath of the air decried any cooling temperatures. Still, the low hum of cicadas filled the silence.
Rachel had downed the rest of my wine and left that glass behind. A sip of the water turned into a much longer drink for me. She was right, I needed it. While I had to fight the urge to gulp it down, I did press the ice-cold glass against my face. We wandered through the hedges to a stone bench where Rachel took a seat, leaned back on her hands and stared at me.
She wore a look you only get from someone who knew all of your secrets and wasn’t impressed by any of them. Not that I hadsecrets. “So,” she said, her voice as dry as ever. “You want to tell me what the hell you’re doing?”
“What do you mean?” I blinked.
“Nope,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’re not dumb, Frankie. Blind? Sometimes. Oblivious? Way too damn often, but you can’t walk into this party wearing a bikini that Aphrodite would envy and in Archie’sfavoritecolor, dragging French Vogue’swet dream with you, then play shocked when the guys are two seconds from solving their issues with a fist fight.”
The judgment landed like a slap. “I didn’tdraghim.” Defensiveness was my first instinct. “I didn’t even want to come, but he asked me to, to be his date.”
“And you said yes.” Rachel tilted her head. “Tothis. You’ve been emotionally entangled with four human hurricanes who would happily kill for you and have beaten the shit out of others on your behalf.”
Embarrassment went out the window. “Ineverasked for that. I would never.” Hell, I hadn’t even known how often they’d chased off others. “Something, I think you damn well know. Because you were the one whotoldme.”
“I did tell you. I told you because you deserved to know. So, while you may not have knownthen, youdoknow now.”
I stared down at my drink. Guilt soured the water. “It’s just a party.”
“Frankie,” Rachel said my name on a gust of a sigh so deep that I almost wanted to apologize for frustrating her. “It’s never just a party when feelings are involved. Especially notthatmany feelings.”
I hated how that landed, because she wasn’t wrong. Tears burned in the back of my eyes, but I blinked furiously to keep them in check. Then I downed more water.
“Look,” Rachel said, shifting forward and patting the bench next to her. “I’m not judging you for moving on or for dating the hot French guy. Really, I’d buy the guy a drink myself and toast him for getting through those blinders of yours if I weren’t worried Archie would slip cyanide into both of our drinks.”
I frowned at the description, but Rachel’s bland delivery made it hard to argue. Needing a break, I sat next to her. The stone was still warm from the sun, almost too warm but the sarong helped.
“Here’s the thing,” Rachel continued, and her voice softened, almost gentled like she was comforting me. “You didn’t just move on. You detonated a landmine, then walked away like it wasn’t going to blow everything up behind you.”
I winced. “I didn’t—” I sighed. “I was mad.” Was? “Correction, I’m still mad.”
“I know,” she said, looping an arm over my shoulders. “You have every right to be pissed at them.”
“Then why are you defending them?” I slanted a look at her.
“Oh, honey, I am not defending them. They are big boys with big balls, or so they act. They can take the kicks to the crotch they earned.” She snorted a half-laugh. “Before you think I’m blaming you for picking someone else, I’m not doing that either.”
“No?” I wasn’t so sure about that.
