She can’t reply because the bartender interjects and points at Daisy accusingly. “She was flirting with me. I had no idea that she had a boyfriend.” Oh my God.
Daisy pales. “I was not—”
“Let me guess yours,” he says in a high-pitched tone that sounds nothing like Daisy.
“Fuck you,” Ryke cuts in, his hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “Come on, Dais.”
The bartender can’t let it go. “I’m just telling the truth.”
Ryke growls, “And I’m telling you to fuck off.”
I interject （yes, me of all people） and say, “You can keep the margarita.” Out of principle, I won’t drink anything that has been touched by his hands. He threw my sister under the bus, which I do not appreciate.
I spin around, and I’m shocked to see not only Rose following suit, but Poppy and Daisy. I was the leader of this movement, heading towards an open leather couch by the wall. The trek involves being the center of attention, with camera phones pointed at us. But we all make it safely and settle there.
I sit between Lo’s legs, leaning back against his chest so we all have room. I like it best here.
I look up and whisper to him, “You were gone for a while.”
His eyes are daggered sharp, and something tells me it’s not because of the bartender. “There were a lot of tourists out.”
I don’t believe that. It’s February, and for the most part, the nightclub is sparse with mostly locals. “Are you lying to me?” I breathe, my face plummeting. Is it really guys versus girls to this extent?
He winces and dips his head closer to mine, his lips beside my ear. “All day, we’ve been followed by three guys, and we were trying to ditch them.”
I frown. “What kind of guys?”
He explains quickly, “They’re not paparazzi. They’re either on vacation or they live here, but they wouldn’t leave Ryke and me alone at the ATV park. They were just trying to get a reaction out of us.” His jaw is all ice tonight.
Cold rushes down my arms. “Did they say anything in particular?” I mentally recall all the rumors involving me, Lo, and Ryke.
“I don’t know,” he says in frustration.
“But…you heard them, right? They were close?” Or were they out of earshot?
Lo grinds his teeth. “They only spoke in Spanish.”
Oh.
Oh. That means that Ryke hasn’t translated everything for Lo. And neither has Connor, who’s also fluent.
“It’s aggravating,” Lo says under his breath. They’re censoring Lo, afraid that he’ll be hurt and react poorly, like by drinking.
I hug my scrawny arms around his chest. “I believe in you.”
I feel him inhale strongly, and then he kisses my temple. “I love you, Lil.” His arms tighten around me.
I love you too, Loren Hale. He suddenly kisses me again, this time on the lips. Since he doesn’t have telepathy （yet）， I have to assume my eyes did all the talking.
“What’s in the paper bag?” Daisy asks Ryke. My thoughts reroute. Ryke acts like it’s nothing, just clutching the brown paper bag. He scrutinizes her hair that’s draped over her scar, and he ends up stealing her baseball cap （really, it’s his）。 And he wears it backwards on his head. They’re scooched together near us, and the other two couples are squashed on the opposing couch.
Sam is whispering in Poppy’s ear with a huge smile, and she’s laughing like he’s telling the funniest story ever. It’s what Rose would call “nauseating” and her eye roll right now expresses that.
“Can you tone down your happy?” Rose snaps.
Lo drapes his arms over my shoulders and holds me close. “Rose is allergic to happiness and kids. It’s what gives her horns.”
“Then you must be suffering from the same affliction,” she retorts. “Look in the mirror.”
I hold my breath, hoping this ends at that.
“My horns aren’t encrusted with diamonds,” Lo says. “So we’re not the same.”
Rose’s lips slowly rise. Loren Hale made Rose Calloway smile.
This is a first if there ever was one.
Connor is subtly massaging his wife’s shoulder, and if she could see his overwhelming grin right now, she’d probably combat him with even more fiery passion. Nerd stars combusting—but not in a bad way or permanently. That’s never happening. I nod to myself.
“Everyone,” Connor says, gathering our attention with one word. I follow his gaze that has shifted to Ryke, who’s removed the contents of the paper bag already, in his own world with Daisy.