Ryke sets his chair legs on the ground, his cheek red. That had to sting like hell.
“I need to talk to you,” Ryke says. At first I think he’s speaking to Melissa. “Lo.”
I shake my head, unable to meet his eyes.
Melissa lets out a low laugh. “Really?” She rises and throws down her napkin. “I’ll be back at the hotel, not that you’ll care.”
“Wait…” Ryke stands up but he glances at me and falters.
“I’ll talk to her,” Daisy says, rising from the table. Melissa hates Rose. She’s not that fond of Lily either, but I’m pretty sure it’s Daisy that she despises. And I can’t say a word. I sit in my chair, replaying Ryke’s advice to Daisy. I don’t care if it helped her or if it was good—there’s a line there that I think he knows he crossed. Like he told me before—he just doesn’t give a shit.
“You won’t be able to,” Ryke tells her. “Just let her go. I’ll talk to her when we go back to the hotel.”
Daisy shakes her head, not taking this as an answer. She sprints after Melissa.
“Fuck,” Ryke curses, running his hands through his hair. He turns to me. “Please, just give me a fucking minute, Lo.”
I’m about to curse him out when Lily says, “Go on.” She nudges my side, and I find myself rising off the seat and following Ryke into the bathroom.
When the door closes, he turns to me and opens his mouth. But for some reason, I have to be the prick who has the first word.
“You could have told me that story about your stupid advice on the beach when we were having a fucking heart to heart,” I fume.
“Clearly it wasn’t stupid if it helped her, and I didn’t think you’d take it well, obviously.”
“I am so close to punching you, and I can promise that it will hurt a hell of a lot more than Melissa’s bitch slap.”
He holds up his hands in peace, which doesn’t ease my temper.
“Let’s hear your apology,” I say.
He glares. “I wasn’t going to apologize.”
I make my move towards the door, fuck this shit, and he steps in front of me. “You can’t be that angry at me. Not over this,” he says coldly. “She’s not your little sister. You couldn’t even tell me ten facts about Daisy if you tried.”
“Fuck you,” I shoot back. “She’s Lily’s little sister. I remember her in diapers, so don’t try to defend yourself based on a goddamn family tree.”
Ryke has had enough, his fists clench and he looks ready to fight me. Instead, he actually uses his words.
“Don’t make me into the villain because you’re upset you lost out on a human fucking relationship with her,” Ryke almost screams, pointing towards the door. “Blame booze, blame our father, but don’t you ever fucking blame me.”
I stand my ground, seething. He’s right. I’m partly upset over all I’ve lost by drinking, and maybe I am being too hard on him. But I can’t stop what happens next.
“Do you want to fuck her?”
He doesn’t hesitate, and his tone softens, less defensive. “No. I don’t,” he says. “She’s the last person…ever. I promise, Lo.”
This is where I have to trust him.
“Can I explain at least?” Ryke asks. “There is a reason I said those things to her.”
I run my tongue over the bottom of my teeth and shake my head, a laugh caught in my throat. “Since when do you have to have a reason?”
“Usually, I fucking don’t,” he agrees. “But that time, I did. So can I talk now or am I going to get the third-degree?”
I motion for him to continue.
“It was Daisy’s sweet sixteen and we were on the boat. Her friends were discussing sex, and I was not a part of that conversation, believe me. They roped Lily into it, and she looked ready to fling herself off the yacht. I mean, she’s a fucking walking oxymoron: a sex addict who’s uncomfortable talking about sex.”
“She’s working on it.”
“That’s what I thought too, but she ran away from the girls. And when Daisy confronted her to talk about sex, she was flustered again. I was just trying to show her that it’s okay. That people can be comfortable about it. I knew I was going to cross a line, but I thought it was going to be fucking worth it. For Lily…and a little bit for Daisy too.” He pauses. “It just happened, Lo. I can’t take it back, and I honestly wouldn’t.”