“He doesn’t know I have an inheritance,” I say, and then ask Pike, “Do you?”
He doesn’t answer, but he’s watching very carefully.
“You need that inheritance, especially with the way you’ve been living your life.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask him.
“You work part-time posting pictures for Frankie Donuts. There’s nowhere to grow from there.”
“Hey, I can go from part-time to full-time. There’s growth in there.”
Arlo pushes his hand through his hair. “And why didn’t you fucking tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want you involved, like you’re involved in every aspect of my life. I’m a big girl,” I say to Arlo, growing defensive. “I don’t need you constantly inserting yourself in my life.”
“Clearly you do if you got married to someone in Vegas. Christ, Cora. I thought we were done making bad decisions. I thought we were done with your wild years. Now that you’re divorced, are you just going to settle back into the rhythm of your teenage years that almost got you killed?”
I’m about to answer when a sharp voice bites through the air, “Hey.” My eyes fly to Pike, who is quickly approaching the scene. “Lay off. It takes two to make the decision to get married.”
Arlo turns on Pike, and with hands on his hips, Arlo says, “I suggest you stay the fuck out of this.”
Just then, Gunner and Romeo hop out of the pool and approach us as well.
Pike places his hand on my lower back and asks, “Is that your attempt at trying to scare me away? Pathetic, Turner.”
“Greyson, I suggest you step aside and mind your own business.”
“My wife is my business.”
Arlo doesn’t like that because his eyes narrow.
“And say what you want about our relationship and marriage, but I know one thing for certain—I would never berate Coraline in front of her friends or family. I would never insult her profession or where she’s headed in life, because everyone goes at their own speed.”
Arlo stares Pike down and asks, “You think you know Coraline?”
“I know her well enough to know that I want to be married to her.”
“Is that so?” Arlo nods. “Did you know she used to be addicted to pain killers? Or that she tried to commit suicide once?”
“Arlo,” Greer says, pulling on his arm.
But he keeps going as all the blood in me rushes to my feet.
“Did you know that she married Keenan in the hopes of finding the love she was lacking in her life, only to be cheated on because she was emotionally unavailable?”
“Arlo, stop,” Greer says, tugging on him some more.
“She’s damaged, Pike, and I don’t need some man she barely knows destroying her all over again. I just got her back. I don’t want to lose her again.”
I’m too numb to reply.
So I just stand there, wavering back and forth, my mind swirling with alcohol. And utter disappointment.
And just as I feel the room start to spin and my legs beginning to go out, a strong pair of arms keep me upright . . . but that’s all I remember before everything goes dark.
“Would you be able to give us a moment to ourselves?”
I know that voice.
But even though I know it, I can’t seem to place it.
“Sure,” a manly, English voice replies.
Now, I know who belongs to that.
The bed dips and I hear footsteps cross the floor and then the soft click of the door.
Once again, the bed dips and a soft arm presses against mine.
“Cora, wake up.” Someone gives my arm a shake, and even though it feels like my head weighs two hundred pounds, I find it within me to open my eyes, and see Greer sitting next to me.
“Hey,” she says softly. “How are you?”
Mouth dry, I barely squeak out, “Not well.”
She hands me a glass of water and helps me sit up.
“Oh my God, my head.”
“Yeah, you definitely drank a lot in a short amount of time last night.”
“Wish I had more.”
“Are you okay?” Greer asks in that mothering tone.
“Besides the fact that I know puking is in my future, just swell.”
“I mean, with what Arlo said.”
I shrug. “I mean, it was the truth.”
“But a truth that didn’t need to be told like that.” She presses her hand to my forearm. “I made him sleep on the couch last night. Not even in the guest room. I forced him to sleep on the couch. I couldn’t even speak to him I was so mad. And when I did speak to him, I let him have it.”