But what made me even angrier was that I was almost as much at fault as Mac. I’d gone along with the stupid plan, trying to call his bluff as he pressed me further and further into a truly dangerous situation.
Well it ended now. I’d gotten lucky last night and I wasn’t going to take it any further. Hopefully Mac learned his lesson too, because I was done trying to teach it to him. Screw him. Mac had taken up too much of my focus the past few days. With the wedding mere days away, I should be spending my time with Mariana making sure everything was in order. I never did find out if she’d gotten rid of those disgusting yellow flowers.
Are you really going to admit defeat? What if he tries to bang Margot the minute your back is turned?
I brushed the thought from my mind. He’d said he wouldn’t, but so what if he did? Would it even get back to Sam and Beck? I didn’t know, and I didn’t care. Trying to stop him was only making things worse.
Mac could do whatever he wanted. I balled up my memories of our night together and pushed them down. All traitorous thoughts of Mac had to go. I was washing my hands of him.
“So it was just fine?” That was Kylie, eating an orange and looking at me like she didn’t believe a single word that was coming out of my mouth.
“Just fine,” I repeated, taking a sip of my coffee and hoping my friends couldn’t see through the outright lie. “We went to a couple bars, walked around, met some people. It was like a night out back home. Actually wish you all could have been there.”
Kylie looked at Beck, possibly for backup over her disbelief, but if Beck doubted my story, she showed no sign.
“That does sound like fun,” Beck said. “Honestly I’m just glad you made it back in one piece.” She’d been ecstatic to see me when I joined them at the lunch buffet, giving me a huge hug that I hadn’t realized I needed.
“Sure, sure,” Kylie said. “Maybe we should do a group night off the resort than?” There was a light tease to her tone. Kylie had known me for too long; she didn’t believe me at all.
“Maybe,” I said with a smile. There was no way it was actually going to happen so why not agree?
“Why leave the resort?” Jules cut in. She was wearing her sunglasses indoors and texting while she talked. “Trust me, all the bars are way better here.”
“Have you been to Tuzas?” Kylie asked with an edge to her voice.
“No, but—”
“Then why should we trust you?”
I blinked and stared at my normally good-natured friend. She and Jules glowered at each other with obvious dislike.
“Let’s just all stay on the resort,” Beck said, cutting the tension with an overly-bright voice. To me, she said, “I’m glad it was a good time, but they really do tell you not to wander around the city.”
I shrugged and shot a smile at Kylie. “Whatever you say, boss,” I said. “But it was a lot of fun.”
“Good, clean, old-fashioned fun.” My chest tightened at the deep voice behind me. Mac.
He pulled up a chair and sat down at our table, followed by Mason. Mac looked fresh and well-rested, no sign at all of the stress of the previous night. “Alice telling you about our night?” he asked. His eyes landed on me, a playful smile on his full lips.
In that instant, trapped by his gleaming green eyes, I wanted to smile back. But then I remembered my fear last night and my anger this morning. Stay strong, Alice. I looked away, expressionless.
“Yep,” Kylie said. “I hear it was uneventful?” she added as she chewed.
“Dead boring,” Mac confirmed. “Wish we would have just stayed here.” I glanced at him as he talked and while his mouth smiled, his eyes were dulled.
“And yet you ran into Twain?” Mason asked. Like Kylie, he seemed to suspect that something was off about the story.
Beck’s eyes widened. “Really? Is he back?”
Mac nodded. “He’s around somewhere. Probably getting into something he shouldn’t be.”
Jules looked up from her phone. “Oh boy, Alice. There’s your next target.” Her tone dripped with snark.
I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
There was an unmistakable shake as Beck kicked her under the table. Jules scowled at Beck and then stood. “I’m going find Keegan,” she announced and stalked off.
“What the hell is her problem?” I demanded, watching her go.
Beck looked away and ignored my question. Kylie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Nothing,” she said.
“Anyway,” Beck said, trying to get past the awkward moment quickly. “We’re going to the pool after lunch. You want to join?”
“Yeah, of course,” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic while wondering just what exactly had gotten into Jules. She’d seemed encouraging in my crusade against Mac when we played tennis. Times had changed apparently.
But whatever. I didn’t especially like Jules nor did I care what she thought of me. It was Beck and Kylie (and Sarah to some extent) whose opinions mattered to me. They’d be happy to know that I was done with Mac.
I was mulling over what might have happened last night as I walked back to my room to get changed for the pool. Right before I got to the door of our shared suite, Mac stepped out of his doorway and surprised me.
“Jeez,” I gasped, jumping back. “What the hell! Why are you always lurking?” I demanded.
He ignored the question. “Are you okay?” he asked. He looked annoyed too, less by me and more by the fact that he was asking.
“Am I okay physically?” I asked. “Yeah, I’m not beat to death with a baseball bat. Otherwise though?”
He sighed and actually had the decency to look at the floor. “Look, again I’m sorry. Obviously I didn’t mean for any of that to happen last night. It got way out of control.”
“Oh really? You think? Come on, what did you expect was going to happen?” I asked. “They told you. They warned you not to leave!”
His frown deepened and he took a step back, examining me coolly. “Well technically they warned us not to leave. What did you think was going to happen?” he asked back. “You went along with it. I didn’t force you to come.”
“You baited me into it knowing I’d follow you!” I hissed.
“And it was wrong and I’m sorry,” he repeated firmly. “I shouldn’t have put you in danger like that.”
I crossed my arms, trying not to look too closely at his gorgeous features or remember that skip he’d put in my heart last night. I wouldn’t fall for it. Not again.
“Well, thanks for the apology, but forgive me if I’m not jumping at the bit for a part two. Congratulations. You won. Consider yourself free from my involvement. If you do anything to mess up this wedding, it’s on you. I’ve done all I can.”
I turned away, stalking toward my room.
“Wait a minute,” he called after me. I stopped with my hand on the door. I rested my forehead against it for a moment, then turned around.
“What?”
He looked troubled, tense. Something was on his tongue that he wanted to say. But right when I thought he was going to release it, he shook his head. The moment passed. “Never mind.”