“That’s a lie,” I tell her bluntly.
I might have been made a fool of in the past, may have been deceived and manipulated by those around me, but Drew wasn’t one of them.
Her lips twist into a snarl. “No, it’s not. And you know it. He hasn’t brought you around us much and there’s a reason for that. Hell, he didn’t even sit at his table tonight, but his dad’s, and it was because he didn’t want to bring you into our world. He knows there isn’t any point because you won’t be staying. You don’t belong.”
“She was sat with his dad and friends,” Harriet bites back.
Eloise arches her eyebrow. “Because that family have people coming and going all the time. It makes no difference to him.”
I turn to Gabby, feeling my eyes well up with tears. Not because I believe her but because I understand what Drew meant when he said his family had high expectations and it suffocated him. “I don’t believe her.”
“Hey, don’t get upset,” Gabby soothes.
Eloise, smug as all hell, and no longer slouching, straightens. “Believe it. He wants me.”
“I’m not getting upset. I’m getting angry,” I growl.
“Oh fuck,” Harriet whispers, stepping away.
I place my hands on my hips, staring Eloise down. “Why do you want him?” Her lips move, but no words come out. “Answer me.”
“Because we are meant to be together.”
“Why though?”
“Because our families—”
“Because your families said so. Not Drew. Them. He is a person most capable of making his own choices in life and you stand here trying to take that away from him. I might not have known him long, but I do know he never does something he doesn’t want to do. If I was embarrassing him, he would have taken me home. If he didn’t want to bring me here, he wouldn’t have even mentioned it. And as for the table situation, Drew already explained to me he has two chairs here at the event. It gives him a choice of who he wants to sit next to, but he’s always sat with his father since he’s more comfortable there.” I exhale slowly. “As for your predicament, it’s a fantasy. I can relate. I’ve lived in books for years. What your excuse is, I don’t know. If he wanted you though, he wouldn’t deny it. He’s not a man who hides from what he wants.”
“Which I guess means he wants you, since he’s always going after you,” Harriet surmises.
Face red, coiled tight with veins bulging at her neck and temple, Eloise comes at me. “You bitch.”
My body freezes for a moment, my intake of breath getting trapped in my lungs. I can’t be hurt again. Not ever.
Crying out, I push her back before she can hit me, knocking her into a woman stepping through the toilet doors.
Gathering her bearings, the woman straightens, going right for Eloise.
“Oh shit,” Gabby whispers as another woman is knocked over, getting pulled into the fight.
I watch in horror as two men come rushing over. “Get off my wife,” he roars, trying to pull the blonde off who I assume is his wife.
“Don’t touch my woman,” the other guy bites out, his fist flying out and landing on the guy’s nose.
I whimper. “Oh God.”
“He’s mine, bitch. Mine!” Eloise roars, extensions hanging off her head.
Attentively, I step over an out cold woman, making my way around the ever-growing fight. I get out of the fray when Woods storms over, pausing when he sees me. “Why am I not surprised you’re involved.”
I get shoved in the back and he catches me, pulling me out of harm’s way. “Go!”
“I’m coming for you,” Eloise roars, before another woman jumps on her back, stopping her from coming at me.
“Oh fuck!” Gabby whispers. “That had to have hurt.”
“Charlotte!” Drew roars, knocking a guy out of the way as he gets to me.
“Girls, I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”
“Go!” they order. “We’re going back for one more drink.”
Drew grabs my hand, pulling me back. I watch the girls for one more moment, making sure they get back into the event okay.
“Come on,” Drew orders, pulling me toward the exit. “The police will be called.”
I begin to run as fast as I can in my heels. “Come on, before they arrest me.”
“Arrest you? You’ve done nothing wrong,” he calls out.
I push open the door, paling when I spot police cars coming down the road. “I pushed Eloise when she came at me. It had a domino effect because before I knew it, they were all fighting.”
“Eloise—”
“Let’s go,” I order, pulling him in the opposite direction the police are pulling in from.
He tugs on my arm when we come to a side road, and drags me down there, pushing me against the wall. “Did she hurt you?”
Panting heavily, I glance up at him. “No.”
“What happened?”
I quickly run over everything she said in the toilets. “I didn’t believe her,” I finish.
“You have that much faith in me?”
I run my hands up his chest, stopping at his shoulders. “I’ve been fooled a lot during my life, but with you, I can’t explain it. I trusted your actions and words more than I did hers. Does that make me a bad feminist?”
“No, it makes you intuitive,” he admits. “What she said, none of it was true. Earlier, she ambushed me, stating the night we spent together resulted in a pregnancy that she miscarried.”
“Drew,” I whisper.
He shakes his head, quickly explaining everything that happened when his sister pulled him away earlier. The more he tells me, the closer I press against him, wanting to comfort him.
“Why would she say those things?” I ask, then a thought occurs to me. “Your sister wasn’t with her earlier. And Eloise looked pretty upset.”
“Hopefully she saw through the lies.” He shrugs. “I’m pissed she’d think so little of me.”
“I’m sorry you had to listen to that.”
“What’s worse is, Eloise knows the pressure my mother will rain down on me if she tells her. And what’s worse, my mum will probably know it’s a lie and go along with it anyway.”
My heart constricts. “What will you do?”
“Fuck all. Because it’s all bullshit and even if it wasn’t, it still wouldn’t be a reason to force myself into a marriage with her.”
I relax against him. “She thought she could guilt trip you,” I guess.
“Yeah, but it’s not going to work. I’m not sure why they’ve deluded themselves into thinking otherwise.”
“The things she said… I don’t want to come between you and your family.”
His gaze softens. “You wouldn’t be the one getting between us. It’s them getting between us.”
My pulse picks up. “There’s an us?”
His pupils darken. “Fuck yes.”
“And I didn’t embarrass you?”
Cupping my cheek, he brings his head down, resting it against mine. “Never.”
“Good,” I whisper, feeling good all over. Even my vagina is feeling extremely happy right now.