She took a sip of the punch I hadn’t noticed her holding as she scanned the ballroom. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Stealing her punch, I finished it in one gulp before setting it down and pulling her close. “Very much.”
Her eyes glistened as she sucked in a breath. “I never stopped thinking of you as mine, Jamie. I just… I realized you never could be again. Not after what I did to you.”
She didn’t seem so sure. Was that hope in her voice? It was the last thing I wanted to give her. “Dance with me,” I said instead. I saw the disappointment in her gaze, but she didn’t resist me as I pulled her onto the dance floor. I had no idea what song was playing—some slow, lonely tune with an easy rhythm.
“A live band would have been so much better,” Bee remarked. Her body trembled in my arms, and I realized she was grappling for something to distract her from her nerves.
Unconsciously, I began to slowly stroke her back, offering her comfort. “DJs offer more variety,” I rebutted. Sighing, she laid her head on my chest, and her trembling slowed until she was so still that I thought she’d fallen asleep. “Bee?”
“Don’t stop,” she whispered, and I didn’t. I couldn’t stop touching her if I tried. The song changed to something up-tempo, so I led her off the dance floor and found an empty table. Sitting down, I pulled her onto my lap, shoved my fingers in her hair, and kissed her for everyone to see. I didn’t give a damn what any of them thought. I saw Bee when no one else had. She was mine first, and no one and nothing could change that. Least of all me.
“You were right,” I said when I pulled away from the kiss.
“Right?” Her eyes slowly opened, and her vision took a few seconds to focus.
“A band would have been better. This DJ fucking sucks.”
She laughed, and I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed the sound. So much so that I wanted to punch Ever when he suddenly appeared at our table. The light that had been in her eyes died, too, as sorrow replaced them. I shouldn’t have expected her to be over him so soon, but I couldn’t help the urge to toss her the hell out of my lap.
She stood, saving me from doing so. “Ever.”
My fists balled at the hope in her voice. No way was he taking her back. I swear I’d murder them both before I allowed that to happen. Maybe Four could help me bury the bodies. As if I’d spoken her up, she appeared by his side a moment later.
Confusion chased away some of my anger when Bee said Four’s name with the same note of desperation. What the hell was going on?
“Hey,” Four greeted with a gentle smile. She was a lot more gracious than I would have been.
“I think we should talk,” Ever announced, breaking the awkward silence.
“It’s okay,” Bee said. “I already know. You don’t have to explain. You’ve both done enough.”
I sat up straight at that while Ever shoved his fingers through his hair.
“Believe me, I didn’t mean for it to go down like that,” Four said. Why did it sound like she was apologizing?
Sure, technically, she’d been the other woman, but Ever made his choice. No one should ever have to apologize for falling in love.
At that moment, I felt like the world’s biggest hypocrite. And asshole. I’d given Bee hell for choosing Ever. Except… whatever Bee thought, she wasn’t in love with Ever. I knew what Bee in love looked like, and it damn sure wasn’t what she’d felt for him.
Not even when I’d promised to help her get my cousin to notice her. Instead, I’d stolen her for myself. Slowly, my fists balled in my lap. Maybe what had happened between us was my own damn fault. I’d given Barbette my word, knowing I had no intention of keeping it.
“Neither of us did,” Ever added. He slid his hands in his tuxedo’s pockets.
“It was never your fight, Ever. This is between my father and me.”
My ears perked at that. What did Elliot have to do with Bee dating Ever?
“Ever has a plan,” Four informed her. “I wasn’t so sure you’d go along with it but”—her gaze drifted to me when before I’d been pretty much invisible as they talked freely—“now I’m thinking Ever is on to something?”
I lifted a brow at her question. I had no idea what the hell she was talking about, but it was clear this plan of theirs involved me, and they’d seen us kissing.
“I don’t understand,” Bee said slowly.
That made two of us.
“Look,” Ever said as he scratched his brow, “let’s just talk about this in the morning and enjoy tonight.” The girls didn’t look like they were budging, so he looked to me for help. Even though I wanted answers now, I stood to my feet just as the rest of our crew joined us.
“We should bail,” Vaughn suggested as he came to stand beside Ever.
Tyra gripped the front of his tux as she stood on the tips of her toes. “And I told you not before I got my dance.”
Yanking her even closer, he growled against her neck, “I’ve got something better we can do.”
“You do know we can hear you,” Lou said, wrinkling her nose.
Just then, the cha-cha began to play, making Ever groan. “You guys do what you want, but that’s my cue to leave.”
Taking Four’s hand, he headed for the nearest exit. When he glanced over his shoulder seconds later, he smirked when he found everyone following them. He held open the door that led to the hall’s back lawn as we all filed through. There was an unlit path with a soft glow up ahead that we followed.
“You guys,” Tyra cautioned, “I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to go toward the light.”
Vaughn quickly scooped her off her feet when she stopped in her tracks. “Don’t be a baby,” he teased before tossing her over his shoulder.
“Can you blame her?” I said. “We all know the black characters are always the first to go.”
“Exactly,” Tyra chimed in, shocking everyone, including me. She wasn’t exactly my biggest fan, but I was slowly winning her over. I think.
The music had almost faded when we eventually stumbled upon a small gazebo. Vines and rose garlands wrapped around the stone columns while pink gossamer curtains draped the entrance like a canopy. The filigree carving the iron of the domed ceiling allowed the full moon to cast its welcoming glow despite the lanterns. Pink rose petals littered the ground and were crushed under our feet as we reached the end of the path, which sloped up onto the small hill.
It was perfect for a late-night rendezvous, and one glance at Ever, Vaughn, and Wren told me they were thinking the same thing. The girls rushed up the stone steps, leaving us behind and oblivious to our lascivious thoughts.
Before long, we were all silently arguing over who’d get to take advantage of the intimate space.
“Are you kidding me?” Wren hissed when Vaughn and I faced off with our fists lifted over our palms.
Vaughn shrugged as we pounded our fists three times. “Rock-paper-scissors, bro. It’s the only way to avoid bloodshed.”
“Best two out of three?” I heard Ever ask.
A moment later, they were pounding their fists. Vaughn and Wren both lost, and Ever and I faced off. Before we could even begin the first round, I heard a throat clear. Four stood next to Ever with her arms crossed. Not the least bit sorry, he lustfully stared her down as Bee pinned me with a glare of her own. I slid my arm around her waist, but she swayed into me with a sigh before I could pull her close. As if I’d done it a million times before, I skimmed my lips across her forehead. The feelings stirring in my chest from the action were familiar but long-lost.