Fiona’s eyes bulged. “Are you out of your mind? She would kill me.” She glanced sideways. “They’ve always been so….you know?”
I tilted my head because, clearly, I did not.
“In love,” Fiona said. She averted her gaze and frowned.
I laughed softly and then realized she was serious. Fiona thought Katherine and Camden were in love? I glanced around at the rest of her friends…even Jane. They all thought that Katherine and Camden were really together.
Oh god.
The realization hit me like a two-by-four. No one else knew that it was an arranged marriage. It was a crew secret. And I’d happened to be a part of the crew when it all came out. They’d thought I was a nobody when they first told me, and then it was too late. But to the rest of the world, this was real.
It was deeply disturbing. And an edge I hadn’t known that I had.
“They’re in love, and yet you slept with him for years?” I asked Fiona.
“He’s a man of carnal desire,” she whispered.
I nearly gagged and found my eyes dragged back toward Camden Percy. Well, Fiona wasn’t the only person who had slept with Camden since he’d gotten engaged to Katherine. And I doubted she would be the last either. He’d never seemed like the one-woman type, especially since I knew that his feelings for Katherine were a charade.
“Nat,” Jane whispered. She pointed back to the entrance.
It was my time to curse.
Katherine Van Pelt strode into Club 360.
Chapter 28
Natalie
Katherine wore a skintight red dress and mile-high heels. Her dark brown hair was down in waves, and even with her face partially in shadow, it was clear she had on heavy makeup. Her steely gaze swept the dance floor, owning it, and then she walked right into Camden’s arms like they had been waiting for her all along.
We all watched in various forms of shock as they started making out in public. Right there on the dance floor.
Sure, he owned the hotel. He could do whatever he wanted. But it had never seemed like Camden was one for public displays of affection.
And last I’d heard, Katherine actually despised him. Except that wasn’t quite true. Penn had mentioned that Katherine had seemed relieved to see Camden. That she might even…like him. My head spun with that knowledge.
I wanted her to be miserable. I wanted her to pay. And somehow, it had turned on its head. Just becoming this wasn’t enough. Not if she was happy with that bastard. Against all odds.
I rose to my feet. “Who cares if he’s here?” I said to Fiona. “You can get any guy you want. You don’t need to worry about one who’s already married.” I held my hand out to her, and she let me help her up. “Let’s dance.”
The rest of the girls jumped to their feet as the beat kicked in. We crushed together, letting loose, and seemingly getting rid of all our concerns. Just a group of beautiful women living the life.
Jane danced next to me with a sly smile on her lips. “Nice job.”
I threw an arm around her. “Fake it till you make it, right?”
“I think you’re already there.”
“Huh, I guess so. Who knew it was just an attitude change that could bring me all of this?”
“Me,” Jane said with a laugh, swaying her hips side to side.
Harmony appeared a minute later and swept into our dance circle. “Oh my god, did you see that Katherine is here?”
“We saw,” I told her.
“She’s going to kill us,” she said with a chuckle. “It’s going to be great.”
“There’s nothing she can do about it.”
Harmony gave me a dubious look. “She’s Katherine Van Pelt. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
I knew she was right. Katherine stayed two steps ahead. And though I’d been trying to figure out what her next move would be, I still had no idea. But there had to be something coming. Knowing her.
It took longer than I’d thought it would.
I hadn’t expected Katherine to be here at all. I purposely hadn’t invited her to our little soiree because I wasn’t ready for this showdown. I’d wanted it on my terms. Not here when I was trying to garner favor with her friends.
But it didn’t seem to matter what I’d wanted. She was here. This had been a long time coming anyway.
So, I waited as she strode toward the booth with venom on her tongue and death promised in her dark eyes.
“What the hell is going on?” Katherine demanded when she reached our booth.
She didn’t look at me. Her eyes were on Harmony. And then more death glares for Fiona. Well, that answered that question. Katherine definitely knew about that.
“Hey, Katherine,” I said with a smile. “We’re having a girls’ night out.”
Her eyes dragged to me as if it was the last thing she wanted to do. “And who invited you to this thing?”
“Invited me?” I asked her. “I think you have it backward. I did the inviting.”
Katherine looked thrown for a second, glancing at her friends and lackeys in disbelief. But then recovered even though her anger seemed to have only intensified. “Well, I’m so sorry to have to ruin things then,” she said dryly.
“Oh, don’t worry. You can go back to your husband. It won’t ruin anything for us.” I stepped into her path before she could enter the booth. “We have this space reserved for the night, and we kind of wanted this to be exclusive. You understand, yeah?”
“This is my booth,” Katherine spat.
“Actually, it’s not,” Harmony said, coming up to my left. “We have the space, Katherine. Just because you normally party here doesn’t mean anything.”
Katherine glared at Harmony. “Cute, Harm. Would you like any of my other sloppy seconds? First, Penn, and now, you’ve even moved on to friendships.” She pointedly glanced at me. As if we’d ever really been friends.
“This has nothing to do with you. We’re just having some fun. You’re the one who always wants to ruin that,” Harmony snapped.
I pressed her backward. I didn’t want this to get ugly. And it would devolve quickly between Katherine and Harmony. Honestly, it had always been like that with me and Katherine, too, but I didn’t want to fall apart here. I needed to be strong. She couldn’t have what she wanted. And she would do anything to get it.
But I’d learned a lesson with Michael back in Charleston. If you backed down from your opponent, then they’d walk all over you. I had no intention of backing down.
“It’s fine, Harmony. Katherine was going to leave anyway. She knows when she’s not welcome,” I said crisply.
I could hear the whispers behind me. The girls who watched me stand up to Katherine Van Pelt. Maybe the first time they’d ever seen that.
“You have no idea what you’re doing,” she hissed at me.
“I think I do. Don’t make me call security,” I warned carefully.
“As if they’d do anything. My husband owns this whole place.”
“Then ask him to make us move, Katherine,” I dared her. “Camden at your beck and call. That’s how it works, right?”