“I’m so sorry,” he began.
I waved away his apology and parted the reeds on my way out of the water.
“Everything’s fine,” Kaya said.“Mmm.Okay.Yep, I see it now.Very minor.I wouldn’t lie to you.Yes, I will.I said I will.Now leave me be so I can help Sophia back to the clubhouse.She fell into a pond.”
She hung up and looked at me with barely contained mirth.
“Well, I think it’ll be a little uncomfortable to continue.Let’s go see if we can find you something to change into.”
The ride to the clubhouse didn’t take long, and when I encountered the gawking stares of the rest of the group that had already finished, I smiled brightly and did a homecoming queen wave as I walked by, shoes squelching, on my way to the locker room.
One face stood out in the crowd.
Lianna.
Her evil smirk said that the slippery seat hadn’t been an accident.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE
Konni was waitingby the door when we returned home.His turbulent gaze swept over me, catching on my scraped knee, which I hadn’t noticed while in the pond—probably due to the wine I’d consumed.
“See?It’s a minor injury,” Kaya said.
“No, it’s not.It’s a major injury,” I said with a sad pout.“I’ll need to be pampered for the rest of today, including being carried to bed, where I’m going to sleep by myself because I’m too tired for anything else.”
Kaya choked on her laugh.“I think I’m going to go start dinner while you two work through this.Is Abbye back?”
“No.”
Konni’s clipped response had Kaya beating a hasty retreat.
“Does it hurt?”he asked when she was gone.
“My arms hurt from all the balls I hit, and my legs are sore from straining them last night.My knee isn’t even on my pain radar.Your unrequited love interest is though.She’s a huge pain in my ass and the reason I landed in the pond.”
“Mom said you slid off the seat.”
“I did.Ask yourself why the seat was so slick?Lianna sent us drink after drink.Your mom thought it was a test to see if I could handle my alcohol and had us drink water between glasses.But it wasn’t.It was a test for my bladder and a way to get me to hitch a ride on the drink cart when there wasn’t a bathroom nearby.
“If I weren’t worried about her dragon-stomping me, I would have throat-punched her by now.”
His lips twitched, and he pulled me into his arms for his version of a hug, which included rubbing against me.
“She’s not my anything, and I love seeing your jealousy.”
“Pfft.This isn’t jealousy.It’s annoyance.I think I swallowed pond water, Konni.”
Silent laughter rumbled through him.
“Careful.I perfected my swing and might be in the mood to hit a few more balls.”
He kissed the top of my head, then swung me up into his arms.
“Let’s start you a bath.While you soak, we can shop for some compensation purses.”
I melted against him.
Sittingat my desk with a happy smile, I turned toward Edi, who was the only one there.
