I flash a smile in acknowledgement and take another long sip of my drink.
She’s been nice but something in her demeanor is tap dancing on my nerves. Maybe it’s because I know she’s involved with Oz.
“So nice to talk, Sin.” She looks at something behind me and waves at someone.
“You too,” I return. “I am glad to finally meet you.”
She meets my eye again. “I’m glad this wasn’t weird.”
I blink in surprise. “Why would you think that?” I ask, unpacking her sentence.
She grimaces. “Well… given what happened the first time we met I wasn’t sure you wouldn’t want to scratch my eyes when I came over.”
“We’ve never met before.”
She giggles and covers her mouth with her hand. “Maybemeetis the wrong word. We didn’t actually speak.”
“Okay, you still haven’t told me where and when this happened.” The way her smile sharpens makes my throat go dry and sip my water.
“It was at Kwame’s. I was on my knees with his dick my mouth. And you watched.”
“What?” I blurt and choke mid swallow. I’m consumed by a fit of coughing.
“Oh my goodness,” she exclaims loud enough for the occupants of our table to hear her before she moves to stand over me, whacking my back harder than necessary in her pretense of helping me.
She leans down, presses her lips to my ear. “The second time was when you broke into Oz’s apartment.” Her voice is a whisper, but it booms in my ear.
If I hadn’t been sitting down my knees would have failed me. I look up at her sharply and meet her square in the eye and cut straight to the chase. “What do you want?”
Her beautiful mouth curves into a smile. “I don’t know what you’rereallyafter, and I don’t care. Just don’t cross me, and I’ll let you keep yoursecrets…and Kwame.”
She presses a kiss to my cheek and straightens. It takes all my self-control not to grab her by the hair and drag her back.
She’s not the person I’m really angry at, anyway.
I get up and go in search of Kwame.
I’m reeling as I walk out of the ballroom.
Paloma Persaud is some sort of secret villain?
And she’s been watching me. I can’t even imagine how she and Kwame are friends. How close can they be if he’s never mentioned her?
Does he know about her and Oz?
Did he bring me here to help me or distract me?
The thought makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry.
I’ve trusted him with everything. Why couldn’t he trust me?
Distraught, I abandon my original mission and go in search of fresh air.
I need to think.
I open one of the sliding doors that line the back of the house and step out onto the stone terrace.
I walk to the ledge and lean into the slight breeze.
