Games Night? More like Hell on Earth Night. Well, if this were hell, at least I was wearing the right outfit.
Harry twisted to grin at Ruth over his shoulder. “Who’s on our team?”
Whoa, whoa,whoa.“Team?”I turned slowly, eyes narrowing on Ruth.
She squirmed in her seat. “You know, just a small team.” Her laugh wasn’t convincing. “I invited a few friends to fill up the table.”
My jaw tensed. A sinking feeling was settling in my gut.Friends?If Yolanda Briggs sat at that table, Ruth’s chin could wobble until Hollyoak’s hairy cows came home, but I’d be out that door faster than she could sayorganic linen. I didn’t care if I had to walk the whole damn way up the mountain to get home.
Ruth fumbled open the car door with her good hand, and despite an almost spill that had my heart in my throat, she was out like a shot, her yellow dress lighting up the parking lot as sheclipped away from me at an uneven, frantic pace. Guilty as sin, she was.
Inside, she waved Harry away to get us a round of drinks, and I was thankful when she led the way through the laughing hordes to a table in a quieter part of the bar. Water jugs, cups, and coasters were set up for six. A placard with gold lettering sat proudly in the centre.
My fingertips traced the fancy gold swirls spelling out the team’s name.“Taking Care of Quizness?”A grin crept on my face.
Ruth beamed. “Awesome, right? It was Lola’s suggestion.”
My smile vanished. “Lola?” Ruth had better be kidding.
She grimaced. “Yeah, um, you know…” Her eyes zipped back and forth. “Lola came up with the name when we brainstormed over lunch today—”
“You had lunch withLola?Today?”
Ruth’s eyes darted everywhere. “Well, um,yes.” She gulped. “And maybe—technically—last week, too.”
“Technically, huh?” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “So, even though I specifically asked you not to stick your nose in because I’m so shit scared of making things worse with Lola, you went behind my back and spent two days hanging out with her?”
“Well,technicallyit was three days because she came over for dinner the other night—”
“Ruth!”
Her smile was pleading. “Lola’srealnice.”
That was stating the obvious. “She is.”
“We get along like a house on fire.”
“I bet.”
“You looksohandsome tonight.”
I fought back a laugh, but I lost. “Flattery won’t work on me, sister.”
“I promise I didn’t make it worse. I just want you to be happy.” Her good arm went around my waist, and she rested her head on my shoulder. “If you could see the way Lola smiles when I talk about you.”
“You talked about me?”
“Only good things!”
“Like?”
“Um…” She was back to those nervous laughs again. “Stop worrying about all that!” She squeezed me against her side. “Lola’s going to take one look at you all dressed up tonight and—bam!She’ll fall head over heels.”
“It won’t be like that. Maybe one day she might want to be friends, but… more than that…” The shake of my head was slow. “Don’t get my hopes up, Ruthie girl.”
She hugged me around my waist and whispered, “But Aiden, doesn’t Lola look so pretty tonight?”
I snapped my head around to the doors. First came Brooke. She marched at the head of the pack, red dress, red lips, ready to conquer the world. Lola slipped through the gap behind her. Maybe no one else noticed her, but my eyes stuck on that shy girl like glue. A pure goddess, draped in floral, her cheeks flushed pink from the chilled evening air.
