“What’s up, Quinn the Queen?” I ask as she comes to a halt in front of me.
“How much of an idiot are you?”
Leave it to Quinn not to beat around the bush. It’s something I appreciate about her, but right now I’m not sure what she’s referring to. “What?”
“You’ve slept with her, haven’t you?” she asks, folding her arms across her chest.
The question has my eyes darting all around the casino floor to see if there are any ears that might pick up on this conversation. Namely Nate. I do it without thinking, which is my first mistake. I’ve given away the answer without a word.
“Oh fuck. You know, I knew you were an idiot, but I really didn’t think you had a death wish,” she says, smacking my arm. “Are you crazy? Nate is going to kill you.”
“You need to keep your mouth shut,” I hiss at her, still lookingaround.
“Oh, believe me, I will deny any knowledge of this. I am not going to be on the receiving end of that wrath.” Her shaggy black hair is flying through the air as she shakes her head back and forth. “How long have—” She gasps, the lightbulb going on in her head. “Oh my god, she’s the hellcat, isn’t she?”
My jaw snaps shut, and I clench my teeth.
“Holy shit. Huh.” Quinn’s eyebrows raise, her mouth turning downwards in contemplation. “I never saw that one coming, but okay. Jordan’s a hellcat. Oh good lord, didn’t Nate come up with that?”
She reaches into her hair and shakes it out for a few seconds, trying to wrap her mind around all the connecting dots.
“Yeah, let’s maybe not mention that,” I say dryly. “Can I go take a leak now?”
“No!” she huffs, crossing her arms over her chest again. “Liam, what are you doing? Do you know the shit that’s going to happen when Nate finds out?”
“He isn’t going to find out,” I snap at her. “Because no one is going to tell him. Jordan and I agreed this ends when we get back to Santa Rosé.”
Quinn is standing close enough to me that when she bursts into laughter, I can feel the expulsion of air against my skin. The epitome of someone laughing in your face.
“You’re an even bigger idiot than I thought.” Her head is shaking again, but the laughter is suddenly gone. “When this blows up in your face, because it is going to blow up in your face, I will do my due diligence and be there for you because you’re one of my best friends. But I will also be there to say I fucking told you so.”
If this blows up in my face, which it won’t, I’d say those are fair terms. “Noted.”
“And you’re buying the rest of my drinks tonight for the stress you’ve now put me under,” she adds as she walks past me towards the bathroom.
Fuck. Now I really need to win against Luke.
I sigh. “Whatever you want. Just keep your mouth shut.”
That part is integral to keeping Nate in the dark where he needs to stay.
But honestly, it’s not him that I’m worrying about right now. It’s me and the fucking feeling in my chest.
It’ll be fine. You can fuck it out of yourself and right into Jordan later tonight.
Yeah. That’s what I need. To fuck her lights out. Fucking fixes everything.
Chapter 17
Jordan
Anarmslipsaroundmy waist, a body warming my side while I pour orange juice into the champagne flute already bubbling with sparkling wine. It isn’t the arm of the person I’ve grown used to in the last few days, but I know the arm just the same. Tilting my head to lean on Savanna’s shoulder, I top up the second champagne flute. There’s a row of five lined up; one for each of us getting ready in the bridal suite before the big day commences.
Hailey, Quinn, and Maddie are all on the other side of the room, currently getting their hair and makeup done. I’m not entirely sure how I beat Hailey here this morning, since she’s always early, but since I was the first to arrive besides Savanna, I was the first in and out of the chair. My guess is I have Luke to thank for that.
Which has put me on drink duty.
“Hi sister-in-law,” Savanna croons at me, the smile apparent in her song.
