“I’m great at reading people. Same difference.”
I snort and take the flask from her, tipping it back enough for a decent swig of the burning liquid, coughing as I lower it. “Christ, what is this? Fireball?”
“Guilty pleasure.”
“Fine,” Dana says, already reaching for the flask next. “If we’re doing this, we’re all doing it. Just don't tell my husband I'm pregaming or he'll get jealous.”
That, more than anything, loosens the knot in my chest.
I glance between them as Mandy tucks the flask away. “Wait, where’s Ray?”
Dana answers first. “Her mom’s visiting this weekend, so she stayed home with her.”
“Oh. That's sweet.”
Mandy snorts. “Give it two hours and Wade will be calling her like he’s lost without her here.”
* * *
We head into the bar and restaurant together, all warm light and dark wood and the low hum of conversation wrapping around us the second we step inside.
Grayson is already seated at the table with Cole, Jackson, and Wade, a whiskey glass in his hand and a look on his face that says his friends have been making his life difficult for at least ten minutes.
Then his gaze lifts, finds me, and he goes absolutely statue-still.
It is not subtle.Not even a little.He stares at me like he forgot how to do something basic. Breathe, maybe, or blink, or swallow.
God. I should not enjoy that as much as I do.
Dinner turns out to be mercifully easier than it has any right to be— partly because the food is incredible, and partly because Mandy and Cole both seem to thrive in quiet pauses and fill them with ease. But mostly it's because once the first few minutes pass, I can feel myself settling into the exact same rhythm we found at Cole and Dana’s place.
I sit beside Grayson, close enough to be aware of him every second and determined not to let that matter.
I ask Wade about the resort and actually mean it because the place is stunning and I want to know everything. I ask Dana how Lucy’s sleeping and get a long-suffering look in return that makes Cole laugh before pointing at his own eye bags. Mandy tells a story about Jackson trying to assemble a TV unit with an Allen key and confidence alone because he was determined to do it without instructions, and I laugh hard enough that I have to put my drink down when she shows me pictures of the final result.
At one point, Cole asks me how the women’s line at Sparkks is doing, and when I answer, the conversation turns into design and expansion and the difficulty in making something peoplewant to wear and simultaneously suit whatever activity they're doing.
I can feel Grayson beside me through all of it. He's quiet, but he's listening, only occasionally chiming in. It's infrequent enough that it feels strange, and I find myself glancing at him more than once just to make sure he hasn't just up and disappeared.
The third time, I catch him already looking at me.
There's something in his face, the way his head is tilted, that makes the hair on the back of my neck spring up.I lift my brows slightly, a silentWhat?without words.
He just shakes his head, takes a sip of his drink, and looks away.For once, Grayson Sparkks seems to be the one at a loss for words aroundme.
* * *
Wade leans back in his chair and glances toward the windows facing the back of the resort. Beyond the glass, the night is blue-black and silvered with snow, the outdoor deck lit golden under the heaters.
“We should hit the pool,” he says. “It’s warm as hell. Feels like a hot spring this time of night.”
Mandy perks up immediately. “Yes.”
“You say yes to literally everything when you’ve had two glasses of wine,” Dana laughs as she lifts her glass to her lips.
“Three,” Mandy corrects.
“That explains a lot.”
