Belatedly pacing myself, I took a sip and looked back at the dance floor. Madison was walking toward me, while Harrison had pulled Cade over to the bar—where he watched me with raised brows. I made the universal signal telling him not to worry—a little wave with a smile that definitely didn’t look deranged.
But too much was going on. Butterflies and bets, and the lies were growing harder to keep track of with each day.
And here I was, almost believing we were on an actual date.
“Charity,” a feminine voice fake-coughed beside me, and I turned to see Candace watching me beneath hooded lids from her table. Fletcher nursed an amber drink next to her, more interested in the glass than her.
I thought I’d misheard her. “Pardon?”
She held my gaze, even as her upper lip rose. “You reek of lower class, yet here you are flaunting a customSergio FioreI’m sure you didn’t pay a dime for? At least try to be subtle about the gold-digging, honey.”
I stiffened at the bite in her tone, but enough was enough. I bared my teeth in a tight smile. “Sorry, but what the heck is your problem?—”
“Ellie!” Madison swooped in and hooked her arm through mine, leading me toward the inside lounge while I clung to my glass. “I promise I’ll talk to Candace about how childish she’s being, but better for you to ignore her. She’s just jealous.”
I frowned, glancing back at the scowling blonde while also trying to keep up with Madison’s quick pace. “Of who?Me?That makes no sense.”
Candace was clearly a badass in the fashion industry, while as far as she knew I was a server and head of robotics at a cat café. It wasn’t exactly a competitive job. If she wanted to work there too, I was sure Kitty would hire her.
Not that I’d be happy about it.
Madison’s lips curved in amusement. “Doesn’t it? You bagged Cade Westbrook. Candace has been hanging around Harrison and his friends since college, trying to get a ring. She even set her eyes on my man at first, but I shot that downrealquick.”
We walked through a sliding door, and I barely avoided ramming into a server carrying a tray of drinks from the opposite direction. “But didn’t she get what she wanted? She’s marrying Fletcher.”
Madison shrugged, letting go of my arm and finding a seat on the couch. “Candace loves the lifestyle more than she loves Fletch, and Cade would’ve been a major upgrade in the net worth department. She’d hate anyone in your shoes right now—which are stunning, by the way. Who designed them?”
I stayed standing and took a deep breath, the dress even more constricting for airflow now. And I’d been too distracted by how sparkly the shoes were to check for a designer when I put them on. “Um, I don’t know.”
She snorted a laugh. “You’re a breath of fresh air. It’s no wonder Cade snatched you up.”
I blinked, not sure where that’d come from. “That’s really nice of you to say.”
“It’s the truth, but I also pulled you in here to be a little nosy.” Her eyes danced while I took a generous gulp of wine. “How’s the wedding planning going? Have you set a date yet?”
“Oh. No, not yet.” I cleared my throat, suddenly wanting to be anywhere but here. Madison was being so nice to me, and now she was asking questions I could only answer with lies.
Downing the rest of my wine, I looked around for an escape while Madison talked about how gorgeous Lake Como would be for a spring wedding. I nodded along, pretending I knew what she was talking about while she segued into advice about dresses and veils and flower arrangements.
I scratched at my inner elbow until the next time a server came by carrying a tray of drinks. The second she was within arm’s length, I reached for a glass before thinking twice and grabbing the bottle next to it instead.
The server’s eyes widened in alarm. “Ms. Darling, I can pour that for you?—”
“I got it!” My voice came out way too loud, and I hastily cleared my throat with a wince. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I’ll just keep this bottle if that’s all right, please?”
She hesitated before nodding and scurrying away, making me feel even worse.
But Madison was all smiles. “Letting loose tonight?”
I poured enough into my glass to almost fill it. “Something like that.”
She leaned forward. “You and Cade usually hole up in your cabin pretty early, but some of us like to have a few drinks and hang out on deck after dinner. You want to join us?”
I glanced through the floor-to-ceiling windows—Cade stood over by the bar with Harrison. To be completely honest, I wasn’t ready to be alone with him again. And I could definitely use another drink. “Sure, why not?”
Her grin widened. “Perfect. I asked the chef to stock some Jell-O shots in the kitchen, and now feels like the perfect time to raid them.”
Doing shots was both a brilliant and terrible idea. Dinner had wrapped up, and we found our way back on deck around the sun loungers. I sat with Madison and Piper, both regaling me with old stories about Cade and Harrison. The shots made us giggly, and eventually Harrison joined in the fun while the others hung out at the bar.
