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Xander’s face filled my head. The way he’d looked at me last night on the roof terrace. There had been a moment, when our eyes collided, and the air had crackled around us. But I shook those thoughts away. Whatever understanding I thought existed between us was clearly a misjudgment on my part. He’d made that perfectly clear.
“What is it?” Lily asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I smiled my way through the lie, “nothing at all.”
* * *
“Okay,let’s go over the rules,” Jason said, arms folded over his chest as he surveyed the three of us.
“Seriously, Dad, it’s just a small gathering.” Poppy gave him her best puppy dog eyes. “You can trust us.”
“It’s not you I don’t trust; it’s the guys…” His brow quirked up.
“It’s only Kaiden and his friends, and Aaron and Cole.”
“Sounds like one too many guys for my liking. Maybe we should rethink this.”
“We are not rethinking this.” Felicity breezed into the room. She looked stunning in a knee-length, black cocktail dress. “We haven’t been out in forever. We need this.” Planting her hand on her husband’s cheek, she kissed him lightly. “The girls know the rules as do the guys.”
“Mom’s right, Dad. You deserve a night of freedom. You work so hard.” Poppy snickered. “Eat, drink, be merry, and don’t rush home.”
“Watch it, young lady.” He jabbed a finger at her. “Or else I’ll call the neighbor and ask her to come over and keep an eye on you all.”
She gasped. “You wouldn’t.”
“Is that a dare?”
“Jase,” Felicity rolled her eyes, “we need to leave or we’ll miss our reservation.”
“Go,” Lily added. “We’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry.”
Jason grunted, letting his wife push him toward the door. “No smoking in the house,” he called over his shoulder, “no alcohol, and definitely no sex.”
“Oh my God,” Lily breathed, her eyes wide and skin flushed. Poppy on the other hand was chuckling.
The click of the front door indicated they had left, and Poppy let out a heavy sigh. “I thought they were never going to leave.”
“What time will the guys be here?” I asked them, trying to seem enthusiastic. The truth was, I wanted nothing more than to retreat to my room and stay there. But I knew if I did that, it would only result in more questions. Or Bryan doing something stupid like coming to keep me company.
So here I was, pasting on a smile and pretending everything was fine.
“Ashleigh’s picking up Sofia, Aaron, and Cole now; and Kaiden and the guys are on their way.”
“I can’t believe Dad actually went for it,” Poppy said, grabbing bowls out of the cupboard and filling them with snacks. Felicity had gone all out, buying every type of chip and dip there was. There was pizza too, and a whole heap of candy.
It was cute, if a little over the top. But it was a big deal for the Ford sisters and their overbearing father.
“I’m pretty sure he’s set up some cameras so he can watch exactly what we’re up to.”
“God, I hope not,” Poppy looked horrified. “I told Ashleigh and Sofia to bring some mixer drinks.”
“Poppy! Dad will—”
“He’ll never know. Besides, it’s not like we’re going to get wasted.” She shrugged.
“Fine.”
“Like you won’t be distracted with Kaiden anyway.” Poppy stuck out her tongue at her sister, and I smothered a laugh. She was so different to Lily; adventurous and willing to push the boundaries. Jason had his work cut out for him where Poppy was concerned. I just wasn’t sure he knew it yet.
