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Wynn’s smile turned downright wicked. “More than you want to know. And it felt damn good.”
I lifted my wine glass in the air and let out a whoop of support for my friend, everyone else following suit. Next, she tossed in an old T-shirt from his favorite football team, a stuffed bear he’d given her for Valentine’s Day one year, and a ton of other stuff. They might not have lived in the same place for a while, but they’d been together for years, so there was a lot to purge.
We were halfway through a second bottle of wine, all of us laughing and cheering with each item she threw like she was an MLB pitcher throwing one strike after another.
“Burn it, Wynn! Burn it!” Poppy chanted loudly as she danced around. We were all a little tipsy, a little loose, and more than likely, a little disruptive, but we were in the moment and enjoying the hell out of ourselves.
At least until our party got busted up by the very last person I wanted to see.
“Sheriff’s department,” a loud, authoritative voice announced. The sharp gleam of a flashlight cut around the yard. “We received a call about a noise complaint.”
Well shit.
Holton Clarke stood near Wynn’s back gate in all his powerful, uniformed glory. The jerk had to nerve to look hot as hell, all commanding and... sexy.
My heart started to beat frantically, and the air whooshed from my lungs at the sight of him. I’d done a damn good job of avoiding him for the past three weeks but seeing him brought back all the pain from that morning. Anger was so much better than pain, so I held as tight to it as I possibly could.
“What in the hell’s going on back here?”
That velvet-over-gravel rasp he had to his voice didn’t make my core flutter. Not at all.
“Oh,heyyyy!” Farah cooed, the booze having taken full effect. This wasn’t good. “It’s Deputy Clarke, everybody. Look! Hey, Deputy Clarke!”
He moved closer to our circle, clicking off his flashlight and tucking it into his duty belt. His gaze darted around the circle, taking everyone in. I was watching him so closely I couldn’t help but notice how his attention paused on Deva long enough for his expression to soften and his lips to form a soft smile. My stomach twisted painfully at that look. Finally, he got to me. He did a quick double take, surprise replacing the tenderness from a moment ago. Then he held my gaze a little longer than necessary, causing me to squirm as confusion made my jumble of emotions even worse.
I was the first to break eye contact, looking to the fire that was still burning brightly.
“We’re having a Bastard Burn,” Poppy announced.
Holton’s eyebrows went up in bewilderment. “A what?”
“I’m burning all my cheating ex-asshole’s stuff,” Wynn stated, then hiccupped, revealing she was just as drunk as everyone else.
His eyes widened. “Is that lighter fluid?” He pointed to the bottle in her left hand.
She looked at it like she’d forgotten she was even holding it before moving it quickly behind her back. “Um... maybe?”
He let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. I couldn’t really blame him. We were a bunch of drunk women burning shit in a backyard while obviously disturbing the neighbors.
I was sure we looked ridiculous, and as I thought about the scene from his point of view, I couldn’t stop the giggles that bubbled from my throat. I slapped my hands over my mouth, but it was too late. Once I started, I couldn’t stop, and it had a ripple effect with my girlfriends. In a matter of seconds, the five of us were laughing hysterically for no damn good reason.
“All right, I think it’s time you ladies called it a night, yeah?”
Wynn staggered sideways, nearly crashing into me before I caught her. She laughed again and stuck her tongue out at Holton. “Boo. The fun police are here, guys.”
“Boo! Fun police,” the rest of them chorused. I wasn’t sure how it had happened, but the four of them had somehow managed at some point to get a hell of a lot drunker than I was.
“Okay. I think he might actually have a point.” I was shocked I was able to say that without my face pinching up. I didn’t want to give the asshole any more credit than necessary. “I think this was pretty successful, right?” I wrapped my arm tighter around Wynn to help hold her up as well as hug her. “Do you feel better?”
She looked up at me with a loopy smile and glassy eyes. “Yep. Sure do.” She giggled and hiccupped again. “That was fun.”
I smiled at her, glad we’d been able to help, at least for a little while.
“Happy to have been of service.”
Holton walked past me with the end of a garden hose in hand and made quick work of putting out the fire before looking around once more. “Does anybody need a ride home?”
“Jase is already on his way to get me.” A slow smile stretched across Poppy’s face. “He likes it when I’m tipsy.”
