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A subtle shake of Shane’s head and I know he’s about to refuse to leave me alone. “Where’s Luca?”
From around the corner, Ames comes skipping in. That woman has more personality than anyone I’ve ever known. No matter what’s going on, she’s always having a good time.
Sliding up to stand next to us, she wraps her arm with mine. “There you are. I’ve been waiting forever to talk to you.”
Ames looks up at me, and I’m struck by the violet color of her eyes.
“No worries,” she says when she turns to Shane. “I’ve got Brin. Go do your man shit or whatever.”
Shane is hesitant at first, but then he inclines his head and leaves the room with Ezra following closely behind him.
Ames flashes me a blinding smile. “You’re just in time. We’re having lunch out by the pool.”
Suspicious of the mischievous glimmer in her eye, I pull back when she tries to tug me along with her. “Who’swe?”
She rolls her eyes. “All the girls. Who else?”
“Nope. No way, Ames. Luca was ready to tear my head from my shoulders yesterday. I’m not getting into it with her again.”
She grabs hold of my arm again. “It’s not a problem, Brin. Just trust me. I think she feels bad for what she said yesterday, and it won’t happen again. Plus, you’ve been spending all your time with Shane and haven’t had a chance to get to know Ivy and the rest of them. These girls are insane. Every single one of them. You should hear the stories they have on the guys. And holy shit, what was done to them makes me wonder if they’re right in the head.”
Pulling me along, she continues, lowering her voice into a conspiratorial tone.
“Did you know Luca married some dude for like two years because Tanner was playing a game on her? Oh! And Emily fucked both the twins. At the same time. I’m a little jealous. And Ivy? Oh my god. Girl goals with that one.”
Stopping before walking out an exterior door I assume leads to the pool, she leans in closer and says, “Never keep me away from the snooty folks again. I swear, each and every one of them is almost as crazy as us.”
Pausing, she looks me up and down. “Okay. I take that back. They’re almost as crazy as me. You’re still coming out of your shell, but we’ll get you there.”
Ames opens the door before I can respond and leads me to a table set with an expansive lunch.
Luca, Ivy and Emily sit back, enjoying the sunlight, each one looking up at us with a gracious smile on their faces.
Unsure about Luca’s feelings, I direct my attention to her. She frowns and sits up straighter in her chair.
“I’m sorry, Brinley. I shouldn’t have jumped your ass like I did yesterday. It wasn’t fair. Please, take a seat and have lunch with us.”
Unsure how she could flip from blaming my dad for everything to apologizing and inviting me to lunch, I’m hesitant to pull out a seat and sit down.
Doing so, I scoot to the side a little to give Ames room to sit in the chair next to me.
Luca is still eyeing me when I get settled.
“Eat up. There’s everything here you could want. Sandwiches, fresh fruit, chips, cookies … you name it.”
Ames and the others don’t waste their time digging in, but I’m still watching Luca with suspicion.
Her blue eyes meet mine, actual remorse rolling across her expression.
“What I said was wrong of me. All of us have been dragged into this mess by our families, and none of us are to blame for what our parents have done. That trip to Georgia just brought back a lot of bad memories, and I reacted badly. I’m serious about being sorry, and I hope you can forgive me.”
She appears sincere, so I accept the apology. “It’s fine. We’ve both been through a lot.”
“Woman,” Ivy interrupts, half a sandwich pinched between her thumb and finger. She points it at me. “You have no idea. The stories all of us could tell you.”
I glance at Ames. “Even you?”
Ames blushes and suddenly finds her food to be more interesting than the conversation.
