AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nod. “I kinda figured. I wish we could do sleepovers more often, even if just to get you more breaks.”
She nods, her pretty face tugged into an expression of regret. “They’re kind of hard to arrange. I have round-the-clock duties and they’re not used to doing anything for themselves.”
Irritation flares up again, but I force it away from me. We are being relaxed. Peaceful. Serene. We will not give up our peace to all the evil forces at work in this godforsaken town.
“Oh! Maybe Javi will be working and you can meet him, too.”
Hannah’s eyes widen slightly, then her expression turns conspiratorial. “Who’s Javi?”
“Oh, just this super-hot valet that Landon now hates with every fiber of his being,” I say innocently as I drop my phone back atop the clothing stack. “He reads, too.”
Hannah makes a show of dropping her jaw. “Oh my god, does Parker Johansson like a boy?”
“I don’t know,” I say, feeling my face flush and almost regretting bringing it up. “We haven’t talked much or anything, but heisvery cute, and he seems really nice.”
Hannah clasps her hands together. “Aww. I love that. There aren’t enough nice boys.”
I laugh. “Ain’t that the truth.” Feeling much more hopeful, I approach the sauna and open the glass door for her. “After you.”
Chapter Twenty
Parker
After soundly defeating Mom and Kara at a game of tennis, Hannah and I head inside to get a table for lunch while Mom says her goodbyes to the dance mom.
Hannah’s stepmom has a membership here, but I don’t know if Hannah has ever been. We’re allowed to bring a guest on a day pass, but bringing her along doesn’t seem like something Jackie would do. Like Anae, she seems to get more joy out of excluding Hannah from things.
“Well, well, well. Look who it is.”
As if I summoned dark forces by thinking about them, I hear the smug sound of Arden Prince’s voice and sigh, turning to face him.
He’s not looking at me, though. His appreciative gaze is moving down Hannah’s body, admiring the way she looks in my mom’s white top and tennis skirt. Because Hannah wore a sweater to my house last night and she’s going home after this, she wanted to bring her clothes inside to change into before she left. Her soft blue wool-blend cardigan is draped over her shoulders, her leggings unseen in her purse, and I have to admit, she looks exactly like the type of person who belongs here.
So does he, but it’s because he does. He’s wearing white trousers and a beige polo with a watch that probably cost more than my car. Classic old money, but then, he is.
I feel like the odd one out, because I am. Looking at the three of us, you can very easily guess I am the one who owns a pink yoga mat that says, “after this, we are so getting pizza.”
“Oh, sorry,” I say to Arden, pulling a fake grimace. “We have a strict no troublemakers allowed policy.”
He smirks, ignoring me to watch Hannah. “If there were two girls in Baymont I wouldn’t have expected to see here today, they would definitely be the maid and the upstart.”
Even Hannah gives him a cool look. “Hello, Arden.”
He takes her hand and kisses it because he isthe biggest assholein the known universe. “Cinderella,” he murmurs, expertly straddling the line between teasing and an outright taunt.
Her eyes narrow slightly and she takes back her hand.
Since we’re in public, he lets it go.
And since I just saw him in my driveway last night and Hannah doesn’t know about it, I am eager to get the hell away from him.
Well, I’m always eager to get the hell away from him because he’s the worst, but I am currentlymoremotivated than usual.
“Anyway, we’re meeting my mom here, so…” I trail off in hopes that the mention of a parental figure will encourage him to fuck off.
“Yeah? Moms love me. Maybe I’ll hang around.”
“Mine won’t,” I assure him with a fake smile.
