AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her hand slipped from his, and with a nod, he stood and left her sitting there with her thoughts.
If he hadn’t been motivated enough to find Spencer and see that justice was delivered by his being put behind bars, hearing Waverley’s confession only doubled his determination.
That man needed to be put away so he couldn’t hurt anyone ever again. And he’d be only too happy to be the one to do it.
For Waverley.
Chapter 19
“Just a little farther,” Ronnie called back to the group he was leading down Duval Street.
They’d hit four bars on tonight’s pub crawl, and despite her best intention to keep a clear head, Waverley was feeling light-headed. She had been having such a surprisingly good time chatting with Lexi and Porter and even Staci—who had made herself Waverley’s new best friend for the night—that she had forgotten she was supposed to be pretending to drink.
In the past, she would have been wondering how many drinks away Spencer was from heckling or outright punching someone who didn’t give him the deference he felt entitled to. But with Reynolds’s arm around her and the strength of his body pressed to her side, she felt a sense of security, peace, and contentedness that she didn’t usually get to experience. Not to mention a healthy dose of pure, unadulterated lust.
A light breeze channeled down the narrow street, cooling her flushed face as they made their way through the crowd. The balmy seventy-two degrees in Key West was definitely an improvement from the mid-forties they’d left behind in Colorado, and she was taking full advantage of that by wearing a pretty floral wrap dress that fluttered around her knees when she walked.
The bar Ronnie led them into was a popular bar on this stretch of Duval and was packed. Like every other bar they’d visited tonight, there was live music playing, and this musician was playing a decent version of a Bob Marley’ song.
“Ladies, find a seat and we’ll get the drinks,” Ronnie offered magnanimously, even though she doubted they’d find a table free, let alone one large enough to accommodate their group of ten. But as usual, she’d underestimated Tracie and Julie’s aggressiveness as they shifted some groups around so that two tables could be pushed closer together, enough for them all to crowd around. Like, really crowd around, enough so that Reynolds was pressed against her, and she took full advantage of it as she leaned into him while everyone talked.
“Here we are,” Ronnie said a few minutes later, arriving with a server who set down eight fruity-looking drinks and two draft beers—Reynolds’s and Lexi’s preference. “These are potent, so brace yourselves.”
She took a sip. Wow. Very good. So good she barely tasted any alcohol, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the bar might have exaggerated their potency.
“Why don’t we do this more often?” Tracie asked the table, not really seeming to need an answer. “It’s so amazing hanging out with you guys. Have I mentioned how much I love you all?” she asked and leaned her head onto Julie’s shoulder, who giggled through her straw. “What do you think, Waverley? I think even you might be having fun tonight.” The two women giggled at that.
“Don’t mind them,” Stacie said from Waverley’s other side. “They forget that by this time they’re usually so smash-faced they can barely stand.”
“That’s right,” Greg said and chuckled. “Remember when Tracie decided to go topless before Ronnie could get her off the bar while Spencer recorded the whole thing and gave us all the replay the next day and every year after that? That was what? Four years ago?”
“Yeah. Something like that,” Tracie said, her laughter abating at the memory.
Waverley felt a wave of sympathy for her. Spencer definitely had a mean streak.
Tracie seemed to shrug off the memory quickly though as she set her gaze on Waverley. “You know, Waverley, I recently heard about this miraculous new diet coming from a doctor out in Cleveland. My hairstylist swears that dozens of her clients have lost entire dress sizes practically overnight. If you want, I’m sure I could get his name for you.”
“If that doesn’t work,” Julie added, her voice super helpful, “my cousin’s boyfriend’s sister went down to Mexico and had a procedure done. They removed most of her stomach and she’s already lost like a hundred pounds. Of course, she throws up half of what she eats now, but she looks amazing.”
Waverley froze, feeling the color draining from her face as she tried to process the horrifying realization that her weight had become the new group topic. It was like she was the whale in the room that everyone was either staring at in sympathy or keeping their gaze trained on their drinks in front of them in possible embarrassment.
Instantly, Reynolds’s arm was around her waist, and his fingers pressed against her in reassurance. “Why the hell would Waverley want to talk to some quack about a stupid diet or have some insanely risky procedure to change anything? She’s healthy, gorgeous, and incredible just as she is.”
All eyes opened wide for a moment as they tried to figure out how to handle the next few seconds without any bloodshed or tears or screaming—or all three.
Lexi spoke first. “I second Reynolds and want to add I’d give my right pinky for that cleavage,” she said as she looked forlornly down at her perky but admittedly tiny chest.
“Well, of course she looks great,” Tracie said, her tone saying she didn’t know what the big deal was. “I just mentioned it since the extra weight can’t be healthy for her. That’s all.”
“Sure it is,” Reynolds said in a tone that told everyone otherwise. “Now Ms. Abbott, I think they’re playing our song. Come on.”
As Reynolds led her away from the table, where there were some stunned, wide-eyed looks and a few outright grins and winks in her direction, Waverley processed what had just happened and how she’d gone from humiliated to exhilarated in the space of a heartbeat simply by this man’s words.
“I can’t believe those people,” Reynolds said, drawing her close as they reached the center of the floor, their bodies finding a natural rhythm as they moved to the music. “How you never strangled any of them after all these years is a mystery to me.”
She laughed, her spirits buoyed. Any lingering anger or embarrassment completely disappeared as it seemed Reynolds was outraged enough for both of them. “I thought about it a time or two but realized doing time for assault wouldn’t be worth it.”
“Good call.”
