Page 51 of As the Rain Falls (Sainte Madeleine #1)

SO KISS ME?

Beckett

Antony presses his forehead against the wall, eyes half-closed. His face is best described with the words tired and worn-out . Around us, two girls are jumping up and down, holding a bag of candy each like a prize.

“They’re driving me nuts. Why the fuck did I give them their sweet treats now?”

I smirk and say, “Because you wanted them to, and I quote, shut the hell up .”

“At what cost?” he whines, stuffing his fingers into his ears as the girls start shrieking his name. “They’re so fucking annoying!”

“Tony!” Julia screeches, grabbing at his pants, trying to tug them down. “Can we play hide-and-seek again?”

Carol, the youngest, nods frantically. “Por favor, por favor, por favorzinho!”

From this angle, they look a lot like their older brother with dark brown skin, small eyes, high cheekbones, except their features have a softer edge, more delicate than his.

Julia, the oldest and definitely the strongest, wears purple beads in her hair, shimmering under the bright light.

Carol is more petite and obsessed with dressing up in a boyish way.

Antony exhales sharply, “I’ve said it once, but it’s like you two can’t hear me, so I’ll say it again: No. More. Playing!”

He clasps his hands over both of their heads, dragging them into a hug.

His grip is more like a hostage situation than pure affection, and I try really hard not to laugh, but I can’t help it.

Watching him struggle is pure entertainment.

His parents are too busy socializing, leaving him stuck on babysitting duty for the rest of the night.

I probably won’t get to talk to him a lot, which is bad timing.

I was considering telling him about the commission I got with Lucia’s sketches and asking for his opinion before talking to Cassandra.

Maybe Tony could shed a light on this situation, see it all through an angle that I’m not considering.

But I feel bad about not being upfront about it with Cassandra first, especially knowing they aren’t the closest friends, and she doesn’t deserve that.

I don’t want him to have an impression of her that turns out to be based on a misunderstanding.

Antony sighs, his voice cutting through my thoughts.

“I’m taking them for a walk. Are you coming with me?”

“I’m not going back outside. The heat will kill me.” I press a hand against his back in solidarity, but he jerks away from my touch. “Chill out, dude. They’re just kids.”

“Then explain to me why they keep acting like monsters.”Tony rolls his eyes at them. “Stop pulling her ponytail!”

“But she made fun of my purple beads!”

He disappears into the crowd, steering the girls away from the crowd as they chatter enthusiastically about fighting each other in the parking lot.One hyperactive kid is bad enough, but two lookalikes with high-pitched voices? Yeah, the Silvas are in for another decade of just pure craziness.

I head back to my table, suddenly aware of how hungry I am.

They stuck me with the Riveras tonight, which is definitely an interesting choice.

Sure, our families used to be close, but I wouldn’t describe us as the greatest friends now.

Lending someone money once doesn’t mean they’ll ever pay you back.

Cassandra is the exception. Well, at least she’s my exception. She’s my favorite out of the bunch, and even though the history between our family runs deeper than our childhood bonds, what happened when we were little doesn’t matter to me.It’s all old stories I’d rather not be thinking about.

“I hear my sister is keeping your dog these days. What’s his name again?

Pepé?” Nathaniel Rivera lifts his champagne glass, a calculated smirk stretching across his face.

He looks a lot like his mother, even from this angle.

His insides are just as rotten as hers, too.

“She calls him Pepé-the-dog, and even lets the little thing sleep with her in bed.”

“She is.” I pop another appetizer into my mouth, savoring the taste of ham and cheese. I chew carefully, watching him. “Is that a problem?”

Nathaniel shrugs. “No, it’s not.”

He takes another long sip.

“Just making casual conversation.”

“Well, please don’t.” I grab another appetizer, eyeing his sister from across the room.

Robert Chartrand and his husband are making rounds, going from table to table. I’m secretly hoping they won’t reach ours. Nothing against the guy, but he puts on too much cologne. Even his daughter seems to think so. Alice keeps grimacing every time he gets too close.

“Where’s your father?” Nathaniel dares to ask, ignoring my obvious disinterest in talking to him.

“Traveling. What about yours?” I retort. “Sainte Madeleine still closes in the evenings, right?”

Nathaniel’s expression doesn’t falter, but he sets his glass over the table a little too carefully.

“Bathroom break.” He wets his lip, following my gaze eventually. “There’s a line, you know.”

“Oh.” I reach for another appetizer, stomach growling.

I had to work all day at the farm, and these bites of cheese aren’t cutting it. Rich people’s food, man. Everything about it pisses me off.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Cassandra again. She’s giggling with Kayla Saint-Louis. Their eyes dark across the other side of the room, cheeks flushed.

I follow their gaze, landing on one of the security guards, half asleep against the wall.

It’s Angelina’s father, I realize.The man must be exhausted .

With her bright smile and her pretty party dress, the sight of Cassandra brings me a strange feeling of warmth in my chest.

“Excuse me.” I rise from my seat, tossing the napkin onto the table. “I need to go greet a friend.”

Nathaniel rolls his eyes at me, not even pretending to be surprised. “Just say you want to talk to my sister, Beckett.”

“Well.” I smirk, brushing my bottom lip with my thumb as I glance at her again. “If it means that much to you, then yeah. I actually do.”

He snorts, clearly unamused, before swiping another champagne flute from a passing waiter.

It’s his fifth one tonight, but I don’t stick around to watch him drink it.

Something about his presence rubs me the wrong way, and the sight of him bothers me.

It did before, but it’s gotten worse after I found Cassandra wounded.

She said it was an accident, but what if it wasn’t?

What if he was the reason?

Besides, what a weird man.There’s something about Nathaniel Rivera that makes me really uncomfortable.

It’s his eyes and his posture, I guess. Something about the way he carries himself feels…

too dark. I don’t like to point it out loud because everybody else will think I’m crazy.

The only other person who might’ve understood what I feel about him was Lucia; she did not like Nathaniel at all.

Even though she’s passed away, I still feel like siding with my sister no matter what.

Lucia wasn’t unreasonable about these things.

His eyes follow me as I weave through the crowd, greeting familiar faces.

In fact, the burn of his stare doesn’t leave me at all, not even after I reach Cassandra and Kayla.

Whatever, I’m probably overthinking this.

It can’t be that serious.

“Look who we have here,” Kayla gasps dramatically. “Damn, Evans, you clean up well.”

She flashes me a grin, pinching Cassandra’s arm so she’ll turn around.

“Look at him!”

I glance at my tuxedo, unimpressed. Men’s clothing is boring, and I don’t think there’s anything interesting about what I’m wearing today.

“No better than you, Saint-Louis,” I compliment her, motioning awkwardly to her long pink dress.

Cassandra turns around, light hair spilling down her back like a curtain. Her signature scent hits me right in the face, sugary sweet and delicate. I can’t help but pull her into a hug, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek as I bump my fist against Kayla’s in greeting.

“Can I steal her from you for a second?” I rest my arm around her waist, keeping her close. She rests her head against my chest, mindlessly playing with the chain around my neck. “She’s always so busy, I don’t get to see her very often.”

“Yeah, don’t feel special. I don’t get to see her much either.” Kayla plays into it, crossing her arms over her chest. “How long before I get her back?”

“I don’t know; I might change my mind and just keep her forever.” I grin, glancing down. Cassandra’s gaze locks with mine, and I smirk victoriously, watching the girl in my arms blush. “But I can promise to try to give her back before the night’s over for now.”

Kayla’s smile widens, surprise showing in her face.

“Alright, cuties. I’m going to grab another plate of appetizers.” She motions to the buffer. “These things are freakishly tiny, aren’t they?”

I nod solemnly, pointing one finger at her.

“That’s what I keep saying!”

Kayla points right back at me. “You get it!”

“I do!”

“You two are so stupid.” Cassandra blinks between us, her eyes going round. “What’s going on? You’re acting all charming for what?”

“Nothing.” I find myself touching her elbow, bringing her face closer. “Just greeting you.”

“Right,” she hesitates, her nervous gaze sliding back to our table. “My brother is sitting right there, you know?”

“Oh, I know.”

He is that kind of brother.

A complete possessive idiot.

Nathaniel’s glare might as well be practically burning a hole right through my back. I’m not scared of him, though.Let him get pissed. He doesn’t get to dictate whether I get close to Cassandra or not. She’s my friend.

“He’s watching us .” Cassandra emphasizes, as if urging me to see things through her eyes.

“Cass.” I sigh. “Is it really such a problem?”

Her head snaps back to me, lips parting. It’s so fast that I would’ve completely missed the look of terror in her face. For a second, I get the feeling that she might be scared of him, but the thought doesn’t make any sense unless...

No.

I would’ve definitely noticed if something was wrong.