Page 55

Liv is oblivious, but Liam seems a tad annoyed. Too bad. Isn’t he supposed to be keeping an eye on his Little Brother, anyway? We make it the whole way up the stairs and out the front door without seeing Braden or Zander. As soon as the cold air hits my face, I exhale. Just a moment too soon.

“Betts Peterson! Fancy seeing you here.” Lara is on the porch right in front of me, giving me a simpering smile. Fortunately, Liv and Liam have walked past, too absorbed in one another to notice her.

Lara knits her brow. “How are you holding up?”

“Holding up?”

Her gaze flicks to Josh as he presses a hand to my back. “Oh, I see.” She grins and I swear evil shoots out of her eyes. “Looks like you’re doing just fine. What happened to that guy you’re always going to the library with?”

“He’s just a friend.” I try to step around her, but she’s not having it.

“Have you talked to Zander lately?”

Oh, this is bait, big time. “Nope.”

As I try to slip by, she grabs my arm. “So, does that mean you’re totally over him?”

All her fake concern makes me want to vomit. “Yep. Totally.”

“Oh good,” she coos. “Then we can girl talk.”

Girl talk? With Lara? I’d prefer Chinese water torture.

I glance behind me to find Josh glowering at her, probably trying to figure out the most gentlemanly way to get her to let me go.

I attempt to free myself but she gives me a yank so hard I stumble toward her, close enough that she can drawl in my ear, “Why didn’t you tell me Zander was so good in bed? ”

Holy shit.

I jerk back, reeling, and Lara abruptly releases me, sending me crashing into Josh. Luckily, he catches me and keeps me on my feet.

Lara smiles sweetly and wiggles her fingers in a dainty wave. “Good seeing you. By-yee.”

As she brushes past, I hold myself up by Josh’s sleeves. No, not up. Back. I want to tackle Lara and shove her face in the dirt. Not because she slept with Zander, but because she did it just to spite me.

“What a bitch,” Josh mutters, watching her disappear into the house .

“Tell me about it.” Thankfully, he says no more. “Where did Liv and Liam go?”

He leads me out onto the patchy lawn, weaving between clusters of people drinking, smoking, and horsing around.

But it’s not until we round the house that we find them.

They’re sitting on a fallen tree at the edge of the woods that line the yard.

Liam is wearing more of Liv’s lipstick than she is, but it doesn’t look like they’ve done more than kiss.

I hop up on the tree trunk and whisper to Liv about Lara.

“She what ?” she gasps. “And I’m the slut?!”

Liam and Josh’s eyes go big.

Liv rants, “You know she did that just to piss you off, right? Shit, poor Zander. She totally took advantage of him. He’s been?—”

I cut her off, “I really think we need to go home. I don’t want to run into her again. Or Peyton.” I haven’t actually seen Peyton, but I’m hoping the mere mention of her will get Liv moving.

“Oh god!” She hops down from the tree trunk so fast it takes both Liam and Josh to keep her from face-planting on the grass. “Thanks, guys.” She hooks an arm through mine. “Yeah, we seriously need to get out of here.”

I thank Josh for keeping me company tonight, trying to ignore his disappointed frown. Liv snatches one last kiss from Liam.

“I’ll call you,” he says, giving her a squeeze.

“You gave Liam your number?” I ask her as we walk away.

“Yeah. So?”

“What about Braden?”

She shrugs. “What about him?”

“What happened?”

“Nothing,” she huffs. “That’s the problem.”

So no fight, but no progress either. Braden’s holding Liv in relationship limbo and she’s sick of it. If making him jealous doesn’t incite him to action, at least she’s giving herself other options.

When I realize she’s steering me in the direction of the back stoop, I point to the side yard.

“Why don’t we just go around front?” There are KPTs inside the house, and possibly Zander, and definitely Braden.

I don’t care how indifferent Liv is pretending to be, she’d be destroyed if she saw him sucking face with that blond.

But alas, Liv tugs me toward the door. “It’s too dark and muddy over there.”

Unfortunately, inside this quirky rancher, the distance between the back and front doors is long.

And crowded. We’re funneled from the family room to the dining room and into the bright kitchen where it’s nearly impossible to hide.

Instinctively, I avoid looking at the space in front of the sink, convinced that if I do, I’ll find Leo leaning against the counter, looking for me.

I picture him at O-Chi on the night I first saw him, standing there alone in the dim light, looking so out of place, like a god among mortals.

The image, the memories, the irony , all have my heart squeezing so tight I can hardly draw a breath.

I’d love to stop right here and have a good cry, but Liv is obliviously, relentlessly, pulling me through the crowd.

And unknowingly smack into Zander. Thanks to his summery scent, I know it’s him before I even see his face. It has my head spinning even more than the collision.

“Betts,” he breathes, steadying me. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“It’s good to see you.”

I nod.

Liv is halfway to the front door before she realizes I’m no longer with her. “Betts?” She spins around. “Oh god.”

Realizing he has mere seconds, Zander blurts, “I’m so sorry about the other night. You know, at the library. I was drunk and pissed off and I was totally out of line.”

All I can do is shake my head. I don’t know what to say. I never expected him to apologize.

Meanwhile, for all her shock, Liv isn’t trying very hard to get me away from him. She just stands there, mouth hanging open as she listens.

“Your arm.” He strokes just above my elbow. “Is it okay? ”

I nod yet again, gulping.

“I’m so sorry, babe.”

My anger is draining out of me faster than air from a leaky tire. Zander’s touch is as gentle as Leo’s was when he was healing me. My brain tries to grapple with this irony, but it’s too scrambled with nerves and alcohol to make anything of it.

“All I wanted to do was warn you,” Zander says. “But I went about it the wrong way. I’m just worried he’s gonna end up hurting you.”

You don’t know the half of it.

I must’ve frowned because he takes my chin. “Did he? What happened?” There’s genuine concern in his bright blue eyes. In his energy . “Betts?—”

“Nothing. He’s just a friend. You don’t need to worry about it.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not going to.” His hands slide around my waist.

“Zander—”

“I miss you.”

Why does he have to smell and feel so good? So safe and familiar? I notice Liv is smiling. I need to get away from him before she gets the wrong idea. Before I get the wrong idea. I start to pull away when, out of thin air, Jenna and Mia appear.

“Betts! Liv!” Mia greets us. “We didn’t know you were here.”

“Is Braden here too?” Liv asks, eyes way too wide and eager.

Mia winces, but Jenna answers quickly, “Uh, no. He left a little while ago.”

“Oh.” Liv’s face falls.

When Jenna notices Zander holding me, she snatches Liv’s hand. “Come dance with us.” They don’t give her time to refuse. She disappears with them, stumbling into the crowd.

Zander pulls me closer. When he speaks, his warm breath caresses my cheek. “The masquerade’s next weekend.”

“I know.”

“Will you still come with me? ”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No. Come on, babe, please? I know you already have a dress.”

“But we broke up.”

“I know. Just as friends. Come on, everyone misses you. It’ll be fun.”

There’s something comforting about the thought of hanging out with the crew from O-Chi. They’re ordinary people, average college kids. No psychics. And no goddamned faeries.

“Is Braden still taking Liv?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t he?”

“Oh, I don’t know, because I saw him an hour ago with his tongue down some girl’s throat.”

Zander sighs. “Yeah, that.”

“He left with her, didn’t he?”

He won’t look me in the eye. “You know how Braden is.”

I put a hand to his jaw and turn his face to mine. “You mean, not much different from you?”

He blinks at me, confused.

“Lara?”

It’s one of the few times I’ve seen Zander ever go red. He shifts his weight and averts his gaze. If Lara could see the genuine regret on his face, she’d die. “She got me in a weak moment.” He begs me with his eyes not to judge. And I don’t, considering what I did last week.

“So you don’t want to take her to the masquerade?”

“Fuck no.” He squeezes me. “I want to take you. We have fun together. You know we do.”

Sure, sometimes. Even though it’s more his kind of fun. I ignore Leo’s pleas ringing in my head. Whatever you do, whatever happens with you and me, don’t go back to him .

Screw that. With Zander, what you see is what you get. He never hurt me like Leo did.

“I’ll think about it,” I tell him, and when he smiles, I warn, “But just as friends.”

He nods. “Just as friends. ”

An idea strikes me. “And maybe you could do something for me, too?”

His eyes light up. Like he’s grateful for a chance to prove his devotion. “Sure. What?”

“What ever happened to Sweetheart?”

He squints at me for a beat before the recollection dawns on his face. “Oh, you mean you and Liv?”

“Yes.”

He shrugs. “Well, with you and me splitting up,” he gazes down at the floor with that phrase, “I guess we sorta forgot about it. Why? Have you changed your mind?”

“No,” I respond quickly, not wanting him to get his hopes up. “But Liv still wants to be Sweetheart, in the worst way.”

“Well, it’s Braden who’s the problem.”

Go figure.

“All the other guys are fine with Liv, and Jenna and Mia really like her, but?—”

“But?”

Zander grimaces. “B’s worried it’ll send her the wrong message. He doesn’t want to feel tied down.”

In other words, he wants to be free to take home any bleach blond who strikes his fancy.

“But he’s the one who first proposed it.”

“When you were gonna do it, too.”

Zander doesn’t have to explain further. I get it. With me out of the picture, Braden realizes he’s Liv’s link to O-Chi. A role he doesn’t want to be obligated to play.

I rest my hands on Zander’s chest. “What if I try to talk to her about it? I can make sure she understands that if she’s Sweetheart, there are going to be some, you know, boundaries she needs to respect.”

A grin spreads across Zander’s handsome face and for a split second, I feel that little thrill I’m used to feeling when I’ve obviously pleased him. “Okay, that would help. ”

“And then, maybe, you could talk to Braden and the other brothers? Put in a good word for her?”

“I’ll say she’s my number one choice.”

“Thank you.” He’s the president, his opinion counts for a lot.

“And you’ll come to the masquerade with me?”

I bite my lip.

He holds me tight and murmurs in my ear like he used to. Like we never broke up. “Betts—babe—” I shiver and feel him smile against my skin.

“Okay.” It’ll be fine. I just need to find another girl to bunk with because the “just as friends” will last all of five seconds if I stay in a hotel room alone with him.

I wriggle out of his arms. “I gotta find Liv.”

“I’ll text you the details.”

I nod and dive into the crowd. When I reach the girls, I give them the news that I’m going to the masquerade.

“Are you rooming with Zander?” Mia asks.

I adamantly shake my head.

“Good. I need a roomie. You in?”

I exhale in relief. “I’m in.”

Liv is over the moon. The entire walk back to Newberry, she chatters about all things masquerade: we’ll do each other’s hair, there’s going to be a DJ, it’s open bar. “And maybe Zander will stop moping around,” she adds.

“We’re just going as friends.”

“Sure. Sure.” She giggles happily and gives me a tight side hug, sending us stumbling off the curb. “Yay! I’m so excited! I have my best friend back!”

If only it were that easy to be the old Betts again.