Page 8 of Her Embarrassed Bear Mate (Crescent Lake Bears #5)

EIGHT

Alix

Sitting under a commercial space heater, Alix couldn't quite comprehend how much money Dirk was spending on this party and she felt bad about how many expensive cocktails she was drinking. If it were up to her, she would've stopped at two but every time Dirk saw her without a drink in her hand, he encouraged her to the bar.

It made her wonder exactly how rich he was and whether he was using his money to buy his way into her mother's heart. This whole party certainly felt extravagant but she didn't know if this was a regular occurrence or if he was splurging to impress. Whichever it was, Alix could tell her mum was lapping it up.

She should never have let her mum guilt-trip her into coming.

As if summoned by her thoughts, her mum showed up with Dirk glued to her side. Both of them looked tipsy and happy.

Her mum gave her an affectionate pat on the cheek. "Alix, why are you sitting here all by yourself?"

Alix swallowed her real answer: that she didn't know anyone or had no reason to socialise. Instead, she just smiled. "I'm just getting some fresh air."

"It is warm inside," her mum agreed. "I have good news. Dirk invited us all to join him on their family holiday! They have a holiday home in Whitby. Fun, right?"

"Umm..." Alix didn't know what to say. "When is this?"

"In a few weeks. You'll be able to get time off, right?"

"Potentially, but I was saving my vacation days because we said we were going to visit Bruges over the winter holidays. If I use them up now, I won't have any left," Alix pointed out, frustration pooling in her stomach .

Her mum just laughed. "Oh, that's okay. We'll go to Bruges another time! Plus, Trixie is going to love the seaside a lot more than a city trip."

Alix was still not convinced but this didn't seem the time or place to argue about it. Mostly, she wanted to get out of here so she didn't have to look at her mum stroking Dirk's chest lovingly. Luckily, someone called for Dirk's attention and the two of them moved on.

Frustrated at the whole thing, Alix got herself another cocktail and sat back down on the half wall near the heater. She kept drinking and ignored everyone while she scrolled on her phone and gave her friends a play-by-play of this theatre.

Someone sat down next to her. "What number drink are you on?"

Alix felt herself smile. As awkward as it was that she and Veronica had almost slept together, Alix couldn't deny being glad that she had at least one person who also saw how insane this all was.

"I lost count a while ago," she said. "You?"

"No clue. Not enough, that's for sure."

"Ha, now you're speaking my language," Alix said as they clinked their glasses together and shared a conspiring smile .

Veronica stretched out her legs, groaning. "Oh, it feels good to be off my feet. My heels are killing me."

It was unclear if this was an invitation to look but Alix couldn't help herself. She admired Veronica's shapely legs and couldn't help remember what it was like to have them wrapped around her. The only thing that could make this whole situation more of a mess was if she didn't get her pounding heart under control.

She composed herself. "I forgot to ask earlier but are all your family parties like this?"

Veronica let out a scoff. "Not quite like this. My family likes big parties, yes, but usually it's all family and family friends. I don't know who half these people are. Heck, I don't know more than ninety percent of the people here."

"That's still ninety percent more than me," Alix pointed out. "I know my mum and... you, I suppose."

Amusement shimmered in Veronica's eyes. "I thought we were pretending that never happened."

Heat rushed up to the shells of Alix's ears. "I meant from that awkward dinner but sure."

"Do you regret it? That night we're pretending never happened?" Veronica asked, conveniently looking anywhere but Alix.

"Hmm..." Alix searched her feelings. "No. I was feeling really low and down but you helped me forget that. I had so much fun that night and I really liked you. I wish I didn’t black out on you, that was so embarrassing.”

“Oh, it wasn’t so bad.”

“It was bad. Top ten most embarrassing moments of my life,” Alix said, cringing when she thought back to that night.

Veronica’s eyes shimmered. “Really? Top ten? What else is up there then?”

“Well, there’s the time I was on the bus and it was really hot — Hah! Nice try. I’m not telling you about the most embarrassing moments of my life.” Alix couldn’t believe she’d almost been lulled into sharing something so personal.

It was frustratingly easy to talk to Veronica. If that wasn’t the case, maybe the first night would never have happened. Still, she was happy it happened.

“If circumstances were different, I totally would have called you,” Alix admitted.

The smile on Veronica's face made her even more beautiful. "I totally would've wanted you to call."

The energy between them changed as Alix locked eyes with Veronica and the first flickers of desire crackled through her veins. She was well aware that their night together was the last thing she should be thinking about now but the alcohol was lowering her inhibitions and making her head feel a little woozy. Her rational thinking was certainly impaired too. It was making her feel selfish and reckless and like if the adults weren't going to have some self-restraint, why should she?

Somewhere in the background, a glass shattered and it broke the hypnotising tension. Both of them practically jolted backwards and Alix fixated her gaze on a patch of grass coming through a crack in the patio tiles.

Alix cursed herself. Even drunk, she had more sense than her mother.

After an awkward silence, Veronica cleared her throat. "Did, umm... Did they tell you about Whitby?"

"Yuppp. Mum framed it as some sort of family holiday,”

“You don’t have to come,” Veronica said.

She made a good point but Alix knew her mum was set on this holiday, she could tell from how excited she’d been. And she was definitely dragging Trixie along for this misguided idea of creating a blended family so Alix had no choice but to come along. Someone needed to keep an eye out for her little sister because their mum sure wasn't doing it.

Alix let out a frustrated sigh. “This is bullshit.”

Veronica finished her drink. "You're right about that."

"Yup..." Alix repeated, not sure what else to say.

There really wasn't anything else to say.