Page 20 of In Case You Didn't Know

I blink down at her. “You smell… like funnel cake.”

“Francie made me eat half a dozen.” She looks up at me, dead serious. “Help me.”

“Help you?” I say. “How?”

“I hate being guest of the day. I just want to sit down and drink champagne. She won’t let me breathe.” She tilts her head toward Francie, who’s laughing at something West just said. His hand brushes her arm and something tightens in my chest.

“I’ll talk to her,” I say, because quite frankly I’ll jump on any excuse to be near her.

“Now?”

“If it will help.”

She beams. “Okay, but I’ll stay here. If I get any closer, she’ll drag me to the face-painting table. She’s relentless.”

By the time I make it back through the crowd, Francie’s leaning into West, smiling.

I clear my throat. She looks up, her eyes locking on mine. The shift in her expression is instant.

“Where’s Mylene?” she asks, voice low.

“She asked me to talk to you,” I say. “She’s tired. Wants a break.”

“But where is she?” Francie’s voice lifts, looking frantically over my shoulder. “She’s not on the dance floor.”

I glance back. She’s right. There’s no sign of Mylene.

“You had one job,” Francie mutters. “I gave you one freaking job!”

“She’s not six,” I say. “She’ll be fine.”

“She’s over there,” West points toward the bar, where a tiny black-clad figure is bee lining for the champagne.

Francie lets out a strangled sound. “Three hours. I’ve kept her away from Eileen for three damn hours. If she blows it now—” She shakes her head and hikes up her skirt, chasing after Mylene and yelling something about hair braiding.

West watches her go, grinning. “You really know how to win a girl over.”

“I didn’t sign up to be Mylene’s babysitter.”

Hudson joins us. “What happened now?” he asks, frowning at me.

“Francie’s mad at him again,” West says cheerfully.

Hudson lifts a brow. “What did you do this time?”

“Apparently,” I mutter, “I lost the guest of honor.”

And before either of them can say anything else, I turn on my heel and head for the bar, needing a drink more than I need air.

eight

FRANCIE

“Are you sure you don’t mind keeping an eye on her?” Autumn asks me later that night. We’re at Hudson’s house, where we brought a partied-out Ayda who’s snoring softly upstairs in her princess bedroom.

Truth be told I’m exhausted, too. An afternoon of chasing after Mylene has taken it out of me. All I want to do is go back to the lighthouse and sleep for about a thousand years, but Autumn has to get back to the party to pay the wait staff, and although Parker went to find Hudson, neither of them have come back yet.

“Of course I don’t mind,” I tell her. “Go. It’ll be fine.”