I snorted and raised my glass to them. “To the day that I’m jealous of my brother. May I be six feet under.”
Court’s eyes narrowed in warning, but I was already exiting the kitchen. Antagonizing Court was never a smart idea. He liked to push buttons. He didn’t like to be on the receiving end. Go figure.
I turned around and ran smack into another gorgeous, young blonde. But I realized that I recognized her.
“Anna English,” I said with a broad grin.
“Penn Kensington.”
Anna was Lark’s best friend from law school. She was a hundred percent LA, and it was obvious in this crowd of pale people in drab black garb. Thank god that there was someone here that I didn’t desperately need to avoid.
“Did Lark invite you?”
“Yes, I happened to be in town and could get away.”
“What are you doing again?”
“Celebrity publicity. Business is good.”
“That’s excellent. And you got married recently, right?”
She grinned. “Yes, over the summer. It was a small wedding.”
“Understandable when you marry a movie star like Josh Hutch.”
She laughed and waved her hand. “It’s no big deal. He’s just Josh around here. But anyway, it was nice playing catch-up, but I think Lark was looking for you. She said that they were meeting in the library. I hope that means something to you.”
“Yeah, it does. Thanks for delivering the message.”
“Anytime. Just going to go find some more booze,” she said, raising her empty glass and striding into the kitchen where I’d just left my brother. Good luck to her.
I extracted myself from the party and headed down to the library. No wonder I hadn’t seen any of my friends floating around. They must have been holed up in here the entire time. Not that I was particularly looking forward to this conversation. But I knew what was coming.
And I entered at my own risk.
Katherine was lying out on the chaise by the window with her long, lean legs bare as her dress fell off the side. She looked arranged, like a portrait. Lewis had his nose buried in a book he’d probably grabbed off of one of the shelves. Rowe was seated behind the desk, staring intensely at the computer. It was Lark who looked up first from her spot near the entrance.
“Hey, you made it,” she said.
“I’ve been here awhile. I just didn’t know you were all back here.”
“I’m sorry about…not being able to help, you know?”
I held up my hand. “Not your fault. Don’t even worry about it. How are you and Thomas?”
She chewed on her lip. “Well, he couldn’t make it today. He got called into the office. I was going to head over after this. I think things will be okay.”
“Good.”
“Can we move on to the main course?” Katherine trilled from her seat. She lifted her arms overhead, stretching her body out long and invitingly.
Lewis snapped his book shut and looked up at me. We hadn’t spoken since that day. I hadn’t told Natalie about the bet, and I could hardly look at him, knowing he had feelings for her, too.
“So, where is she?” Lewis asked testily.
“She’s not here,” I said.
Katherine’s laugh started out as a titter, small and breathy, and then turned into an almost maniacal cackle. “She isn’t even…here?”
“No, she left. She’s on a plane right now back to Charleston.”
Lark frowned. “Oh Penn, I’m so sorry. I know how you feel about her.”
“Well, that settles it, doesn’t it?” Katherine said. She tilted her head to the ceiling, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “I win.”
“She fell for me. That was the bet,” I spat.
“No, the bet was that you bring her here, and then we get an impartial judge to say whether or not she really fell for you.” Katherine kicked both of her feet off of the chaise and stood. “She’s not here. No one can judge. You. Lose.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it. She was right. Damn it. Natalie had to be here for me to win. “But you told her about the bet. That was against the rules.”
“Actually, there weren’t any rules. If you wanted them, you should have stipulated,” she purred.
“And didn’t you tell her anyway?” Lewis asked.
“No,” I said through gritted teeth. “There was so much going on, and she’d just lost everything. I didn’t want to break this to her too. She was already leaving to go home. I’m going to tell her, just…not the day she lost her livelihood.”
“Pathetic,” Lewis grumbled. He stuffed the book he’d been reading