before standing next to me like she’s excited for the wedding.”
Pushing up on my toes and angling my body to peek around the crowd of women, I can’t spot Ivy among them.
“Why do you care?”
Where the hell did she go? I’m about to storm the fuck over there.
“I don’t. It’s just bullshit. Where are we all headed tonight? I need to decompress after doing this.”
Stepping away from him, I go up on my toes again. “I’ll have to skip your pity party tonight, Mason. I have other plans.”
There she is. I see Ivy as she’s turning to walk off in the direction of another tent.
“Gabe.”
“Sorry. We’ll make it up next time. Braid each other’s hair and shit while talking about your feelings.”
Hauling ass in her direction, I’m almost to the tent when another barrier steps in my way, this one with a pissed off glare and lips pulled into a sneer.
Damn it.
“I swear to everything that’s holy, if you fuck with her again, I’ll personally make your life a living hell.”
As if she could.
Emily slaps her hand against my chest, her stare locking to mine like she’s anything more threatening than a pigeon.
Glancing down with every ounce of disgust I can conjure, I lift my eyes back to her face. “Can you remove your hand from my chest?”
“I’m trying to give you something.”
I smile. “That’s great. It’s just that I don’t know where your hand has been. Or what diseases you’re carrying.”
With two fingertips, I grip one of hers and pluck it from my person. A small piece of paper flutters to the ground, but rather than chasing after it, I look at her.
I’d be a liar to claim the annoyance I see in her expression doesn’t please me. Well, I mean, I am a liar, but not about this. I genuinely can’t stand the fire-crotched sidekick that has helped Ivy for years in her bid to defeat me.
Emily grins, the look anything but friendly.
“It’s good to see you haven’t changed. I’ll be sure to let Ivy know that since she was almost convinced you’d grown up.”
I blink at the comment and smile. “Why are you here again? Is it only to fuck the twins, or do you serve another purpose as well?”
Her eyes narrow.
“To give you Ivy’s phone number. Although, to be honest, I think she’s a fucking idiot for thinking you might help her out for once. I mean it, Gabe. Hurt her and you’ll have me to deal with.”
With that, Emily storms off into the same tent where Ivy had disappeared as I pick up the scrap of paper from the ground.
I dedicate the number to memory and slip the scrap into my pocket. Just as my eyes lift again, Ivy and Emily emerge from the tent, a pair of familiar blue eyes peering over at me.
It’s surprising to see genuine fear in them.
Emily was wrong about my intentions for Ivy, though. Hurting her has never been what I planned to do. It’s too ordinary. Too boring.
Simply hurting her isn’t worth the time it would take to accomplish the task.
Not when my intention has always been to destroy her.
Ivy
“You can’t keep going like this. Eventually, you’ll have to decide one way or another.”
Casting a quick glance at Emily, I slip my hand from the hanger of another dress I don’t want or need. I can’t bring myself to try them on anymore, the constant shopping a distraction that no longer satisfies me.
I know.
I sound like a spoiled brat.
Poor Ivy. All she has to do is shop, go to the spa and take vacations. Her life must be miserable for how hard it is.
But that’s the problem. My life isn’t hard. Which makes it ridiculously boring.
I’d give anything for something to challenge me. I’d love to find myself vulnerable for once, where the only person who can save me is me. My father has never given me the opportunity. He’d rather cover me in bubble wrap to ensure his reputation is never harmed.
Emily doesn’t seem to mind being in the same boat as me. If it weren’t for getting married to a man she can’t stand, she’d be perfectly content being spoiled.
Ava is the lucky wench whose parents pushed her to find a career and do something with herself. It’s becoming infrequent that the three of us can find time to spend together, so when these days happen, I enjoy them.
Emily nudges Ava with her shoulder and pulls a green wrap-front dress from the rack. “This would look