bathroom at top speed, still laughing. “Oh my God.” She twirls on tiptoe over to the sink, then grabs the porcelain with a wince. “Remind me not to do that again. My calf is killing me.” Dying or not, her face is still flushed pink from the series of tequila shots she did after the champagne. “I’ll probably have to ice it once Scott’s done with me.”
I lean into the mirror and pretend to examine my mascara. Done with her.
She says it so casually. It doesn’t bother Marlena at all, trading her body for security in the present. She bangs her way into one of the stalls and lets out a satisfied sigh. “So Josh North is obsessed with you. That much is obvious.”
“He’s not,” I say with a snort. “He’s obsessed with getting a rise out of me. Always has been. He’s an asshole.”
“Awww, he is not. Deep down he’s probably sweet.”
My reflection is the only witness to my disbelief. “Marlena, he’s not sweet. The North brothers aren’t known for being sweet. Ever.”
“Are you sure? I heard Liam’s head over heels.”
I swipe my finger and thumb over my eyebrows. “That’s different. Getting married isn’t the same thing as turning into a nice man. Neither is falling in love. And Josh is doing neither of those things. He’s just an asshole.”
“An asshole who brought you to the club and has been dancing with you all night. He’s not bad, either.” The toilet flushes, and Marlena waltzes back to the sink next to me. I perch on a stretch of marble countertop while she washes up. “He seems worried about you.”
This time I swallow the snort that threatens to escape me. “Are we seeing the same guy? Because he doesn’t seem worried to me. He seems….” Controlling. Insistent. He fills the room with his arrogance, and those glittering green eyes that see right through my carefully crafted facade. Like he knows. I’m playing the part of a cool and confident sitting duck. The breath goes out of me at the thought. I work hard to keep the letters at bay, at the fringes of my consciousness. It galls me to admit that it’s easier to put them out of my mind when I’m in Josh’s house.
Easiest of all when I’m in his bed. What could possibly happen to me there? Josh’s home might as well be a fortress. And the thickest, most impenetrable gate is the man himself. “He’s just doing his job,” I finish lamely.
Marlena purses her lips, cocking her head to the side. “I don’t think so, Beth. I think there’s more going on with him.” A surprising note of sincerity colors her voice, washing away the tequila giggle. Her gaze sharpens. “I’ve met other guys like him. Before Scott.” A flicker of emotion moves across her face too quickly for me to identify it. Sadness? Confusion? Impossible to pin it down. “You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”
“Noticed what, exactly?” I fold my arms over my chest. Out on the dance floor my skin warmed to meet the air around us. Marlena and I had been in our own little bubble of heat and movement, with Josh and Scott hovering in our orbit. They kicked up the heat. Josh’s eyes burned as much as his hands did. But now the sweat evaporates from the back of my neck. The resulting shiver peaks my nipples underneath the purple slip of a dress I borrowed from Marlena. The waiting ticks a few more valuable seconds off my life. Say it. Just say it.
“All that pain he carries around with him.” She hugs herself too, the mirror image of me. “That’s a guy who’s seen some shit.”
“Everybody’s seen things.” I make an effort to uncross my arms and stretch my wrists in front of me. Limber up. We’ll be back on the dance floor where we belong soon enough.
“Mmm.” Her eyes flick toward the mirror. “Not like this. He reminds me of…” Another flicker of unnameable emotion. I want to turn her face back toward me, but Marlena hesitates another moment before she does. “It doesn’t matter. Just watch him when we go back out there. You’ll see how he’s keeping everybody at arm’s length. He practically radiates a stay-the-fuck-away-from-me vibe.”
I open my mouth to disagree. I’ve spent more time than I care to tally up telling him to fuck off. But Marlena’s words make me reconsider all the times I’ve watched him move through a crowd. That night after the