Devil Incarnate (Boys of Preston Prep #4) - Angel Lawson Page 0,149

he approaches her, and I have to give him credit. For someone I know is a bit unsure about being welcome, he still strides up to her with confidence and swagger. Caroline notices him coming her way. I can tell because she goes rigid, eyes looking a little panicked. Thankfully, she doesn’t run away, acting surprised to see him in front of her. Since his back is to me, I don’t see him ask, but I see her reaction.

She freezes, gaze pinging to mine from across the room.

I give her a toothy grin and two thumbs up, nodding encouragingly.

At least one of us should find some happiness tonight, although I reconsider ditching my date when my mother finds me a few minutes later.

“You shouldn’t be sitting all alone,” she says, reaching out to fussily adjust my tiara. “Please find someone to dance with. The Collins boy is perfectly fine, but…” The face she pulls is probably too subtle to be caught by anyone else, but I know her well enough to understand the slight pucker in her brow. His dad works in education. Ozzy might be pedigree, but he’s not elite enough for a Haynes. “The VanCarrow boy doesn’t seem too attached to the girl he’s escorting. Perhaps you can get a dance from him, strike up a conversation.” In a lower voice, she leans in to add, “A conversation with your voices and nothing more, hm?”

My face explodes in a furious blush. “Mother!”

She looks unbothered by my offended tone, tucking her clutch under her arm. “I know how these after-parties unfold. You’re out in society now, sweetheart. It’s time to consider these things. No one wants to buy a cow who’s giving the milk away for free.”

That doesn’t make me any less irate. “I’m not a cow, I’m a person!”

“You’re a Haynes,” she corrects, voice hard, “and I’ve coddled you and your brother about it for too long. Your responsibility to this family is to one day forge a strong, lasting partnership with someone of appropriate standing, just like me you and your father did. You can’t do that if you keep up this…loose image of yours. Don’t be upset.” She fakes a smile for a passing couple before once again meeting my gaze. “I want you to be happy, Georgia. I’ve seen women who’ve fallen out of society’s favor, and trust me, it’s miserable. I don’t want that for you.” Her eyes soften when she sweeps one of my curls back. “The VanCarrow boy is so nice. Please try, for me?”

Feeling rankled and insulted, I flinch away from her touch, but do as she asks. Ferguson VanCarrow is standing stiffly by the chocolate fountain, easy to find as the result of his freakishly tall height. I know he used to get teased about it, back when we attended the same summer camp, but high school is different from seventh grade. Women love tall men. He looks far more comfortable in his own skin as a result. Perfect posture, impeccably tailored tux, tidy hair.

I hope my smile doesn’t emerge looking like a grimace. “Hey, Fergie.”

Ferguson was briefly the target of some of my more intense fantasies. I went through a very serious ‘tall guy’ phase in eighth grade, and he was basically my number one. I never got the opportunity to feel him out, but now that I do, I find that he just looks kind of boring. Too stiff. Too clean. I can’t imagine those soft hands pressing bruises into my hips, or lying next to him in his bed, sweaty and fucked out and desperate for him to keep touching me.

He looks surprised to see me. “Oh, hey.”

“Hey.” I give him another smile, idly looking for something to dip into the chocolate. I don’t really have the appetite for it, though, so I turn to him. “Would you maybe want to dance?”

His head whips to the side to gape at me. “Huh?”

It’s not really the ‘done thing’ for a girl to do the asking, but his reaction still confuses me. “I just…I mean, my escort came as a favor—a friend, you know? And he’s dancing with someone else, so I thought…”

Fergie looks away, eyes locking on something across the room. “Uh…” His head dips, voice quiet when he says, “Look, Georgia, you’re really hot and all, but my mom’s here tonight.”

My confusion only grows. “What?”

When he finally meets my gaze again, he gives me a rueful look. “Come on, you know what tonight is about. She’d kill