Holiday in Danger (37 page)

As she swiped the dark pink across her lower lip, the door opened.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in. I’m surprised you’re not out on the floor, figuring out how to do the three-way tango.”

Great
.

The stuck-up blonde walked up to the counter and unzipped her bag. Her off-white dress showed off miles of plumped-up cleavage and Summer couldn’t help but stare at the mirror. How did her girls stay put? Toupee tape? Surgical glue?

She shook her head and finished with her lipstick. “Hello to you too, Ivy. I’m surprised you wore white. Isn’t that reserved for bitchy mother-in-laws or, you know, the bride?”

Ivy smiled but it wasn’t friendly. “It’s not white. It’s almond. And it’s my best color. Besides, Ian said it was fine.”

Summer snorted. “Ian has about as much know-how around women as you do around bars.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The outrage on Ivy’s face was plain.
Shit.
Summer needed to lay off the champagne for sure. Too much always made her cranky. She stuffed her lipstick in her clutch and snapped it shut. “Nothing. Forget it.”

Ivy palmed her hip and turned to face Summer. “No. You know, I’m not going to forget it. You’ve been gone what? Four years? And you waltz back in here like you own the damn place and everyone in it. Where do you get off?”

Summer rolled her eyes. “I don’t need to rehash this with you. I get it. You don’t like me.”

Ivy huffed. “What can I say? You’re bad for business.”

“You mean the bar?”

“Of course. I’ve invested my time. Effort. Ian’s money. And you show up and Blake and Devin forget all about it. First the lifeguard station, now Mandy’s wedding.” She looked Summer up and down with a sneer. “They’re out on the dance floor pawing you like a cheap cut of meat. It’s disgusting.”

Summer’s eyes went wide. “I’m sorry?”

“You should be. Have you no tact? Class? You think you can hook two men? That they won’t move on to the next hot piece of ass as soon as you’re gone? Think again, honey.”

Summer crossed her arms so she wouldn’t throw a right hook. “I know they won’t. They love me.”

Ivy’s blue eyes rolled so high her pupils disappeared. “They love how easy you are. This isn’t any more than a little trip down memory lane.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ivy licked her lips. “Is that so? And how much do you know about them? What they’ve been doing the past four years. Who else they’ve fucked? Cause let me tell you sweetheart, you aren’t special.”

God
. Ivy was even more obnoxious than she’d given her credit for. The nerve of her. She needed a reality check. Big time. “I already know about you and Devin, Ivy. And I don’t care. He dumped you.”

“What about Blake? Or the pair of them together?”

Summer’s confidence faltered and she frowned. “What of them? So they had a hookup. I don’t care. It’s not like I was a nun.”

Ivy grinned. “You don’t know, do you?” She laughed and the red of her lipstick against her teeth made Summer think of blood. “How long did they wait until after you left to jump into bed with someone new? Do you know?”

“I don’t care.” Summer dug her nails into her arm and forced herself to breathe.
She’s just riling you up. Ignore it.

“Well, what if I said it was a matter of days? Hours, even?”

Summer swallowed. Despite forcing her body to stay still, her heart beat faster and faster. Ivy stood there like a cat with a canary, gloating and grinning. “It doesn’t matter.” She wished she’d said it louder. Stronger. Or that her feet walked her right out the door. But she couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

Ivy stepped closer and the gleam in her eyes was pure hate. “What if I told you it wasn’t a fling? That it wasn’t with some random girl they picked up at a bar?”

“Spit it out, Ivy.”

Ivy picked up her purse and turned toward the entrance. The silk of her dress flounced around her toned thighs as she walked. Teasing. Mocking.

When she reached the door, she turned around. “If you really want to know, you should just ask the bride. From the way Ian tells it, she didn’t leave their bed for two weeks.”

Ivy pulled the door open and Summer’s mouth fell with it.

“It’s funny, with you all being so close, I would have thought you’d know. Guess you weren’t as tight as I thought.” Ivy spun around and swished out the bathroom in a swirl of tan and white.

It can’t be true. It can’t.
The door swung shut and open, shut and open, slower every time. She watched it until it stood still. Motionless. Like her heart.

She rolled her lips back and forth and ran through the past in her mind like a video replay. She’d left in a whirlwind all those years ago. Determined never to come back.

Mandy had driven her to the airport. Told her she’d see her again when classes started up. Two weeks. Summer’d hugged her, sobbing, begging her to call every day. And she had. Sometimes twice.

Are you okay? How are you holding up? Getting enough sleep? Good food? I’ll be there soon. Stay strong.

She’d been a quasi-mom through the phone line. Her best friend thousands of miles away. And through it all, she’d been…fucking Blake and Devin?

Summer leaned back on the counter and gripped the edge. All this time she thought she’d been the one. The woman who fit between them. The only one they could…share. Blake fucking her against the rock. Summer on her knees with Devin’s cock in her mouth. Both of them taking her in the kitchen. Their kitchen.

She choked on a breath.
Guess I was wrong. About Devin and Blake. Mandy. So many things.

With her clutch gripped in one hand, she pushed herself off the counter. There was only one thing to do.

She wasn’t going to be made a fool of anymore. Not that night. Not the next day. Not ever.

SUMMER

S
UMMER
BUSTED
OUT
of the bathroom fighting back a wave of tears and nausea.
Just get out of here before anyone sees you. Mandy can go on her honeymoon, Devin and Blake can go to hell. You can go back to New York.
She skirted the open doors of the reception hall, keeping to the hallway and run-walking toward the exit.

Cool night air and the smell of the ocean. That’s what she needed. She’d take a walk. Regroup. Book an earlier flight to NYC.
Easy.

“Summer! There you are!”

Shit.
Mandy’s voice echoed down the hall. Summer kept walking.

“Hey! Wait up! I can’t run in these heels! Summer!”

She slowed.

“Don’t tell me the crab dip made you sick! Summer!”

Five feet from the door, Summer stopped. She wanted so badly to pretend everything was fine. To smile at Mandy on her wedding day and ignore the tumult inside her.

With a deep breath, she turned around.

Mandy stuttered to a standstill. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Summer swallowed. “I’ll be fine. I just need some air.”

“I’ve been looking all over for you. We’re about to cut the cake. I didn’t want you to miss it.”

“I’m sorry Mandy. I have to—I’ve got to go.”

The bride frowned. “Not until you tell me what’s going on. I want my best friend in there. It’s my wedding.” She crossed her arms and crushed the pleated tulle of her bodice.

“I can’t—Mandy—you don’t want me in there.” She scrunched her eyebrows and wrung her hands and tried to come up with something to say. But all the anger and tension and confusion welled up inside. If she didn’t get away from her best friend, she’d burst.

“Is it your mom? Did she say something?”

Summer snorted. “No. For once, my mom had nothing to do with it. In fact, I probably should have been listening to her all along.”

“What’s that supposed to—Oh my God. Did you have a fight with the guys? Did Devin do something? Blake?” Mandy reached out, but Summer shook her off.

“I don’t know, Mandy. I guess I should be asking you. Apparently you know them a whole hell of a lot better than I thought.”

Mandy’s arm fell to her side. “What are you talking about?”

Screw holding back. If Mandy wasn’t going to say it, Summer’d just do it for her. “You know damn well what I’m talking about. Were you just not going to tell me? None of you? How many people know? The whole town?”

“Who told you?” Mandy’s voice came out in a tortured whisper.

“Does it matter?”

“It does to me.”

“Oh, and I suppose that should still carry some weight with me? Well, if you must know, it was Ivy. Your brother has a big mouth.”

Mandy closed her eyes. “Summer, I’m sorry. If you’ll just let—”

“You explain? What’s there to explain? I leave town and you jump into bed with them. Did you even wait ’til the bed was cold? Change the sheets?” Summer glanced toward the door. “I can’t believe I came back here.”

“You’re my best friend, Summer.”

“Then why couldn’t you tell me? You called me non-stop when I left. Asking how I was every single day. You counted down until class started, telling me to just hang on for a few more days. Why would you do that?”

“Because you were hurting. I thought I was helping.”

“You showed up at campus like nothing had happened. Like you’d been dying to get back to school. How long had you been fucking them? Before I even showed up here?”

“No!” Mandy stepped forward and grabbed Summer’s arm, yanking her until she looked up. “It wasn’t like that. They were devastated when you left. I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did.”

“Sure, Mandy. Whatever you say.”

“Damn it, Summer. It’s the truth.”

Summer inhaled through her nose and reached for Mandy’s fingers. One by one, she pried them off her arm. “Don’t you have a cake to cut? I’d hate for you to keep your new husband waiting. Or the groomsmen. I’m sure they’re eager to see you too.”

“Summer!” Mandy’s eyes shimmered under her scrunched brow, but she didn’t say anything more. At last, she dropped her head. “Fine. Do what you have to do. I need to go.”

Her best friend stepped back and let out a breath. “Don’t throw everything away because you’re mad. It was years ago. They love you.”

Summer barked out a laugh. “That’s what I thought back then, too, and look where it got me. My three best friends screwing each other behind my back.”

Mandy sniffed. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“Go back to your wedding, Mandy. Everyone’s waiting.”

“This isn’t over. We need to talk.”

“You know my phone number. You can call and ask me how I’m holding up.”

Mandy took a step back.

“There you are! Come on babe, everyone’s waiting.” Richard strode up and took Mandy by the shoulders. One look at her face, and he frowned. “Everything alright?”

Mandy tried to smile. “It’s fine. Summer’s not feeling well. She’s going back to her room.”

“Oh.” Richard glanced Summer’s way. “Sorry to hear that, Sum. It’s not the food, is it? I can call the cook and have him—”

Summer held up her hand. “It’s not the food. Probably just a weekend bug.”

Richard looked relieved. “Well, that’s good, I guess. Hope you shake it off.”

She nodded. “Thanks. I’ll be fine once I’m back home.”

“Good.” He turned to his bride. “Come on, let’s go.”

* * *

BLAKE

Blake stalked down the hall, opening doors to side rooms and closets. He’d even scoped out the kitchen. No Summer.
Where is she?

The longer he searched, the more his unease grew.
Something happened.
He couldn’t imagine her mother’d gotten to her—she’d been too busy ripping him a new one. Had she fought with Devin? Tripped over a rug and twisted her ankle? Drank too much champagne?

She couldn’t have just run out on them. Not again. As he rounded the corner to do another sweep of the ballroom, he almost careened into Devin.

“Shit man, what’s going on?”

Blake ran a hand over his hair. “I can’t find Summer.”

“So? Maybe she had to take a leak.”

“No. Something’s wrong. I can feel it.” Blake paced back and forth, hand rubbing his buzzed hair back and forth as he thought. Where else could she be?

“Oh, well if it isn’t Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Out looking for the white rabbit, are you?”

Blake ground his teeth together and leaned in toward Devin. “She’s your ex. Deal with her.”

Devin side-eyed him but walked her way. “It’s not a good time, Ivy. Go find Ian and enjoy the party, okay?”

“Oh, I’ve already been doing just that. But it doesn’t look like your boyfriend over there is having such a good time.”

“Blake’s not my boyfriend.”

“Oh, right. Silly me.” Ivy fake laughed and put her hand on her chest. “He’s just the guy you screw women with. What a shame your repeat customer’s not around. The three of you made quite a show earlier. Who’s idea was that to walk down the aisle? Yours or the bride’s?”

Blake’s anger flared. “What’s it any business of yours, Ivy?”

“Last time I checked, I’m opening a bar with the two of you.”

“No. Ian’s opening a bar with us. You’re just window dressing.” Devin crossed his arms and scowled.