Page 64 of Without Regret

Avery’s eyes focused on her brother. The look of relief on her features made it clear she was happy to see him. “Yes. Definitely.”

“No, wait,” Edward beseeched, taking a hold of her arm. What was with these grabby guys?

Edward was what I’d describe as a typical country club guy, with his perfectly styled, brown hair, aristocratic face, and crisp white shirt with khaki pants. And were those boat shoes? Good Lord. Forget the country club; the guy belonged on a yacht. Although he could be considered handsome in a rich, frat-guy sort of way, the fact he was a cheater coupled with a scent of desperation made him ugly.

“I suggest you let go of my sister without me having to ask a second time.”

Damn. Not only was Trevor’s authoritative voice leaving no doubt as to his control, but it was continuing to turn me on. Talk about inappropriate timing.

Edward swallowed hard. “Hey, Trevor. Nice to see you.”

“Wish I could say the same. Now step off, and let me take Avery home.”

“I just need some more time to talk to her.”

Avery shook her head. “No, you don’t. I’m done talking to you.”

Adrienne came over to intercept. “Trevor. I’m so glad you got my text. Will you take us home?”

Wait. What? She’d texted him, too? Then it dawned on me why Adrienne had set Avery up. So she could get Trevor here. “What time did you get the text from Adrienne?” I asked him.

He checked his phone. “About ten minutes ago.”

“You mean before we realized Edward was even here.”

Adrienne started to turn red but denied it. “I just heard the girls saying he’d show up.”

Here was the thing about Barbies, I quickly discovered. They had no loyalty. Barbie number three shouted, “You’re lying. This was her idea. She wanted to see if Trevor would go home with her. Kept saying how Avery couldn’t do any better than Edward, and she’d thank her.”

“Well, she may not be able to do any better,” Adrienne defended pathetically.

Fury enveloped me as I witnessed Avery wilt. She looked as though she believed she’d truly couldn’t do any better than her cheating ex. That feeling was all too familiar. To be beaten down. To question your self-worth. But on top of that, she seemed to have some shitty friends.

I marched up right to Adrienne’s face. “Where do you get off making Avery feel as if she can’t do better? I have news for you. She can do a hell of a lot better than some tosser in boat shoes in a pink club or a so-called friend who set her up and used her to try to get to her brother. Who, by the way, only sleeps with real women. Not plastic, fake ones like yourself.”

Because I clearly wasn’t thinking about what it meant to out us in front of a crowd, I landed a big kiss on Trevor’s amused lips. Adrienne’s outrage gave me great pleasure. “Now we can go.”

I didn’t have a clue how Avery would react to my outburst, but she started giggling. “God, I love you, Emma.” She threw her arms around me, making me feel like a hero despite the scene.

“Come on, love, let’s get you home.” I took Avery’s arm, letting her put some of her weight on me as she appeared tipsy.

Trevor’s truck was parked with the valet directly outside the exit. He placed a large bill in the eager kid’s hand and lifted Avery up into the back seat of his club cab, where he buckled her in.

“I can get an Uber.” I thought it polite to offer, especially if he was irritated about my little stunt.

“Get in the car, Emma. Please.”

How he managed to be authoritative and still have manners I wasn’t sure. But I got into the truck.

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