Page 38 of Recklessly in Love

I’m about to intervene when I see Ned turn away and slip something into a cup, then try to hand it to her. He’s not subtle about it, but I can tell it was just out of Carrie’s eye-line, and the crowd around them is thick enough that she likely didn’t notice. But before I can react, Nate is there, snatching the drink away and grabbing Ned by the collar.

Mia catches the look on my face. “What is it?” she asks, turning toward where I’m looking just in time to see Nate drag Ned toward the door, fury etched on every line of his face.

“Oh shit,” Mia curses.

Rae’s eyes finally catch up, and she puts a hand to her mouth. Having lived here longer than us, I’m sure she’s more than familiar with Ned and his way of creeping on the ladies.

We watch as Nate tosses Ned out the door, pulling it closed behind him. Greg appears and, after a tense conversation with Nate, storms outside after Ned.

“I’m going to go check on Carrie,” Mia tells us.

“I’m coming with you,” I insist, following her through the crowd.

When we get to Carrie, she looks beyond confused.

“Are you okay?” Mia asks, checking her over like she’s looking for injuries.

Carrie nods, looking shaken. “I think so. What the hell was that?”

“Nate saw Ned put something in your drink,” I explain.

Both Carrie and Mia’s eyes widen. “He tried to drug me?” Carrie asks incredulously.

“He tried to drug her?!” Mia echoes, outraged.

Nate joins us, still seething and clearly having heard Mia. “Yes, but I took the drink before he could hand it to her. Fuck, I hope Greg is beating the shit out of that psychopath.” My eyes widen at how hard he grinds his teeth in anger. “Fucking hell. We don’t even have a damn police force to report it to.”

We all stew momentarily, the gravity of the situation sinking in. Then, raised voices draw our attention outside. Yes, from outside. That’s how loud they are. Murmurs start to ripple through the crowd, so Mia and I follow Nate to the door to help get things back under control so the whole town doesn’t know about this in the next two minutes. As we pass Rae, I ask her to go look after Carrie. She nods, and we continue.

Once outside, we find Greg in a heated argument with an older couple.

“... refused to believe all the other reports of his bad behavior, and now this!” Greg is shouting.

“He’s a good boy; he wouldn’t do something like that,” the woman insists. Ah. This must be his aunt and uncle.

Greg laughs harshly. “A good boy? He’s a predator. But you two are so far up Dad’s ass, you can’t see what’s right in front of you.”

“How dare you speak to us like that!” his uncle bellows. “You’re a disgrace to this family, turning your back on us, on the business. You’re nothing but a disappointment. Our Ned is twice the man you’ll ever be.”

I scoff loudly, but they’ve already turned and stormed off. Greg stands there, chest heaving, hands clenched into fists.

We all let out a collective breath. I’m relieved it seems to be over, but I’m worried about Greg.

I start to go to him, but Mia catches my arm. “Give Nate a minute,” she murmurs as her fiancé heads over to him.

We watch as Nate says something to Greg that is too low for us to hear. Greg nods, and they head back inside together.

Mia turns to me with a rueful smile. “Well, this isn’t quite how I expected to ring in the new year.”

I snort. “At least it’s not boring. Remember our last New Year’s together?”

“God, don’t remind me. My apartment. That sad little cake and cheap champagne ...”

“And the kiss at midnight since neither of us had anyone else,” I finish with a smile.

Mia chuckles. “We’ve come a long way since then, haven’t we? I mean, even with all this drama tonight, look at us. Look at where we are.”

I pause, unsure I want to unpack that with Mia right now. “Where we are is outside of the party. Let’s go back in, shall we?” I deflect.

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