Page 139 of Jump on Three

“What was that about? The girl on the way here.”

I twisted my gown around my fingers. I had known this was coming and had practiced in my head what I would say to her. “She’s Layla Abdo’s sister.”

“Okaaay…and?”

“Layla gave me a hard time on the swim team.” Delilah tensed, but I pushed forward. “Chantel isn’t a big fan of her sister and saw what a cunt she was to me. I suppose letting me know her asshole sister isn’t graduating with us today was her gift to me.”

Her eyes flared. “You didn’t tell me.”

“I took care of it. Ivan helped too.”

Her lips rolled over her teeth, but she didn’t protest, nor did she ask for the details, for which I was thankful. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you call anyone a cunt.”

“Well, she was a cunt,” I replied.

My sister snorted a laugh. “That she was. Are we going to forget she existed now?”

“That sounds like an excellent plan. I’m in.”

She laid her hand on my leg, palm up. I slid my hand over hers, weaving our fingers together.

“I love you, Ev. You’ll always be my pea.”

“Love you too, Delilah. Peas for life.”

It was time to graduate.

I did not wear my hat when I walked across the stage to get my diploma, and it didn’t matter in the least.

Not when hours later, close to midnight, all my friends were on the quad. They lay in the grass on top of piles of blankets, drinking champagne and eating our last serving of dining hall junk food.

Luciana held up her plastic cup. “To Savage Academy for bringing us together.”

A chorus of cheers, then we all drank. Ivan kissed me hard, slipping his tongue between parted lips for a taste.

“Mmm. I like that, angel.”

“I like you.” I pushed my hand into the neck of his shirt to trace his raised tattoo.

Freddie raised his cup. “To a new pool of boys to break my heart next year.”

Bella cackled. “You stole my cheer.”

He rolled his eyes. “Drink up, floozy.”

“Shut it, Frederick. I’m saving my liver for Miami.”

Miami no longer struck fear in my heart. It didn’t trigger minutes of panic and the urge to run.

That was a good thing since all eight of us were flying there tomorrow and staying for a week. Most of us had already purchased tickets by the time Ivan had changed his plans, so it’d been decided to make it an even bigger group trip to celebrate graduation and the fact that Ivan and I weren’t moving there.

This was a group trip, but it wasn’t the only reason we were going. Vóva had arranged for Ivan’s mother to meet us in Miami for a few days under the guise of her checking out the new club and helping him find a home suitable for his family.

With Ivan no longer part of the family business, Vóva had been ordered to move to Miami. He was miserable about it, but it was his own fault, and he knew it. Part of his penance was smuggling in Ivan’s mother and siblings for visits since Leonid was being a monster.

“Who will collect seashells with Evelyn and me?” my lovely Ivan asked our friends.

“Not me,” drawled Rhys. “I don’t do sun. I have enough freckles. I’ll be inside, finishing my sclarf.”

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