Page 106 of Rinkmates

As we merge into traffic, Rosalie leans forward, her elbows resting on the front seats. “So, Liora, tell me everything. How did you and my brother meet? I want all the juicy details!”

Liora glances at me, a small smile playing on her lips. “Well, it’s a long story…”

I reach over and squeeze her thigh.

“Ew. Can you stop that?” Rosalie interjects, glancing pointedly at Liora. “I mean, I’ve seen those cringy videos of you two, but I prefer to pretend they don’t exist.”

From the rearview mirror, Jayce looks like he’s beenhandcuffed. He’s stiff and rigid—while my sister invades his space, hogging the entire backseat for herself. I mouth a silent apology to him, and he grins back knowingly. He’s seen Rosalie in action before. She’s always like this.

Liora launches into our story about meeting at the last gala, and I notice Rosalie tense up this time. I tense up too. Shit.

“Um, the last sports gala Mom hosted. The one in January?” she says.

“Yep,” I mutter, suddenly fascinated by the traffic.

It’s a quiet street, not exactly demanding my full attention, but I stare nonetheless. Damn, I forgot Rosalie was there. She’s been with me all the time. She probably knows better than anyone that I was drunk as a skunk and couldn’t have possibly talked to a girl.

“Just to be clear: is this the same night I had to hoist you into the pool house because you were so determined to win that ridiculous rugby game that you nearly broke your leg?”

I swallow hard. “Yep.”

She turns to Liora again. “Wow, you’ve got low standards, huh?”

“Rosalie!” I yell.

“What? You couldn’t even string together a coherent sentence because your leg hurt so much. You looked like a child who had fallen. The only thing you managed to say was, ‘Where’s the booze?’ while pointing in random directions until someone finally showed you. I can’t believe someone like her would have flirted with you.”

To my surprise, Liora bursts out laughing, and I start to relax a bit. “Well, I guess I have a weakness when it comes to taking care of injured men.”

Rosalie makes a dramatic gagging noise, and I roll my eyes.

“She had to leave early, we swapped numbers. That’s it—everything else is just ancient history,” I say with a smirk.

My mom’s guest list is always a mixed bag, so we couldn’t possibly know everyone. Besides, it’s not like my mom meticulously plans these things—she’s the worst with paperwork. I had to tread carefully with that lie; my sister is basically a human lie detector, ready to don an FBI cap and interrogate us to death. Sometimes she’s too smart for her own good. “Rosie, drop it.”

A little crease forms between her eyebrows, and she leans back, wearing thatI’ve got you nowexpression.

I quickly steer the conversation to her, which is usually an easy task. She loves talking about herself and wastes no time filling us in on her hectic schedule, the grueling training, and her disdain for the snobs she encounters.

That’s until my damn sister starts squeezing Jayce’s bicep. I nearly slam on the brakes. Can’t she behave just once?

“Oh my, you gotshreddedsince the last time we met,” she exclaims, kneading his muscles.

“Haven’t I always been?” Jayce says, meeting my angry gaze in the mirror.

“Not like this. Mm-hm,” she continues, and all of my hair stands on end.

“Stop annoying my best friend,” I say, trying to keep calm.

“But what if I’m genuinely interested in how many more muscles he’s got? Maybe he’s got an eight-pack now and maybe, just maybe, I should go and investigate,” she teases, causing a vein to throb on my temple. She knows exactly how to push my buttons.

Liora turns to Rosalie. “Actually, I’m more curious about how Riley and Jay met. I’ve heard bits and pieces but never the full story.”

I smile at Liora and mouthThank youat her.

Rosalie whistles. “Ooh, that’s a good one! Jay, care to share with the class?”

Jayce swallows, his eyes darting between Rosalie and me. He frees his arms from my sister’s clutches and says, “It was during summer break in college. I was making some extra cash as a construction worker when I got assigned to build the pool house at the Huntington’s mansion.”

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