Page 40 of Alice & Meg, Girls Trip

Lo stood up, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Everyone finish eating, and let’s head to the pool!”

I narrowed my eyes at him, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’m the one who’s supposed to be calling the shots this weekend,” I reminded him, my voice firm.

Lo leaned down, pressing a kiss to my lips, his touch gentle but persuasive. “I promise you’ll like this.”

I gave him a look that said I wasn’t so sure, but he just grinned, his charm working its usual magic.

Breakfast was a blur after that, everyone bustling around, finishing their food and getting ready for whatever was coming next. I tried to relax, to let go of the reins just a little, but it wasn’t easy. I was used to being the one with the plan, even if it was crazy and half-cocked.

But today, it seemed, I was going to have to trust Lo—and maybe even enjoy the surprise.

Alice

We had been lounging by the pool for the past two hours, soaking up the sun and enjoying the day. But there was something in the air, a tension that had nothing to do with the bright, cloudless sky or the cold drinks we’d been sipping. It started when I noticed King sitting at the outdoor bar by himself across the road from where we were sitting.

“Why is King sitting at the bar by himself?” I asked, squinting through my sunglasses at the distant figure of King.

Meg craned her neck to look at King. “I don’t know. I told him I would come with him to get this round of drinks, but he told me he got it.”

I scrunched up my nose. “Something is afoot, Meg.”

“I know,” she muttered, her voice low with suspicion.

We were both on edge, not just because King was acting strange, but because five minutes ago, the woman who had called Lennox trash showed up at the other end of the pool. She had taken a table with a few of her friends, but notably, she didn’t have her daughter with her. The woman had been shooting dirty looks at Lennox, who was floating with Snapper, the entire time, and it was taking all of my strength not to march over there and gouge her eyes out. Meg was struggling, too; I could see the tightness in her jaw, the way her hands clenched at her sides.

We turned back in our seats, my gaze locked on the woman from behind my sunglasses. “She doesn’t have her daughter with her.”

“Alice,” Wrecker growled, sensing my thoughts as if he could read my mind. “You are not going to do anything to that woman just because she doesn’t have her kid with her.”

I tilted my head back, pushing my sunglasses down my nose to look up at him. “What if Meg and I just talk to her?” I suggested, trying to sound reasonable.

“Yeah,” Meg chimed in, “just talk.”

Wrecker put his arms around my shoulders, pulling me close. “Stay, babe.”

“I don’t want to,” I replied, my tone sulky. I trusted Wrecker with my life, but the urge to go over there and tell that woman off was almost too strong to resist.

He shook his head and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “Trust me.”

I sighed, leaning into his kiss, but the anger simmered just below the surface. All I needed was one more reason, one more sideways glance from that woman, and I’d be up and out of my chair in a heartbeat.

“She’s getting up,” Meg hissed, drawing my attention back to the scene unfolding across the pool.

The skinny blonde woman in her yellow bikini was rising from the table with her friends, her every movement deliberate and confident. My heart started to pound as I watched her strut across the pool area, hips swaying, head held high. She was heading straight for the outdoor bar where King was sitting alone.

“Fuck me,” I muttered, watching her take a seat right next to King. And then, to my utter disbelief, she turned toward him and started talking to him like they were old friends.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” Meg seethed beside me, her hands gripping the edge of the lounge chair as though she might spring up at any moment.

“Relax,” Wrecker called from behind me, his voice calm and unbothered.

Meg whipped around to face him, her eyes blazing. “Why?”

He nodded in the direction of King and the woman. “Because this is all part of the plan.”

“What plan?” I demanded, turning to look at him.

Wrecker gave me one of those infuriatingly calm smiles, the kind that told me he knew exactly what was going on and wasn’t about to share the details with me just yet. “Just watch,” he said, nodding back to the bar.

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