Page 9 of Fake Coral and Keys

Daisy smacks his arm, and then Amber hits his other.

I give Forest the same smile I’d given my father right before he’d punch me and tell me not to be a wiseass. “I can try.”

CHAPTER THREE

DAISY

Now

Justine leans across thenarrow aisle to touch Blake’s arm and I silently congratulate myself on not ripping the appendage off her deceitful body. She’s seated herself on the leather sofa seat directly across from us. Her gaze has only left Blake long enough to accept the drink the flight attendant hands her. She takes a sip, her eyes sparking with mischievous glee as she watches Blakeintently over the glass.

Lily waves over the flight attendant handing out drinks, first taking one for her and Kane, then hands one to Blake and me before settling back in the plush seat next to Justine. She fixes her gaze on Blake. “We’re glad you made it, Blake. We were getting worried you would be a no-show.”

“He was held up in a meeting,” I tell her, yet again, the lie I made up to cover for Blake’s late arrival.

Justine leans forward again and runs her finger over Blake’s forearm. “Well, I, for one, am very glad you made it.” She gives him a little wink. “It’s nice to have such interesting company for this trip.”

Can I at least break her finger if I can’t remove the entire arm? I breathe deeply through my nose, clenching my jaw, willing myself not to react in the slightest of ways. She’s doing this to piss me off. This is the way Justine works.

“Darling,” my mother calls, drawing everyone’s attention to her. Her gaze flickers between Justine and me, reminding me that my mother is much more perceptive than people think. After a breath, she shifts in her seat and turns slightly to speak to the flight attendant. “My husband needs a drink.”

My father accepts the whiskey from the flight attendant, quirking a brow. “Already? I have work to do.”

“It’s a Conner Gathering, daddy,” Lily says, leaning out in the aisle to look at him where he’s seated toward the cockpit. “No work, remember?”

The ice clinks as he takes a sip. “But it’s important.”

My mother slowly closes the open laptop in my father’s lap. “We’re on vacation. Can we enjoy our family and leave work behind for a few days?”

My father sighs and kisses my mother on the temple. Warmth blooms in my belly when she smiles. I love how much they love each other after all these years. After raising kids, scouting for three different colleges, and juggling two separate careers, they have kept their marriage and love alive.

“Tell me,” Justine says, drawing my attention back to her. Her eyes travel from his muscled chest, barely concealed behind the button-down shirt, all the way down to his form-fitting khakis. “Tell me, Blake, all about you.”

Blake gives her a warm smile that makes my stomach twist. I don’t like him looking at her. Her eyes on him make me drown in my rage. I hate her. I hate how much I hate her. It makes me sick that there is another person who I feel this much distaste for. And she’s sitting across from me right now, touching and talking to my…

Fake boyfriend. I need to remember that Blake is here for the…

What is Blake here for? Free vacations? From the conversation he’s having right now, something about security firms paying nicely to keep their accounts safe, he’s pretty damn okay in the money department. So a free vacation can’t be what’s got him returning for a second trip with the most irritating family the east coast has ever seen. Maybe the thrill of pretending?

That’s got to be it. Blake must be one of those thrill junkies and he gets off on risk-taking. Then again, he admitted in the mountains that he followed me to the library and watched me in the coffee shop for two months before approaching me. Maybe he is interested in me. Or obsessed. After unpacking this over and over for the last five months, I’ve decided what would normally be a red flag lands somewhere close to sweet stalker-ish behavior. I’m not the best at seeing red flags in men, so I’m letting this belief slide since I’ve already fucked him and my brain probably isn’t working properly when it comes to Blake.

“I’m surprised to see Daisy with anyone.” Justine’s slightly nasal voice cuts through my mental spiral. I wash all thoughts away and glance at her. The smile she wears could cut diamonds with its sharpness. “Especially after Jim.”

Bitch.

The bitchwentthere.

Blake’s eyes find mine. I plaster a large smile on my face. Of course, this bitch would bring up Jim. The nerve of this woman is downright appalling.

“After Jim?” Blake asks, his near-black eyes flickering over my face. His brows knit, then the smile he has leaves his face. “Oh, yes. Jim.”

I relax into the seat, glad Blake is playing along. May Justine will shut up if she thinks Blake knows everything.

Justine leans back, away from Blake, into her seat. She brings the glass up to her lips and watches me over the rim. When the glass lowers, she smiles widely. Too wide. “Daisy told you about Jim?” That smile of hers never falters.

Blake’s gaze flickers from me to Justine in the awkward silence.

Erin irritates the piss out of me. She’s cruel and tends to gang up on me with Lily to entertain herself. Justine? Justine is the devil disguised in a pretty little body and sunny dresses. She is more calculated and conniving than any person I’ve ever met. I learned the hard way just how ruthless she can be when she sets her mind on a target.

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