Page 98 of It All Started with a Bite

I wasn’t going to admit to him that she’d used products from the Moon Shine: Extra Glossy Coat range to tame my locks.

Samuel’s expression cooled as he gazed at the Lupton sisters. “I’m surprised to see you two here.”

Lauren’s smile turned sharp. “Why, if it isn’t my favorite stick-in-the-mud.”

Beatrice sighed at the hostile sparks between Samuel and Lauren. Caroline bit into a sandwich, her avid gaze swinging between the pair like she was at a tennis match.

“So Lauren is the chick he was originally supposed to get engaged to?” Bo whispered to Pearl.

“Yes.” Pearl wrinkled her nose. “Although I doubt they would have made it down the aisle without killing each other or burning the church down.”

Samuel and Lauren pretended not to hear her.

“Still working too hard?” Lauren asked sweetly.

“Still terrorizing innocent civilians?” Samuel countered.

“Only the ones who deserve it.”

“Here we go again,” Beatrice muttered.

Caroline grinned.

“Abby here was just telling me she was trying her best to remove the stick permanently wedged up your ass,” Lauren told Samuel silkily.

“Unlike you, Abby can do whatever she wants to my ass,” he retorted smoothly.

I choked on a macaron. Martha and Felicity sucked in air with shocked delight. Victoria looked like she was contemplating fainting. Caroline wheezed behind her napkin, eyes crunched up and shoulders trembling.

Bo looked at me cautiously. “I wonder if Ellie knows you’re into butt-play.”

Caroline’s wheezing got worse.

I groaned and pushed away from the table. “Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.” I was halfway across the salon when I realized my dog was following me. “Where are you going?”

“I’m your bodyguard, remember?” Bo said.

I’d forgotten Victoria and Caroline had assigned him the role with strict instructions to howl like a banshee if I got into any trouble at today’s tea party.

A waiter guided us to the closest facilities.

The place was exactly what I’d expect from the luxury hotel. The walls were covered in deep burgundy silk damask wallpaper and decorated with gilt-framed mirrors. The marble floor had been laid in an intricate pattern of black and white diamonds. Crystal wall sconces cast a warm light over the gleaming antique fixtures.

Even the toilet stalls were fancy, their brass hardware polished to a mirror shine.

“This bathroom is nicer than our apartment,” Bo commented, his paws clicking on the marble floor.

“You’re not planning to follow me into a stall, are you?” I asked suspiciously.

“What and watch you poop?” Bo huffed indignantly.

I was eyeing a discrete sign requesting that werewolf guests please refrain from marking territory when Helen emerged from one of the stalls. She paused at the sight of me, her mouth pressing to a thin line.

“This is the ladies’ room,” she said pointedly, glaring at Bo.

“Luckily he identifies as a service dog,” I said sweetly.

Bo embraced the blatant lie and straightened proudly. “I’m here to make sure Abby doesn’t suffer from constipation.”

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