Page 58 of Reckless Harmony

Rayna followed Emma’s finger, her upper lip curling when she saw the pretty, dark-haired engineer. “Ugh. What is she doing here? She hates me, animals, and doing nice things for others.”

Emma snorted. “Isn’t that the truth. She’s probably here because it’s the only way she can get a date.”

“I wish that were true,” Rayna said. “But you and I both know that the men fall all over her in this town. And why wouldn’t they? She’s gorgeous, smart, and an engineer. Ugh. Weren’t childhood bullies supposed to get what was coming to them as adults? Why does she get this amazing life when she spent our entire childhoods making ours miserable?”

“She’ll get her comeuppance,” Emma said. “Eventually. Holy shit, why is he sitting with her?”

“Who?” Rayna glanced at Phoebe’s table again, a little surprised by the hot jealousy that streaked through her when she saw Stark sit down beside Phoebe. His cousin Jasper sat in the chair on Phoebe’s left side, and she gave both men a slow and sexy smile.

“Who’s the handsome blond guy?” Emma asked. “Do you know?”

“That’s Jasper.”

“Stark’s cousin that you met on Tuesday?” Emma asked as Rayna let the curtain drop back into place. “You didn’t tell me how good looking he is. He wears a suit as well as Stark.”

“Yeah, he’s hot,” Rayna said.

“Maybe it’s a Stark thing,” Emma mused. “They all have, like, the handsome gene or something.”

“Bonus - he’s not a complete asshole like his cousin,” Rayna said.

“You did mention he was very charming.” Emma studied her. “Are you into him?”

“I don’t know him that well,” Rayna said. “But he’s cute and funny, and he was hitting on me at Stark’s.”

“If he asked you out, would you say yes?” Emma asked.

An image of Stark flickered through Rayna’s head, and she had to clamp down on the immediate ‘no’ that wanted to fly from her lips. Why shouldn’t she go out with Jasper if he asked her? She was single, and nothing was stopping her from going out with him.

Nothing at all.

“Rayna?” Emma prompted.

Before she could reply, Zuri and Arianna joined them. Zuri clasped her clipboard to her chest. “We have a serious problem, Rayna.”

“What’s wrong?” Rayna asked.

“Cheri just dropped out.”

“What do you mean she dropped out?”

“She looked at her phone, her face went red, and she said I have to go, and then she left,” Zuri said. “We need a new bachelorette.”

She stared at Rayna, who said, “Why are you looking at me?”

“Because you’re my new bachelorette,” Zuri said.

“The fuck I am,” Rayna said.

“The fuck you aren’t,” Zuri said.

“Just go with seven bachelorettes,” Rayna said.

“No.” Zuri was gripping her clipboard so tightly that it looked like she might crack it in half. “I said there would be eight bachelorettes, and there will be eight bachelorettes.”

“Zuri, there has to be someone else who can -”

“There isn’t,” Zuri said. “You’re the only single lady.”

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