Page 59 of Puck and Prejudice

“All right, then. I guess I’ll just head over to the pool.”

“You’re not going to ask Mom if she needs help?” Chad arches a brow at his sister.

She wrinkles her nose. “You know I hate cooking.”

Chad glances at me, and I see the question in his gaze. I subtly shake my head, and he shrugs.

“You go sunbathe, sweetie,” Victoria replies, and when Caroline walks out of the house, Victoria turns to Chad. “What were you thinking, volunteering Carol to help me? You know she can’t make toast to save her life.”

“Well… she offered to help Jackson.”

Victoria turns her shrewd gaze on me. “That she did. Interesting.”

My eyes widen. “No, not interesting. Please don’t get any ideas.”

“Pity. You’d make a great couple.”

I must have made a face, because Chad starts to laugh. Fucker. Let’s see how long his amusement lasts when Jane arrives with her colorful family in tow.

ChapterTwenty-Five

IZZIE

We’re late because Mom insisted on inviting Colombo to tag along, and we couldn’t leave right away. He needed a tour of the ranch first. I could tell Jane was getting antsy, but saying anything to Mom would have just put her in a bad mood. She’s still unhappy about the last-minute invitation. Going with the flow isn’t something she does.

She insists that Colombo should ride in my car, because we can’t all fit in one vehicle. I can see through her matchmaking scheme from miles away.

“I’ll go with Izzie as well,” Jane chimes in, and on the way to my car, she calls shotgun.

Mom glares. “Don’t be silly, Jane. Colombo can’t ride in the back seat.”

“It’s okay, Marilia. I don’t mind the back seat.”

I see through your nice-guy façade too, buddy.I can’t put my finger on why, but I don’t vibe with this man. There’s something slimy about his personality. I’m glad Jane volunteered to be a buffer.

I slide behind the steering wheel and type Chad’s address into Google maps. It shows the drive will take us nearly an hour. Hell.

“Oh no. We’ll be so late,” Jane whines.

“It’s a barbeque, no? It will be fine,” Colombo butts in.

“Maybe in Spain it’s okay to arrive at a party an hour late, but that’s not how I roll,” I grit out.

He laughs. “Your mother warned me you had a strong personality.”

I bite my tongue. I want to ask why he’s talking with my mother about me, but I choose to rise above the situation. I need to remain calm for Jane’s sake. She’s already stressed enough about meeting Chad’s parents.

Colombo is in the mood to chat, and for the first ten minutes of the ride, he peppers me with questions. When a song I love pops up on the radio, I turn up the volume and sing along. Jane joins me, and that shuts Colombo up.

If my father wasn’t following me, I’d drive faster, not that it’d help much. We are very late, and even if I drove like a maniac, it wouldn’t make a difference. Besides, when we hit South Miami Avenue, traffic slows to a crawl.

Jane has been texting nonstop with Chad. She’s nervous, and I don’t blame her. She’s usually very punctual, just like me. I hate being late for anything. Without looking up from her phone, she asks me, “How much longer, do you think?”

I glance at the app. “According to Google Maps, we’ll get there in ten minutes.”

“Ah… we’re almost there,” Colombo pipes up. “Good, ‘cause I have to pee.”

I roll my eyes.Maybe you shouldn’t have drunk all that coffee before we left. I’m glad he didn’t ask to stop to go to the bathroom.

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