Page 144 of As the Rain Falls
“I’m taking them for a walk. Are you coming with me?”
“I’m not going back outside. The heat will kill me.” I press a hand against his back in solidarity, but he jerks away from my touch. “Chill out, dude. They’re just kids.”
“Then explain to me why they keep acting like monsters.”Tony rolls his eyes at them. “Stop pulling her ponytail!”
“But she made fun of my purple beads!”
He disappears into the crowd, steering the girls away from the crowd as they chatter enthusiastically about fighting each other in the parking lot.One hyperactive kid is bad enough, but two lookalikes with high-pitched voices? Yeah, the Silvas are in for another decade of just pure craziness.
I head back to my table, suddenly aware of how hungry I am. They stuck me with the Riveras tonight, which is definitely an interesting choice. Sure, our families used to be close, but I wouldn’t describe us as the greatest friends now. Lending someone money once doesn’t mean they’ll ever pay you back.
Cassandra is the exception. Well, at least she’s my exception. She’s my favorite out of the bunch, and even though the history between our family runs deeper than our childhood bonds, what happened when we were little doesn’t matter to me.It’s all old stories I’d rather not be thinking about.
“I hear my sister is keeping your dog these days. What’s his name again? Pepé?” Nathaniel Rivera lifts his champagne glass, a calculated smirk stretching across his face. He looks a lot like his mother, even from this angle. His insides are just as rotten as hers, too. “She calls him Pepé-the-dog, and even lets the little thing sleep with her in bed.”
“She is.” I pop another appetizer into my mouth, savoring the taste of ham and cheese. I chew carefully, watching him. “Is that a problem?”
Nathaniel shrugs. “No, it’s not.”
He takes another long sip.
“Just making casual conversation.”
“Well, please don’t.” I grab another appetizer, eyeing his sister from across the room.
Robert Chartrand and his husband are making rounds, going from table to table. I’m secretly hoping they won’t reach ours. Nothing against the guy, but he puts on too much cologne. Even his daughter seems to think so. Alice keeps grimacing every time he gets too close.
“Where’s your father?” Nathaniel dares to ask, ignoring my obvious disinterest in talking to him.
“Traveling. What about yours?” I retort. “Sainte Madeleine still closes in the evenings, right?”
Nathaniel’s expression doesn’t falter, but he sets his glass over the table a little too carefully.
“Bathroom break.” He wets his lip, following my gaze eventually. “There’s a line, you know.”
“Oh.” I reach for another appetizer, stomach growling.
I had to work all day at the farm, and these bites of cheese aren’t cutting it. Rich people’s food, man. Everything about it pisses me off.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Cassandra again. She’s giggling with Kayla Saint-Louis. Their eyes dark across the other side of the room, cheeks flushed.
I follow their gaze, landing on one of the security guards, half asleep against the wall.
It’s Angelina’s father, I realize.The man must beexhausted.
With her bright smile and her pretty party dress, the sight of Cassandra brings me a strange feeling of warmth in my chest.
“Excuse me.” I rise from my seat, tossing the napkin onto the table. “I need to go greet a friend.”
Nathaniel rolls his eyes at me, not even pretending to be surprised. “Just say you want to talk to my sister, Beckett.”
“Well.” I smirk, brushing my bottom lip with my thumb as I glance at her again. “If it means that much to you, then yeah. I actually do.”
He snorts, clearly unamused, before swiping another champagne flute from a passing waiter. It’s his fifth one tonight, but I don’t stick around to watch him drink it. Something about his presence rubs me the wrong way, and the sight of him bothers me. It did before, but it’s gotten worse after I found Cassandra wounded.
She said it was an accident, but what if it wasn’t?
What ifhewas the reason?
