Page 35 of Best In Class
The way it should be.
The swimming pool is party city! Sophie, Gabe’s teenage daughter, and Bianca, Nina’s girl, have recruited three younger cousins into a full-scale water war, complete with floats, goggles, and a strict ‘no grown-ups allowed’ rule.
Thank God, because if I had to see Luna in a bikini…well….
Gabe’s brother Raphael—academician and resident nerd—lounges nearby, shirtless in swim trunks, sipping rosé and getting schooled in quantitative economics (which he teaches at Emory) by a young woman (a cousin or a friend of a cousin), who’s apparently read half his curriculum.
He seems to be enjoying all the attention.
Anson and Noah are arguing about spice rubs:dry or wet, which one is better, while Nova and Stella are seated on the far end of the deck, ignoring their husbands. Whenever their husbands ask for their opinion, they say, “We just want the meat” and burst into laughter.
I think, between them, they’ve drunk a couple of bottles of champagne.
Nina is with them, pretending she’snotwith Diego, eventhough he calls herqueridaand brings her drinks and plates of food.
Lia and Sebastian sit on a bench by the river, quietly tucked into each other. Their ease in silence hits somewhere deep in my chest. Just a few months ago, they were on the brink of divorce. Now, watching them like this, it’s clear they’ve found their way back—what they call their second marriage to each other.
The table behind me is covered in platters of grilled ribs, blackened shrimp, baked mac and cheese, sweet corn, and cornbread; all of it put together by Harrison, the Rhodes family chef.
There is a soft ice machine that’s getting a major workout.
Luna is in denim shorts and a thin white tank that hugs her like it was sewn for her. She’s barefoot, her legs long, her short hair tousled, her laugh soft and infuriating because, since we kissed, I’ve becomepersona non grata.
She’s sitting next to Devon, who is sprawled beside her on a pool lounger like a beach ad for bad decisions—long blond hair pulled back, a floral Hawaiian shirt half-unbuttoned, flip-flop on one foot, the other kicked off.
She’s licking ice cream from a cone.
Yeah, because why the hell should she not be licking something!
Christ, but she’s sexy.
She rests a hand on Devon’s shoulder, and then, just to finish me off, he leans over and plants a smack on her mouth.
“Down, boy.” Gabe grabs my forearm before I’m fully out of my chair.
“I’m losing out to a fuckin’ beach bum.” I sit back with force, so the chair rattles a little. “You gotta fire the asshole.”
Gabe takes a long sip of his beer. “Best brand man in the country, so hell to the no, will I fire him. And she’s doing this to mess with you.”
“Or maybe she likes Devon.”Maybe he’s her new man.Maybe….
“Devon’s got a friends-with-benefits thing going with Rose…you know, my cousin, Rose Dixon?”
I narrow my eyes. “He better not get into a friends-with-benefits thing with Luna.”
Gabe huffs out a sharp breath. “Dom, you’ve got to get your act together, man.”
Lev walks up to us and leans against the railing that separates the porch from the swimming pool area, beer bottle in hand.
“Is he losing his shit because of Devon?” he lazily asks Gabe.
I gave him an exaggerated eye roll.
Gabe rubs his temple. “Luna and Dom need to sort their shit out. According to Aurora, the two of them could power all of Savannah with the voltage they throw off when they’re in the same room.”
“So…what did you do that she’s running scared?” Lev muses as he drinks some beer.
“Why do you think I did something?” I demand haughtily.
