Page 108 of A Dead Girl's Guide to Living
I snorted and shook my head at her. “Uh-uh, Ellis,” I teased. “We still have to dance.”
She blanched and shook her head. “Uh, no.”
“One dance,” I said, raising a brow, “then we can go back to the motel.”
Her lips pinched together, and she sighed, letting out a useless shrug as she brushed past me.
“All right.”
As she made to exit and I followed after her, a startling thought hit me square between the eyes.
I wasn’t here just to help Ellis and Liv get their closure or to scatter Margaret’s ashes. No. Ellis had come into my shop for a reason that day, and I knew enough now to know Margaret would have sent her, or made Liv send her, without Liv even knowing.
Because, no, Ellis Langley was here to wakemeup.
And I now considered my eyes wide open.
The secondwe slipped out of the bathrooms and approached our table, we found Jules waving the trivia sheet above her head like a flag, while Siena clapped beside her, blonde hair catching under the neon light as if it had been placed there as her own personal spotlight.
“You guys missed it!” Jules crowed with a grin, her eyes landing on Ellis. “We won!”
“You guys crushed it,” I said lightly, grinning at both of them. “You can keep the prize for yourselves. The bar tab. We’re not drinking, and we’ll be leaving soon.”
Siena’s eyes widened a fraction, some of the sparkle dimming. “Aw, you’re leaving already?” she asked softly, lips pouted. “Come on then, have a dance with me, gorgeous.”
It was as if I could feel Ellis bristle beside me—feel it inside me—and it felt sharp and layered, heavy in my stomach. I glanced at her, noting her drawn lips and tight eyes.
I glanced back at Siena.
“Thank you, but I promised Ellis my only dance tonight.” My words were warm, friendly, and I found my hand moving automatically, reaching back and touching Ellis’s elbow gently. “Didn’t I?”
The resigned huff that left Ellis’s lips had my own lips tugging into a smirk before I could stop myself.
“Onedance,” she muttered.
“One dance,” I echoed, but my heart suddenly felt as if it were beating loud enough for the room to hear over the rising music. I spied Liv on the dance floor, a flash of pink hair appearing and then vanishing into the growing number of bodies.
I looked to Jules and Siena.
“It was great meeting you both,” I told them with a grin. “Enjoy the bar tab.”
Gently, I tugged Ellis toward the dance floor, breaking through her small fight of resistance, the look on her face letting me know very clearly that she was already regretting every life choice that had ever led her here. Siena and Jules laughed behind us and called something playful out, but I barely registered it.
The blood was roaring in my ears.
The dance floor wasn’t overly crowded, but it was still bustling with moving bodies as some fast-tempo song played, and I grimaced inwardly. This song was in no way going to get Ellis relaxed and dancing—it just wouldn’t do—
The music cut and shifted, and a new song started. And I knew it within the first couple of chords.
“Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star.
I looked up to the DJ booth where I saw Liv standing beside a confused-looking DJ, a smirk on her face as she shot me a wink and a thumbs-up, nodding her head at Ellis.
I looked back at Ellis, who was staring at her feet. She likely hadn’t even seen Liv up there.
My breath caught in my chest, and I swallowed the rising lump of nerves in my throat before I held out my hands in front of her.
“C’mere,” I murmured softly, praying she couldn’t see the slight tremor in them.
