Page 10 of The Prom King & The Ice Queen

She smiles. “Maybe you can distract him before he loses his mind.”

I snicker and my mom chuckles. I think every one of us in this family has found it pretty darn amusing to watch the big bad dude fall for his sweetheart of a girlfriend.

And when I say fall, I mean fall. Like a headfirst tumble into lame sapville.

Addie’s cool, though. And she’s good for him. We all know she’s the one who’s convinced him to stop being such a broody bastard and start actually speaking to us.

I guess my mom thinks throwing her an epic birthday party is a good way to express her thanks. And since my only contribution was to invite some friends since Addie hasn’t made many yet, it seemed like the least I could do.

“Dude, watch,” Shane says, nudging my elbow. “Check out Savannah.”

I look from him to Savannah, who’s decked out in a gown from Frozen with a long white wig. It’s tacky as all hell.

And yet, I get this stupid, ridiculous tug of longing like I always do when I stare too long at the girl who makes me insane.

I run a hand over my hair and turn away. “Stop gawking, Shane. It’s pathetic.”

I stole that line from Savannah. She’s always calling people out for being pathetic. And with Shane, at least, she’s almost always right.

“I’m not gawking,” he says. “But seriously, how funny is it to see her all dressed up like that?”

He snorts into his cup of soda, which I know is spiked, I can smell it from here. He and our other friends from the team had been sneaking liquor since they got here.

I’m not drinking but maybe I should be. I’m all tense, just waiting to get this party over with already.

There’s too much going on in my family right now, I can’t stand having all these people in my house.

I don’t have the energy or patience to hang out with Shane and the others, especially not now that they’re getting buzzed. I spot Vince finally leaving his watchguard stance by the door—I swear he’s like a puppy dog when it comes to Addie—and he’s helping Callie and Willow carry in some of the supplies.

The caterers are still setting up too, and I’m just standing here. My dad heads straight toward us and sinks into a seat at the bar by Shane. “How’s the team going?” he asks no one in particular.

My friends are all too eager to kiss up to my dad—adopted dad, not that anyone but me cares about the difference. But watching him laze about with the guests while my mom’s hustling her butt off and even Vince is helping with the setup…

A wave of disgust hits me hard. I don’t want to be like him. Or my friends. This whole group makes me feel ill.

I set off before my dad can stop me. I see Savannah peeling from the others. I have no doubt she’ll jump at the chance to order me around if I offer up my help, so I follow.

To my surprise, she heads through the door leading to the pool area. I’m not far behind her but I come to an abrupt stop in the doorway to the pool’s bathroom area.

I see Savannah snagging something from the counter and tucking it into the pocket of her gown.

“What are you doing?”

She gives a start, but then she fixes me with a scowl that I’m all too familiar with as she claps a hand to her heart. “Leo, you scared the crap out of me.”

I grin, unapologetic. “I came to see if you need any help.”

The suspicion in her eyes makes my stomach twist in that way I hate.

She always looks at me like this. Like I’m up to no good. If I smile, she assumes I’m laughing at someone. If I speak, she thinks it’s just to hear myself talk.

And if I offer to help…

“Why? You trying to earn brownie points from your mom or something?”

I stifle a sigh. If I offer to help, there has to be an ulterior motive. Of course, in this case there kind of is. I’ll do just about anything to avoid all the family drama that’s tainting the air in this giant house and makes me want to run outside for fresh air.

“Do you need any help or not?”

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