Page 7 of Queen Rose

Lyla continues, “But I’m kinda hoping I hear about it through the grapevine. Or weasel it out of them at some point. That douche canoe deserves to be put in his place. He’s gotten a little cocky again.”

Scarlett groans. “Totally. And it’s surprising considering he’s still doing community service from his first run-in with the law.” She downs the rest of her orange juice, then wipes her mouth with her napkin before getting up to help Lyla load the dishwasher. “But wait, what about Farrah?” Her pretty blue eyes hold an ocean of worry. “She’s been worse than Jack, even. Some of the shit I’ve heard her say lately… It’s like she thinks she’s got you over a barrel where Nate is concerned. Like that somehow means you’ve given up being one of the elite members of the school. We could—”

I hold up a hand to interrupt, inhale deeply, and let my gaze sweep the room, ensuring that I make eye contact with everyone. “If you don’t let me handle her, it’ll just be worse for me. And speaking of cocky, she’s been walking around swinging her own big dick lately,” I groan. “She seems to have a grudge brewing against Nate, too. He turned her ass down flat, and she’s been pissy ever since. And then for him to be with me? She’s trying to hide it, but the entire situation is about to make her go off the deep end. I’ll deal with her.” I stuff the last bite of my omelet into my mouth and chew. All this talk about Jack and Farrah makes me wanna barf up my delicious breakfast.

Sucking in a quick breath, “How about we talk about something fun for a fucking change?” I lift my brows. “We’ve only got one week before spring break. What do you think about staying a few days at my parents’ new lake house? We were up there over Thanksgiving, and it’s really gorgeous. Lots of space, lots of bedrooms. We had it stocked before we went up, so I bet I could get Dad to do that for us. Tuesday through Thursday or so? Leave right after Easter?” I give everyone a big grin.

“Will Nate be able to come?” Max asks. “I don’t feel like we know him very well yet at all. It’d be good to have him with us. If you want, I mean.” His eyes narrow on me. “Are you all… far enough into whatever this is to invite him?”

The second Lyla, Scarlett, and Daphne shoot amused looks at each other, I know they definitely know what Nate and I were up to—and maybe even heard us. Oh God.

I playfully stick my tongue out at them. “Shut up. All of you.” I shift my gaze to Max and Griff. “Yes. I’d like for him to come with us.”

Griff’s lips tease into a grin. “It’d be cool if he can, then.”

“We’ll see.” I push my plate away, suddenly doubtful of everything. “It’d probably be difficult for him to go with his family and all. But maybe. I’ll talk to him about it.”

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