Page 34 of Eleven of a Kind

“Huh, wonder what she meant by that?” Simon said. “Do us a favor and find out.” A grin crossed his face. “Maybe take her out for a nice dinner to thank her for what she’s doing for your daughter.”

“Shut up.” I laughed as I tossed my beer cap at him.

Grayson walked over and sat down next to me.

“Where were you?” I asked.

“Ava and I had to run to the store.” He twisted the cap off his beer bottle. “How’s Riley?”

“I’m sure she still hates me. I haven’t seen her since I took her phone away.”

“It’s tough when they tell you they hate you.” Stefan shook his head.

“Woohoo! Is there a party going on out here or what?!” We heard a voice shout from behind.

She reached over Grayson’s shoulder and grabbed the beer from his hands.

“Kate!” Simon grinned as he pointed at her.

“The one and only, detective.”

“It’s good to see you, Kate. What’s going on?” Grayson asked as he took back his beer.

“I heard about Riley, that little thief.” She smiled. “Gabriel, where is she? I think it’s time the two of us had a little chat.”

“She’s in her room,” I said. “What do you want to talk to her about?”

“Now that’s between her and me.” She started to walk away, stopped, and turned around. “By the way, that Piper chick is pretty. You’d be dumb not to hit that at least once, Gabe.” She winked.

“KATE!” Grayson shouted. “What the fuck?”

Her laughter could be heard down the beach.

“What the hell is she talking about?” I narrowed my eye at my brother. “How does she know what Piper looks like?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged.

“Bro, I swear to God.” I grabbed the back of his neck.

“Okay. Okay. Damn. I wanted to see her for myself, so Ava and I took a little shopping trip to her shop.”

“Are you fucking serious?” I cocked my head.

“Calm down. What’s the big deal? She doesn’t know who we are. Anyway, you were right. She’s very beautiful.” He smiled. “Too beautiful for your dumb ass.” He playfully smacked my arm.

I sat there shaking my head as I drank my beer.

* * *

Riley

I never should have listened to Samantha, that stupid bitch. I lay diagonally on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. I heard a knock on the door.

“Go away!” I shouted as I grabbed one of my pillows and covered my face with it.

I heard the creaking of the door, and when I looked over, I saw Ava standing there.

“Ava, I’m not—”

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