drinks. “What’s wrong with our menu here?”

I blinked a couple of times, considering his question. “We already had an order of jalapeño poppers and some nachos. But I want an Ellie burger!” Everything shook on the table when I slammed my hand down for emphasis.

“Yeah, Ellie burgers for everybody,” Crystal demanded. “And I don’t want a Painkiller. Ooh, let’s do shots.”

Wesley, Harrison’s best friend, brought over a pitcher of water and refilled all of our glasses. “I think you ladies should hydrate yourselves.”

My cousin Dani grasped her water and drank it down in gulps, but Cate and Crystal gave him the stink eye and shooed him away.

I snickered and sipped on more water. “I think they want to butter me up to get me to decide on a wedding date.”

“And to choose which one of us is gonna be her maid of honor.” Crystal jutted her thumb at her chest, failing to wink in a spectacularly drunk fashion.

Cate shook a finger at her. “You’re already married. You can’t be a maid. Unless you’re an old maid.” She giggled at her own joke and kept repeating the derogatory term to herself.

“I am not old!” Crystal complained.

Dani Jo hiccupped. “But the technical term would be matron of honor.”

“Aw, heck,” Crystal whined. “Matron does sound kinda old. But I’m married to a good man.”

“A great man,” I emphasized. “Odie’s completely awesome.”

Crystal closed her eyes and grinned with pride. “Yeah, my boo bear is that and a whole lot more. Especially when he takes me into our bedroom and—”

“Shots!” I called out, cutting my friend off. “We definitely need some shots over here.”

We definitely did not need more alcohol, but I didn’t need to hear about my friend’s escapades with her husband.

Harrison pinched the bridge of his nose, getting a little irritated at our increasingly drunken demands. We’d managed to chase out a few other tables with our antics. “What kind do you want?”

“Something with rum,” Cate said.

Dani Jo pointed around us with wild gesticulations. “We’re in a tiki bar. Everything comes with rum.”

“How about a Kraken?” Harrison asked. “It’s got coconut rum plus dark spiced rum, some lemon, and some orgeat syrup.”

“Ye-e-ah,” drew out Crystal. She turned to face our bartender friend and spoke in her best pirate imitation. “Release the Kraken, matey!”

She knocked over her water when she swiveled back around, dousing the table and all the innocent napkins, plates, and glasses. “Man overboard,” she cried out each time she picked up an ice cube and tossed it back into the glass with a clink.

“Why don’t you ladies move to the table by the window. It’s a nicer view,” Wesley suggested. “I’ll clean this up.”

I cupped his chin in my hand. “You’re a good man, Wes. I don’t know why you can’t find a good woman to settle down with.” My friends moved tables and squealed with joy when Harrison brought the drinks and shots over.

“Because the good ones are already taken, like you, darlin’,” he flirted back, pulling free from my grip and retrieving a folded napkin from his pocket. “Besides, I got the number from the blonde chick who was sitting at the bar before she left.”

I tilted my head and blinked at my friend’s two blurry heads. “But don’t you want something more meaningful?”

“Don’t you want to set your wedding date?” Wesley deflected, nodding at my ring. “You’re the one that’s engaged, and yet you don’t seem to be in the typical girly rush to walk down the aisle.”

I frowned and stopped teasing my friend. “It’s complicated.” My fingers twisted the metal band around my finger.

“Yeah, well, I like a very uncomplicated life.” Wesley wiped down the mess from our former table. “But I’ll be happy to attend your wedding. Whenever you finally decide to have one.”

I grumbled to myself as I checked my phone for any further messages. When I’d asked Luke to join us at the tiki bar, I’d gotten a very short response that he was busy. More avoidance. More mystery.

“Come on, girly.” Crystal patted the seat next to her. “Pull up a chair and tell us your woes.”

Cate closed one eye and pointed at me. “Because you’ve got a serious woe-face on. Is it something to do with your hunky vampire man? Like why he wouldn’t come out with us tonight?”

Dani Jo flashed me a knowing glance. I’d talked to my cousin a little bit about my worries but had made her promise not to say anything.

“Maybe,” I admitted. “He says he’s busy.” Holding up my phone, I showed them the quick message.

Cate attempted to read the text by squinting but gave up. “He’s probably working on someone’s car.”

“True.” I sipped on my fresh glass of water. “Although he normally tells me when it has something to do with work.”

Crystal ripped the drink out of my hand and traded it with a shot. “Enough of your moping. We’re your friends and we’re here to cheer you up. So, first, let’s do these shots to get you all loosened up.”

I pushed my rising doubts deep down and raised the tiny glass in the air. “Release the Kraken!”

The other girls repeated the phrase, and we all tossed the liquid into our mouths. We slammed the shot glass on the table and sucked in air to cool the burn.

“Smooth,” I rasped, licking my lips. “And coconutty.” A warm buzz raced through my veins and relaxed me a little.

“Now that we’ve got your lips a little lubricated, spill.” Crystal rubbed my arm. “What’s going on? Why are you avoiding all wedding talk?”

I leaned my elbows on the table and placed my chin in my hands. “Because I think Luke might not really want to marry me.” There. I’d finally said the fear that twisted my gut more and more.

Dani Jo stumbled off her stool and raced over to comfort me. “That’s not true. He’s totally devoted to you.” She rubbed my back with vigorous insistence.

All my emotions I kept hidden welled up and burst out of me with accompanying

Вы читаете Vintage Vampire
Добавить отзыв
ВСЕ ОТЗЫВЫ О КНИГЕ В ИЗБРАННОЕ

0

Вы можете отметить интересные вам фрагменты текста, которые будут доступны по уникальной ссылке в адресной строке браузера.

Отметить Добавить цитату