“This is about Amelie—I mean, Hadley—doing what she always does.”
Lips gone numb, I still asked, I was curious. “And what is that?”
“You stir up a shitstorm and then duck before any of the muck splatters you.”
“You didn’t like Boaz.” Midas stepped closer to her. “You barely knew Addie. Why do you care?”
“You know who else gets splattered when this happens?” Lethe jerked her chin toward Grier. “Who always gets splattered around Hadley?”
The urge to defend myself never manifested, and I didn’t look too hard at why. “You’re right.”
“No.” Grier squared off with Lethe. “She means well, but she’s wrong.”
A growl poured out of Lethe’s mouth, and her hands curled into fists down at her sides.
“You’re my best friend,” Grier said quietly. “I get you want to protect me, but Hadley isn’t an enemy. She made mistakes. Guess what? We all have. None of us have clean hands. There’s blood on all of ours. The life she’s carved out for herself here impresses the heck out of me, and I won’t let you diminish it in my name.” She shot her friend a knowing glance. “If you’ve got a beef with Midas, take it up with him. Don’t take it out on her.”
“Fine.” A snarl curled her lip as she stared down Midas. “Let’s take this outside.”
Guilt hit me hard that I had come between Midas and Lethe. “Your problem is with me.”
“Pin a rose on your nose,” Lethe sneered, shrugging off Grier’s attempts to rein her in.
“Leave Midas out of this.” I spread my hands. “Let’s handle this between ourselves.”
“Hadley, you don’t have to humor her.” Midas touched my shoulder. “I can—”
“You shouldn’t have to defend your choices to her.” I slid my gaze to hers. “He’s sacrificed enough, don’t you think?” Pallor swept through her, and her mouth fell open in shock that he had told me. “He’s always made the hard choice, always put himself second to those he loves, and I’m over it. You might let him do it for you, but he’s not doing it for me.”
Wide palms landed on my shoulders, and Midas turned me to face him. “How did we get here?”
“You made a lot of questionable life choices.” I rolled a shoulder. “And you laughed at my jokes.”
“They were pity chuckles, and that’s not what I meant.”
“I love you.” I clasped his wrists. “I’m willing to beat up your big sister to prove it.”
Lethe strutted over, and I let him go with a wink that promised I would be okay, but she didn’t leave.
“Let’s eat.” Lethe crouched as she lifted the boxes from the floor where Midas had tossed them to play referee. “I’m hungry.”
Turning her back on me, she carried the stack to the dining room and placed them on the table.
“I’m confused.” I pivoted on my heel to keep her in sight. “What happened to taking this outside?”
“You called me out on being an asshole, and I decided you were right.”
“Just like that?”
“Amelie was selfish, and I didn’t like her much. She hurt people I love, and I take issue with that.” She let out a breath. “She was also Grier’s best friend, and I admit I was jealous of their shared history too.” She flipped open a random lid and helped herself to a slice. “I expected Hadley to be Amelie 2.0, a shiny new label slapped on the same old product.” Her forehead creased as she chewed. “Grier has a marshmallow heart, and I figured she was giving you a pass when she bragged on you. Linus’s views tend to fall in line with hers, so I didn’t give either of them much credit.” She set aside the thin crust and flicked a glance at her brother. “I didn’t give you much credit either.” Her gaze wandered back to mine. “I gave you none at all, and I was wrong to write you off without meeting the new you first.”
“Today is a day for the history books.” Midas brushed his fingertips down my spine. “Today is the day Lethe Kinase admitted she was wrong.”
“I didn’t say I was wrong.” She selected another piece. “I was just less right than usual.”
“You literally said I was wrong,” Grier chimed in. “We all heard you.”
Cocking her arm, she flung the crust at Grier and hit her between the eyes. “Shut up.”
“Make me.” Grier stuck out her tongue. “I dare you.”
“I have a better idea.” Lethe scooped up six more pieces. “I’m going to eat your share.”
Jaw dropping, Grier pointed at her. “You monster.”
“I might be a monster, but I’m the monster with all the cheesy pepperoni pizza.” She cackled and bit into her stack like it was a sandwich. “Suck pineapple and ham, Grier.”
Mouth gaping, Grier kicked off her shoes. “Why don’t you suck my big toe instead?”
“Ladies,” Linus intoned, pocketing his cell and stepping between them. “There’s plenty for everyone.”
Both of them turned to him, and he let one side of his mouth quirk in the tiniest of smiles.
“I placed an order the moment Lethe picked up the boxes.”
“I love you.” Grier bounced over to him. “You are the absolute best.”
“You are no fun,” Lethe grumped in his direction. “None.”
Wading into the fray, mildly afraid of getting between them, I did what I should have done first and announced, “Boaz and the others are alive.”
That shut them up.
Sure, they were looking at me like I was crazy, and maybe I was, but I had their attention.
Now to redirect it before blood—or more food—started flying.
Ten
A slim black dress swirled around Hadley’s knees, and Midas kept getting caught with his eyes roving her legs. The stilettos were new, and they did interesting things to her calves. He couldn’t tear himself away.
“You might want to dial it down a few notches,” Grier cautioned beside him. “This is a wake, not a rave.”
“She’s beautiful.” He hadn’t meant to say it, but he didn’t regret it either. “I can’t seem to help myself.”
“I respect that.” She twirled untouched wine
