Manhattan in springtime is still far too icy to wear a skintight dress with its hemline just below the crotch—not to mention the plunging neckline, but that didn’t stop me.

Over the last three months, Axel has actually convinced me to explore a friendship with him, one he said that I promised. I did no such thing, but of course, he and his manipulative ways won out once again. And for once I’m glad about it.

I didn’t tell him I was coming to the city. After that horrible pre-holiday debacle at the Witch’s Cauldron—the hot spring I was tempted to drown him in—Axel decided that maybe it was best if he went to NYU. It was a relief to me, but it gutted me on a primal level. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I won’t lie—it stunned me a bit to learn he was actually packing a suitcase and finishing out his law degree in New York. All sorts of crazy thoughts entered my head, socialites climbing their way up his chest, scantily dressed girls in flashy Manhattan nightclubs making their move right onto his crotch, and the worst female perpetrators of them all—the all too eager to please coeds who would be surrounding him in number. Axel Collins was a sexual sitting duck, and I knew it. Perhaps that’s the real reason I broke it off with him. In the deepest corner of my black dusty heart, I knew Axel would up and leave me one day. People leave. Relationships end. That’s what happens. It happens to everyone. And it inevitably happened to me.

“Room 205,” I whisper as I head toward the apartment he shares with two other guys—cellmates as he calls them. Axel has no clue that I’m showing up tonight, but he’s filled me in so succinctly on the mundane details of his life I feel as though I can find him in—yes, a New York minute. The door is slightly ajar—typical frat boy move, or more appropriately ex-frat boy since all of these boys have moved on to legal scholastic pastures.

A girl sits on the couch giggling while her dark-haired suitor runs his arms wildly over her back, and my stomach drops as his deep voice strums through the air like an erotic melody.

I give a hard knock over the door. I will gut Axel like an unwanted pale bellied carp for telling me I’m the only girl on his mind.

The two of them sit up straight as pins, the girl looking every bit the sexed-up coed, and her male suitor looking every bit nothing at all like Axel.

A huge weight lifts off my chest. That right there was my worst nightmare playing out in real time. Axel with his arms around another girl. The thought is enough to make me want to break every window in this high-rise with a baseball bat. Knowing me, I’d rip the girl’s leg off and smash windows with her stiletto instead.

I clear my throat and let them know I’m looking for Ax. They roll their eyes as if to insinuate who isn’t, and my stomach is back to doing an impression of a rock.

The two of them send me to a club in the basement called the Moulin Rouge—that’s where you can always find him on the weekend, the girl chirps—and I head in the direction they suggested, wondering why Axel never mentioned a nightclub in his building at all. Probably because it shares its moniker with an infamous Parisian strip club. And he’s there every weekend? He let me know all about his favorite coffee shop, the one that reminded him of Hallowed Grounds where we logged countless hours discussing Spanish Influenza during World War I and just as easily our favorite childhood cartoons. Everything was so easy with Axel. We meshed well on an intellectual level as much as we did in bed, and how I miss meshing with him in bed. That’s exactly why I’m here. I pull down the hem of my skirt as I bypass a group of presumably NYU students on my way down the navy carpeted stairs. A sign reading Moulin Rouge points left, and just as I round the corner on the final flight, the lights dim to nothing with spastic red and blue strobe lights. The sound of techno dance music fills the air with its obnoxious presence, and the smell of malt liquor streams from the clusters of laughing coeds. Blondes, brunettes, stunning redheads—the latter of which Axel has a self-proclaimed affinity for—make my stomach turn. It’s one thing to envision him surrounded with beauties from the Big Apple, but it’s another to witness the event.

I head into the club, no cover, no carding. Great. That means this place is most likely crawling with high school girls, too. God knows a seventeen-year-old has the capability to look twenty-six with a little mascara and Mommy’s red lipstick.

My heart thumps in rhythm to the caustic music, and it only seems to get louder, booming with intensity until I can feel it thumping through my chest.

Bodies glide over one another on the dance floor, off the dance floor, on the bar, behind it. My God, is this what he’s been up to? Wooing me back by day, shaking his hips at underage high schoolers by night? It’s true. Axel was wooing, but I’ve done my best to reassure him we were never to be romantically linked again. The more he pleaded, the more I insisted—all the while buying my plane ticket, having my lady parts waxed by a professional—something my roommate swears is a modern-day necessity. Not only am I going to surprise Axel with my proclamation of love—and I’m loathe to toss around that heart-shaped word so he had better appreciate it—but I’m going to surprise him with my new hairless kitten.

I twine my way through endless bodies. Men with leering gazes track my every move. An overgrown frat boy offers my bottom a healthy pinch, and I’m quick to slap him away. Just as I’m about to unleash my fury, my budding frustration his way, I spot a familiar dark-haired boy just over his shoulder and my stomach drops.

My feet carry me forward a few steps until I have an unobstructed view and my heart—the one I foolishly gave away—drops right through the floor. It’s fine. I won’t be needing it back.

Straddled between his legs is a petite blonde with a silver sequin skirt that hardly qualifies as the aforementioned accouterment. Her hair is perfectly tousled, her tanned legs perfectly toned, her stilts perfectly Louboutin. And instantly I hate her. But not as much as I hate him.

They’re laughing, cuddling, he’s caressing her hair, she’s sniffing, licking his neck, claiming him for the night.

I suck in a sharp breath as a horrible thought comes to me. Sure, he’s landed himself a skank, but my God, what if he’s gotten himself a girlfriend? I had even suggested it. Stupid, stupid me. But the audacity of him to listen simply blows me away. And courting me on the side? I’ll show her the texts. I’ll show every girl in here his lovesick messages. I’ll make sure he never gets laid in this town again.

The blonde does a little bunny hop to the rhythm of the music before gliding her leg up his thigh. She whispers into his ear, and his arms wrap tighter around her back. Axel looks up, a laugh dying on his lips, and just like that, his eyes lock with mine. His features quickly morph to horror as he gently guides her out of his way and speeds on over.

I turn to run. “Oh no, you don’t,” I say to no one in particular as I try desperately to weave through the bodies on the dance floor.

But Axel spins me back by the arm, his face fills with far more horror and surprise than should ever be legal.

“Lex, is this really you?”

“Who the hell cares!” I bite the expletive in his face, and he inches back at the sound. His face contorts into twelve different stages of astonishment.

“I care.” His tone softens as he struggles to pull me in close. The scent of his cologne lies heavy between us, and it makes me that much more insane.

“Is that what you’re doing now?” I shout, pushing him hard in the chest. “Putting on cologne, looking your best while trolling cheap girls on a Friday night?” My voice pitches as tears come uninvited. I hate how I must look to him, to everyone around us who suddenly seems interested. I’m sure they all want to know why some crazy girl is screaming at their favorite gigolo.

“No.” He shakes his head slowly, the denial ripe on his face. “I swear on all that is holy, it’s not what you think. I have no idea who that girl is. A friend of mine put me up to it.” He grips his hair by the temples and spins in a circle. “God.” He glances up as if he were actually summoning the Almighty. “I swear to you, Lex, it looked way worse than it was. My buddy, Keith, is standing right over there.” He looks to the empty bar, and a string of expletives runs from his lips. “I’ll find him. We’ll go right now and find him together.”

His grip intensifies over my arms, and I struggle free. “Get away from me.” I beat him off with my purse, a Chanel clutch I found in a thrift store back in Hollow Brook named Karen, after the girl working the register. And to think I spent an entire afternoon envisioning how cosmopolitan Karen and I would look strutting around New York and here I’m nothing but laughable. “I was afraid I’d get accosted in this low-down and dirty town.” I beat him over the chest with my thrift store find. “And here it’s you doing the accosting!” I smack him hard over the top of the head, and a couple of beefed-up bouncers come up alongside me.

“Ma’am, is this dude bothering you?”

“Yes,” I seethe over at Axel with my newfound hatred for him. It’s always been there beneath the surface, and tonight it’s honored to make its official debut. “He most certainly is. Please escort me out of the building. I’d hate for him to follow me.”

The wrestler to my right cinches his arm through mine while the one to my left holds a hand out to Axel in the event he tries to make a move.

“Lex—wait!” he shouts over the music so loud even the DJ pauses his mixing moves to acknowledge the commotion. “This is a huge mistake! Don’t go!”

His voice grows small as I speed up the stairs, taking them on two by two.

No sooner do I get to the ground level, feel the rush of stale New York air hitting me in the face than a familiar voice roars from behind.

“Lex! Lex—please! Come back to me, Lex. I love you! ”

And those are the last words I ever hope to hear from Axel Collins.

I sob like the weak-minded moron I had become all the way home.

As soon as I set foot back in Hollow Brook, I knew Cupid and his stupid fictional arrow would never be a part of my life again.

I would never allow it.

As if having a constant flock of protesters clamoring on the sidewalk in front of my home weren’t enough, they’ve managed to migrate to The Sloppy Pelican, filling in the lot with their ridiculous banners and homemade, mostly illegible third grade art on a stick.

“Oh ma gah!” Raven strums it out, doing her best country girl impersonation. We drove in together since she’s agreed to help me with the working end of Teagan’s official Freedom Fest. It’s slated to begin in less than an hour. I’ve been doing a lot of back and forth today, helping to decorate the banquet room to make sure the details were just right.

“They must have followed me this afternoon.” I click my tongue in disgust at the smarmy group, chanting boycott The Pelican!

“Oh my God.” Now it’s me exclaiming my horror. “This isn’t right.” My feet pivot in the small crowd’s direction, and Raven wastes no time in twisting me back toward The Sloppy Pelican.

“Never mind them. We’ll deal with them later. They’re old news anyway. We’ve got a Freedom Fest to tend to!”

“Right.” We speed in through the oversized front doors, and each time I enter this place the butterflies in my stomach still take flight. It’s true. Axel Collins has never stopped having that effect on me—and just the prospect of being near him does the same.

I’ve spent the night at his penthouse more times this week than at my own place. I guess it’s safe to say I’m warming to those Southern sleepovers quite nicely.

The Pelican is usually full to the hilt for a Friday evening, but tonight it’s shockingly empty.

“Looks like a slow night.” I head over to the bar where Mojo stands alone, polishing glasses instead of wowing the barflies with his mixing moves. “What’s going on? Is the Black Bear offering free food and booze tonight?” Everyone knows that the Black Bear is the only real competition for The Sloppy Pelican. But they’re located all the way on the other end of town. Even if the free scenario were true, I can’t imagine we would have such empty tables. The Pelican might be new, but it’s amassed a loyal following.

“The Black Bear doesn’t do anything for free. Heck, they charge to take selfies with the bartenders. But, hey—we all know bartenders are worth the price of admission.” He gives a quick wink along with the cheesy line. “Seriously though—” Mojo flexes those behemoth biceps without meaning to. His features morph to something just this side of pity as he ticks his head toward the front. “I have no clue why we’re so dead tonight. But I doubt the Black Bear has anything to do with it. It’s probably just the calm before the storm.”

“I sure hope so.” Raven shakes her perfectly glassy straight hair at the empty chairs and tables. “At this rate, there won’t be a need for another waitress.”

“Come on. Let’s get to the banquet room before the birthday girl’s guests arrive.” I coax her out of her disheartened gaze before she gets cold feet and never lands a job and never moves out. Her slovenly ways have certainly not grown on me, nor do I intend to let them. This morning I found six different shampoo bottles in the guest bathroom, all of them flipped on their sides, vomiting pink goo from their spouts. Her razor was on the floor next to the toilet—working end up. If she slices her foot open and gets a staph infection, this girl will never leave alive.

“Hey, Lex?” Mojo calls out, and I send Raven to the banquet room ahead of me before backtracking to the bar.

“What’s up?” I lean over the icy granite counter as a knot begins to build in my stomach. There’s something about an empty restaurant that doesn’t sit well with me. Especially since it’s been brimming with bodies for the last four months.

“Abby quit. Just thought you should know.”

“What?” A pinch of excitement bubbles in me. Maybe this night is off on the right trajectory after all. “Tell me more.” I’m suddenly intrigued by anything to do with Abby Have-a-Cox-Will-Call-You. I know all about the heavy hitting she’s done to my boyfriend. Hey! I just called Axel my boyfriend! A giddy little laugh rides through me. Abby is gone, and Axel is mine. I’m two for two tonight.

“She said she got some big gig at Collins Enterprises.”

“Collins Enterprises?” My stomach drops. That’s Axel’s father’s conglomerate in which he attempts to take over the world by buying out or partnering in on brand new upstarts that look promising. A part of me was tempted to take the Epicurean Elite his way. It was back when revenge was the soup du jour, but now that Axel and I have patched things up, I’d feel strange asking his father to fund my new company. All that Collins-free zone talk was simply bull I was slinging Axel’s way. I thought the biggest knife through his heart was me getting in good with his father.

“That’s right. She’s sold them in on some new venture she’s spearheading. Something Elite.” My stomach drops right through the floor. No sooner do a thousand traitorous scenarios float through my mind than I shake them right out again. “That’s great. As long as she’s out of my hair.” Mojo probably heard me discussing the Epicurean Elite to Axel a dozen times. It’s no wonder he’s confused the name of Abby’s upstart. Can’t say I’m not envious, though. Whatever she has cooking, she has some serious funding to back her. I’ll admit I’m a teeny bit jealous.

The front doors open and in walk Teagan and Axel, both of them looking as if they’re on their way to senior prom—Teagan with her raspberry svelte dress with spaghetti straps and a rose corsage strapped to her wrist, and Axel in a slick black suit, silver metallic tie that makes me want to use it as a soft form of bondage.

I offer a naughty grin as he circles his arms around my waist.

A dirty grin of his own blooms on his cheeks as he leans in to whisper, “I love that look on your face. Whatever it is you’re thinking, keep thinking it. In about six hours I plan on making all your fantasies come true.”

“Then I hope Shep’s free.”

Ax tips his head back with a moan, and we share a quick laugh.

“Hey!” Teagan speeds back from the banquet hall. “It’s six fifteen. I’m fashionably late. Shouldn’t I at least have a couple of guests milling around awaiting my arrival?” She pulls out her phone and starts in on a texting spree before I can answer.

Axel glances past me before doing a double take. “Where is everyone?”

“I have no clue. The only people I’ve seen since I’ve been here are those idiots picketing my life. I’m sorry I’ve dragged them here.” I wince as if I had truly laid out a trail of breadcrumbs, and in a way I had.

“What protesters?” His head turns toward the door, but his eyes remain trained on mine.

“Didn’t you see them?” I point weakly to the front, sorry I ever brought them up.

“I parked on the side, and Teagan practically ran us in here.” The joy drains from his face as he gently removes his hands from my hips. “I’d better go check this out.” He glances from me to a panic-stricken Teagan.

“Go ahead. I’ve got this.” No sooner does Axel take off than I navigate Teagan to the banquet hall, empty as a tomb save for Raven who does an odd little dance once she sees us.

Teagan tries to manufacture a smile for Raven but misses by a lip-quivering mile. “I guess if my friends don’t show, at least my family will be here.” Her voice breaks. “Except for my dad, of course. He’s working late trying to sort through his new acquisitions.” She looks up at me with her watery gray eyes, and my heart breaks for her. “It’s sort of a tradition at the end of every month—collect as many new interests as you can. My dad’s sort of bent on world domination.”

She seems to be calmer with the diversion her father has provided, so I go with it. “Hey, a friend of mine just sold something to your dad.” Friend? I guess for the sake of argument Abby could be considered a friend. Although it’s more of a stale SAT question than it is an arguable fact. Abby is to friendship as Raven is to work. Lord knows I’d ace that one.

“Really?” Teagan blinks back tears—a clear sign the diversion is working better than I thought. “What’s her name? I bet I met her today. It was my job to vet the prospects.”

“Abby Wilcox.” I snarl as I say it. Old habits die hard.

“Oh, the ditzy blonde!” Her overdone brows perk to life, and I warm when she refers to Abby as ditzy. “She’s the girl with the restaurant thingy. Yeah, Dad thought she was a ditz, too, but Axel swore up and down she had a brain.”

“Restaurant thingy? Do you remember what it was called?”

“No, sorry. Axel thought it was genius, though. He pushed her through all the way. He mentioned she’s a good friend of his.”

The room sways for a moment. “Yeah, I guess she is.”

Another frantic five minutes pass with nary a guest, and Teagan begins howling into her phone “No, no, no!”

“What?” both Raven and I squawk.

“My guests aren’t coming.” Tears spontaneously erupt airborne from the sides of her eyes as if she had morphed into a cartoon version of herself. “They said they can’t support an establishment that houses a confirmed canine abuser on its premises. What the fresh hell are they talking about?”

“I’m going to beat those protestors with their own sticks.” My fingers fly to my lips as I look to Raven for help.

“We’ll move the party!” Raven shrieks in an effort to save the eighteen and out bash that’s flopping like a dead fish at our feet. “We’ll navigate everyone over to the Black Bear. It’ll be a blast, I swear.”

“But we won’t have tables.” Teagan’s delicate features morph into sheer panic— her eyes widen, her mouth pulls back in horror. “What about all the cute decorations and the Pinterest-worthy appetizers the kitchen is making just for me?”

Raven looks to me in a panic. “We’ll have it at her place. She’s got a really cute dog named Strudel, and if you give me a running start I’ll work hard to pick my thongs out from between the sofa cushions.”

I yank her by the elbow. “Are you kidding me?”

“What?” Raven wrestles herself free. “I like to watch TV at night commando. Sue me, would you?”

“Don’t tempt me. I happen to be bedding a litigator.”

“Eww!” Teagan clamps her hands over her ears. “Can this night get any worse?”

My phone bleats in my pocket, and I fish it out. It’s a text from Marlin.

Emergency meeting at the Black Bear. Rush says he has something to tell us. I’m on my way. Can you make it?

I glance up at Teagan and the tears melting her mascara into muddy rivers.

“I’ll grab the Pinterest pineapple canapé and glitter cake pops. You and Raven grab the tulle covered balloons and whatever you can from the candy buffet! I’ll meet you in the parking lot in thirty seconds.”

I could never pull off this change of venues without Raven—who ironically has been closer to me than Serena lately. We’ve bonded over missing our dads, and she’s the one who’s prolifically introduced me to rom-coms and girls’ night in while I introduced her to the finer points of cutlery.

Yes, it’s nice to have friends indeed. Now that’s something I never thought I’d say. With Axel back in my life, with friends to call my own—life is shaping up to be everything I never knew it could be.

Now if only this party shapes up, I’ll really have it all.

* * *

Okay, so it takes almost twenty minutes to convince Teagan’s so-called friends that a change of venue will not land them on some social media blacklist under the header of hates pets. Darn Stumpy and that endeavor she’s spearheaded against me. I’ve let this nightmare go on for far too long. I may have been a tad complacent when I was the sole target of her hateful sooted soul, but now that she’s effectively killed business at The Sloppy Pelican and killed Teagan’s official Freedom Fest, she’ll have the wrath of the old me to contend with. The old Lex Maxfield was far more of a bitch to deal with—if I do say so myself.

The Black Bear is booming tonight, and just the sight of all these hippy dippy coeds bopping to the live band makes me scowl. I hate that I’ve single-handedly destroyed business for The Sloppy Pelican. It’s as if I’ve been dragging around a curse with me ever since the time of my mother when she abandoned my siblings and me. Speaking of my siblings. I turn to Axel and swipe a quick kiss off his lips.

“Marlin is here. He sort of called a family meeting.”

Axel cranes his neck and growls once he spots him. “I take it I’m not invited.”

“Not yet.” I give a little wink. It’s safe to say Axel and I are well on our way to becoming inseparable. Soon Marlin will have to deal with that. “Why don’t you help wrangle Teagan and her guests inside? They can take selfies with that old stuffed bear later. Trust me, he’s not going anywhere. Raven is taking care of the food.” Axel called ahead to the owners of the Black Bear and they said they’d gladly give us their poolroom to do as we wish. It’s kind of sweet the way Levi, Brody, and Axel have forged a bond with the people who own this place. Especially since it holds so much nostalgic meaning to all of us.

“Will do.” He steals a kiss off my lips before disappearing, and I head to the back where Rush is flagging me down. Rush is Sunday’s older brother, the middle child of my Aunt Priscilla, and coincidentally the one who happens to blame himself for what happened to her. I’ve always had a soft spot for Rush for that very reason. I’ve felt the same guilt about my mother. I was the one who drove her away. It’s been obvious to me since the beginning.

Both Marlin and Rush stand up once they see me, and I offer them each a quick embrace. Marlin is dressed head to toe in his navy Jepson PD garb, and Rush is every bit the preppy frat boy.

“Why are we hiding in the corner?” I say as I bat a fake banana leaf out of my face. That’s one thing about the Black Bear—they’ve lined the periphery of the establishment with silk plants spanning ten feet tall. It gives it a slight tropical appeal, and yet it feels homey. Teagan and her friends run by in a flurry. On second thought, hiding in the corner might be best.

Rush is the spitting image of Nolan, his older brother, yet his hair is a bit lighter. His eyes are the same steely shade as my aunt’s were, and he’s hands down to a fault like his father. Same straight nose, smooth brows, high cheeks, strong jawline. He’s built like an athlete, and the girls don’t seem to mind one bit.

Rush leans in. “You’ll find out in about six seconds.”

“Six seconds?” I parrot, amused. “Will Sunday be joining us in six seconds as well?”

Rush glances to both Marlin and me. “Nope, I’ve arranged for her to show in about five minutes. Hate to say it, but Sunday has been harboring a little secret from the two of you.”

“What secret?” My curiosity piques. Clearly, I haven’t spent nearly enough time with my family as of late.

Serena pops up to the edge of the table, and both Marlin and I bolt to our feet to greet her.

“Here she is!” Marlin gives his baby sister a quick embrace, and I’m quick to get in on the lovefest.

Marlin ticks his head back, amused by my actions. “You’ve changed.” He gives a little wink. “It’s as if you’re suddenly happy or something.”

My mouth opens as I glance toward the poolroom. “I am.” I pull my sister into the seat next to me, and she hesitates before falling hard on her bottom. “So what’s new with you? Rush here is being extra secretive.”

Serena looks to Rush and snarls at him. My heart breaks seeing the action because I know Serena is simply modeling the behavior she’s seen me do a thousand times. Maybe it’s a good thing I’m finally happy. I’m hoping to model that behavior for Serena, too. The last person I want her turning into is me. Heck, I don’t even want to be me anymore.

“Nothing’s new,” she grits it through her teeth at her cousin, and every alarm in me starts to go off. “I’m fine.”

Serena looks anything but fine. In fact, I’ve never seen her dressed in a T-shirt that reads Black Bear Saloon, and she rarely wears her hair in a ponytail. It’s a style I’m not used to seeing on her, and come to think of it, that all too familiar notepad she’s accessorizing with seems a bit suspicious.

“Serena?” My throat grows parched because for once I hope I’m wrong. “Why are you doing your best impersonation of a waitress at the Black Bear?”

Before she can open her mouth, Sunday shows up and gasps. “My God! You told them you’re a waitress?”

“Waitress?” Marlin ticks his head back. “Since when?”

Serena gives a weak shrug my way. “Since the beginning of the semester?”

I take in a breath that never seems to end. “Serena Maxfield! You are not even allowed in this bar, let alone allowed to wear a T-shirt of theirs with pride—let alone find employment in this establishment!” The sentence strums from me so fast it sounds like one long word.

“Why not?” The veins in my sister’s neck distend. “I know for a fact you’re working as a waitress at The Sloppy Pelican! If it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough for me!”

I take in another quick breath.

Both Marlin and Rush study me with curiosity before my brother leans in, his badge shining in the light as if its sole purpose were to sweat the truth out of me. And it’s working.

“Why are you waiting tables?” Marlin shakes his head at me, truly confounded by the idea.

“Because I lost my job. It’s a long story.”

Rush grunts as if I were just sucker punched in front of them. “Dude, did you get fired from your old job?”

“Of course, she didn’t get fired,” Sunday is quick to defend me. Sunday is forever believing the best in everybody. As much as I admire it, I also find it her biggest fault.

“I got fired.” I wince her way. I’ve never been one to lie to anyone at this table. Anyone in general.

The table erupts into a cluster of chaotic conversation, accusations and all around incomprehensible melee until Serena finally stands and shouts, “I’m a waitress at the Black Bear! Get over it!” She looks over at Sunday and shrugs as if unsure of what comes next. “And I dropped out of Barnes.”

The air around us stills as the sounds in the bar all warp together into one slow demonic burp.

“What?” Marlin and I cry out in unison.

“Relax.” She flops back in her seat, and that tiny tennis skirt those perverts who run this place make her don flies up, exposing her underwear. “I transferred to Briggs.” Serena ducks behind a menu.

“You did not!” I pluck the menu fort away and toss it onto the next table, and a group of girls break out into an obnoxious giggle. I loathe the Black Bear’s underage populace with a vengeance right now. “You agreed with me that boys were nothing more than a distraction, remember? Barnes is a reputable school. It’s practically an Ivy!” I scream.

“Well, it’s not an Ivy!” Serena screams back. “And I happen to like boys—a lot.”

Marlin groans as he sinks in his seat. “And the two of you knew?” He looks to Sunday and Rush, and they both remain silent in their guilt. “Why did it take you two months to fill us in on this non-news?”

“Non-news?” I kick my brother from under the table. “We’re on the same page, remember? Barnes equals no boys equals safe and happy Serena!”

Sunday grunts, “Please. You tried that on me, and I wouldn’t have it. I’m shocked she went along with it for as long as she did.”

Marlin shakes his head at me. “It didn’t work for you, did it?”

Marlin knows all too well what went down between Axel and me. He was sort of a supporting role in our not-so great demise.

I make a face over at him before turning to my sister, my younger doppelganger whose eyes are filled with tears.

Serena spears me with her rage. “I was so afraid of disappointing you I had to go. No sooner did I do the campus tour than I realized it was a huge mistake. I can get a great education at Whitney Briggs, too, you know. Plus, I won’t run the risk of having five thousand cycle sisters. Rumor has it, the PMS alone in that place was enough to make you crave the inside of an insane asylum.”

I close my eyes a moment. “Okay, so you got me there.” My entire person sags at the thought of my baby sister subjected to drunks and frat boys. “They might have been a run on tampons around the twelfth of every month, but I’m neither confirming nor denying the fact. Barnes wasn’t that bad.” Sunday and Serena share a laugh in contrast to Marlin’s and Rush’s groan. “Are you sure this is what you want?” I glance around, and to my surprise the Black Bear looks mostly harmless in nature.

“Yes, it’s what I want. It’s better than bookstore detail, and the tips are wild. You would never believe how much I’m hauling!”

“I sort of would. The tips at The Pelican aren’t that bad either.” So much so that I haven’t bothered to pursue the mortgage assistance. And I’ve taken a charge under my roof to boot.

“So are you okay with it?” Serena nods as if coaxing me to say yes. That conversation we had a few months back comes rushing back to me. Serena told me she was a waitress at the Black Bear, and I thought she was kidding. I insisted that she was kidding.

Shep struts by along with a younger crowd—more of Teagan’s friends, I assume.

“How about we revisit this conversation? I’m sort of throwing a birthday party in the next room.”

Teagan shakes her head, clearly ticked off that I’m not warming to her bright idea of boys and booze. “Excuse me, but I’ve got a shift to finish. I’ll talk to you guys later.” She leaves in a huff, displacing her chair in a loud manner as it scrapes against the floor.

Marlin shakes his head at me in disappointment while rising from his seat. “I’ve got a shit ton to finish, too.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I stand to meet him while silently demanding he side with me.

“Because it’s not a big deal, Lex. You’re making it something more than it is. To be honest, I was shocked when she was headed to Barnes. Heck, I was shocked when you went to Barnes.”

My mouth falls open as my brother walks over and gives me a quick embrace. “Chill out, would you?” he whispers before taking off, and all the barflies scuttle around him until he hits the door. A man in uniform gets them every time.

Rush offers up a quick embrace and heads over to his friends at another table.

“Hey.” Sunday pulls me back into the moment. “How about we check on that birthday bash? You don’t mind if I crash, do you?”

“Not at all.” I lead her to the poolroom where the party seems to be raging at top teen decibels. Teagan has a tiara pressed to her head, and she’s dancing with an entire circle of boys. Great. Axel is going to hate me for pimping out his baby sister to a bunch of future frat boys—at the infamous Black Beer no less.

Shep steps up, and his eyes light up as soon as he sees Sunday. “Who is this, and how fast can you introduce us?” he teases. Or at least I think he’s teasing.

“She’s family, and she’s way too young for you.” I look to Sunday. “On second thought, you don’t have to hang out with a bunch of teenagers. Why don’t you hang out with your girlfriends instead?” I glare over at Shep. “This room is suddenly swimming with piranhas.”

Sunday laughs as if it were the funniest thing in the world, but her eyes linger over Shep’s a moment. My God, now I’ll have to worry nonstop about the fact both she and Serena are hypersexual. When did chastity belts ever go out of style, and how fast can I bring them back?

Sunday disappears as if she read my mind in a thought bubble floating above my head.

Shep smacks his lips with disappointment. “You do realize I’m not a predator.”

“I do realize you work for your father.” I change the subject on a sexual dime. The truth is, I need a reprieve from all things hormonal. “Hey—are you up on all your father’s new acquisitions?”

“I should say so. I was at the meeting this afternoon. He’s grooming me to take over one day.” A waitress offers him a drink—pineapple-tini, a nonalcoholic drink Teagan had her heart set on. It’s nice to see the bartenders here are willing to play along and make all of our Freedom Fest fantasies come true.

“Really? Do you remember the idea Abby Wilcox pitched? A blonde about yea high, with a perverted look in her eyes and a panache for Collins boys? Ten bucks says she’s already gifted you her best line.”

“I do know Abby.” He squints at my uncanny ability to detail her, no doubt. “And yes, I might have a date with her later this evening.”

“Never mind your nasty bedtime habits. What was she pimping?”

“Some restaurant review site called Epilates or something.”

My stomach bottoms out. “Epicurean Elite?”

“Yeah, that’s it. Axel said it was genius, and he was right. It’s brilliant is what it is.” Shep cranes his neck past me in Sunday’s wake. “Hey, is she single?”

“Like I said, she’s family.” My body slaps with shock as I try to grasp what might be happening.

“I get it.” Shep holds his hands up in surrender. “By the way, if you have any questions for Abby, you can ask her yourself. She’s right out there.” He points his beer in the direction of the bar. “Every time I hit the Black Bear, I find her glued to a stool. She’s quite the fixture.” His brows pitch as if she were a fixture he wouldn’t mind decorating his body with. And knowing Shep, I’m right.

But I’m too blind with fury to even think about Shep or what he does with his body. I’m so blind with rage I’m about ready to eviscerate little Miss Wilcox right here at her favorite point of interest. I’m about to hang her by her heels on the nearest light fixture and have Teagan and her guests use her as a piñata.

I speed out into the bar thick with coeds, the band playing a little too loud as I weave my way through bodies, and I stop cold.

Standing less than ten feet away is a familiar head of dark hair with his arms wrapped around a petite bleached blonde. Her skirt is so short it hardly qualifies as the proper accouterment. He looks up and carefully peels her off of him because he’s simply a gentleman. It’s an all too familiar scene, and it sends the bile rising in the back of my throat.

Axel darts for me. “Lex—it’s not what you think.”

“That’s what you keep saying.” I bolt through a crowd of bodies and right out into the ice-cold night.

“Lex—wait!” Axel catches me by the wrist and spins me into him, his face transformed with agony. “I swear to you, this wasn’t what it looked like.”

“It never is. Save your excuses.” I yank my hand free. “Just tell me this. Did you approve of Abby Wilcox working with your father?”

“Yes.” He nods so enthusiastically as if it were something I should want, too. “She’s on her way. I’ve signed off on everything. I’ve even asked Teagan to get the copyright rolling so she can move things along. I don’t want her anywhere near my restaurant. Or us.”

My mouth falls open. “You approved of this? Have you lost your mind?” I push past him as I speed to my car. “Go back inside and help yourself to that strumpet that’s attached herself to you. You haven’t changed one bit. And don’t think you’re doing us any favors.” I hop into Frank and start the engine. “There is no us.”