“I don’t believe in marriage,” she finally says with a shrug. “Fortunately, Kode isn’t the proposing type.”
“What? Why?” Allie asks, absently touching her own engagement ring.
“It’s nothing against marriage, per se, but I think some people stop trying once rings are exchanged. Mom always said Dad was the best boyfriend there ever was, but the worst husband there has ever been. I like the way things are between Kode and me. I’m happy, and so is he. There’s no reason to mess that up with something that could make us complacent.”
It’s hard to argue with that, but at the same time, it’s a little disheartening.
“I think Kode would be a good husband to you. He loves the hell out of you,” Rain points out. “Don’t let Edward take that away. Don’t give him anything else.”
Edward is their father who passed away before Allie and I became a part of the group.
Tria just shrugs at Rain. I regret asking the question because she seems a little distant now.
“How’s the new book coming?” I ask Rain in deflection, feeling guilty for putting Tria on the spot now.
She groans while shaking her head. “It’s going crazy. It started off as a regular romance, and somehow turned into a zombie apocalypse with vampire warriors. Don’t ask.”
Weirdly, I’m intrigued, but before I can announce that, Tria is hissing out a breath.
My eyes flick over to a table that is a good distance away from us, where some chick is sitting down with another chick, but I don’t know either of them.
“Is that Star?”
“Yes. Yes it is,” Rain says dryly. “And Chloe. It’s like a Sterling ex gathering.”
Ruby glares a few daggers at the one named Chloe, but she clears her throat and turns back around.
“Who?” Allie and I ask in unison.
/> “Star Morgan and Chloe Macintosh,” Rain says evenly. “Chloe dated Maverick in school.”
“And Corbin,” Ruby says while cracking her neck to the side, her jaw clenching.
Rain pauses, but she doesn’t say anything about that. “And Star dated Maverick too.”
“And Ethan,” Tria adds.
My stomach flips, and my eyes move back over to the table.
“Which one is Star?” I ask before I can stop myself.
“The blonde with the legs for days,” Tria tells me. “That’s why the guys call ‘Star’ when they’re into a girl.”
“Huh?” Brin asks, apparently just as confused as we are.
“Star,” Tria and Rain both say quietly, as though they’re explaining, but they’re not.
“Maverick and Ethan were both into her, and she was playing them both. Maverick is younger than Ethan, and Star is right in the middle of their age gap. Anyway, Maverick and Ethan ended up in a fight that resulted in a lot of blood and almost an expulsion from school. Tag broke up the fight, and ended up taking a hit in the process. It took a while for Maverick and Ethan to mend fences, but when they did, they iced out the girl who played them. Anyway, that’s the story behind Star,” Rain supplies.
Tria is cursing, and my eyes move back to the table where a third girl is joining them. Who the hell is this one?
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Rain growls, grabbing the butter knife like she’s on the verge of attacking.
“Rain, put the knife down,” Tria hisses, clutching her sister’s arm before Rain can stand.
“I’ll just cut her a little. I swear I won’t do much damage,” Rain promises, still glaring at the newest chick.
Damage with a butter knife?