“You’re always taking care of something. I…I worry about you. But you came! So yay!”
“Yeah.”
“You’re the best sister I’ve ever had.”
I couldn’t say anything. I was still racing from my job and now this—a knot had formed in my throat. So I contented myself with patting her again.
Carter rescued me. Laughing, he said, “Leave her alone. You’re suffocating her, Mandy.”
Mandy giggled, pulling away and finding her way back to his lap. “I know,” she murmured, curling her arms around his neck again, “but I really do love her so much.”
Tray kicked a free chair out for me.
“Thanks,” I murmured gratefully as I dropped into the chair.
I needed to calm down.
Tray frowned, studying me. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I said quickly. Looking over at Molly, I asked her, “You having fun?”
“Oh my God. My mom freaked when Tray pulled up. Then he came in—I swear my mom was going to have a heart attack,” Molly gushed, smiling widely. Realizing what she’d just said, she ducked her head but not before everyone at the table saw a blush explode over her face.
Carter grinned at me. “Your friends are pretty cool. Larks has been entertaining us with stories about his pot-smoking buddies. Something about a goat.”
Molly let out a shriek, laughing, and then ducked her head again.
Molly was drunk.
So was Larkins. I saw it in his eyes as he was openly staring, with lust, at Molly.
Tray leaned closer and asked, “You want a drink?”
“Yeah. Maybe one.”
“Be right back.”
As he left, I commented to Carter, “You’re one of the few around here who doesn’t seem drunk.”
He smiled, his thumb rubbing against Mandy’s thigh. “Yeah. It’s
turned out to be a good party.”
“A lot of crashers.”
“Yeah. But what can you do?”
“Having Pedlam and Rawley together, that means there’s going to be some fights.”
“I know,” he shrugged, “but we’ve got our crew. We can handle ourselves.”
“Taryn.”
Turning around, I grinned, seeing Grayley standing just behind the patio gate.
“Hey,” I said warmly.
Jumping lightly over the gate, he sat in Tray’s deserted seat.