Angie pulled out her license from her back pocket and handed it over. “Make it a double shot,” she told the girl after she’d checked her birthdate. “And a bottle of water.”
“What d’you want to drink, babe?” I asked, draping my arm across the back of the couch.
“I’ll just have water,” she said with a shrug. “I could really go for something to eat, though. I haven’t had dinner yet.”
Harris pulled out his phone. “Pizza? I’m hungry too.”
“Not me.” Caleb rubbed a hand over his stomach. “I’m still stuffed after what Lucy fed me earlier. Ang, that was the best Mexican food I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Jealous!” Angie pouted. “Kin, we have to go there one day.”
“I’ll take you both,” I told her, letting my fingers skim over Kin’s bare arm.
Angie’s blue gaze shot to me and her eyes became menacing. “Sounds like a plan. Then I can kick your ass and have some fried ice cream when I’m done.” When all I did was grin at her, she lifted her brows. “Something happen to you, St. Charles? You get your brain scrambled since you’ve been out here in Cali?”
“Nope. Just happy to be here with Kin. You kicking my ass would be worth it if she’s gonna go out with me.”
Kin’s head snapped up. “I didn’t say I was going to go out with you.”
My grin didn’t drop. “You will.” I could see she was weakening. She’d texted me earlier. She had warned me about Angie being in town and had even told me to meet her at the club. Whether Kin wanted to admit it or not, she was close to giving me a second chance.
And I wasn’t about to fuck that up.
Chapter 16
Kin
Sneaking out of my father’s house had been easy. Sneaking in? Not so much. I had my key, so I got into the house easily enough. Trying to avoid getting caught going up to my room was like trying to break into Fort Knox.
Somehow, I made it all the way into my room.
Only to have Jillian follow me in and demand where I’d been all evening.
Fucking hell.
No use in lying. I told her where I’d been and with whom. She hadn’t taken the news well that my real family was in town and that Carter would be arriving on Monday. I guess she didn’t think that Carter and the twins actually cared enough to change their traditional plans to be with me.
Was I really that unlovable to her?
Probably.
I tried not to dwell on that thought for too long. Since Jillian had caught me coming in, I was basically put on lockdown for the entire weekend. I was barely allowed to leave my bedroom, and when I did get to leave, it was only to go to some stupid Christmas party Jillian had been dying to attend all year.
I spent four solid hours trying to keep a low profile, but Jillian wouldn’t let that happen. She introduced me to everyone she knew, made sure that each person knew I was best friends with Lucy Thornton and that I spent a lot of time at First Bass with the members of the hot new rock band, Tainted Knights.
I was in the spotlight all night long and I hated every second of it. My only saving grace?
Jace had texted me all night. At first I’d been reluctant to text him back, but when my phone had continued to vibrate in my little designer clutch that I’d been forced to carry that matched my over-the-top expensive dress, I’d figured Jace was the lesser of two evils. I could just find a quiet place and text him for the rest of the night.
Of course I didn’t get to find a quiet place, but I did get to amuse myself by telling Jace everything that I was doing that night. When I told him that three different douchebags Jillian had introduced me to kept stalking me around the party, he had demanded I call him.
Instead, I sent him a picture I snapped of two of the three guys standing in the background, looking like the creepers they were.
By the time we all got back to the house that night, I was bone tired, but Jillian was snipping at me about every thing I’d done wrong throughout the entire party. I put in my ear bud and tuned her out as I made myself a sandwich and then climbed the stairs to my room. As I flopped down on my bed with the ham and turkey sandwich already in hand, my phone started going off.
Looking down, I saw it was Jace and waited while I chewed my first big bite before answering. “Hey,” I greeted, forcing my tone to sound bored. “What’s up?”
“Where are you?” he demanded, sounding irritable.