Faking It with the Frenemy

Evie nods. “Nate and I have been trying to avoid him for, you know…obvious reasons.”

I pat her shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks.” She gives me a small smile. “Still, it’s worth it to be with Nate.”

“Love makes everything worth it,” I say.

“By the way, I saw Jo earlier if you want to say hi. She was looking for you.”

“Thanks. Let me go find her, then. We’ll catch up with you later.”

Wyatt and I move off toward a big crowd on the other side of the room. “I can’t believe somebody else made a fashionably late entrance,” says someone from our left.

I turn around and see Ryder lounging there with his wife. His pose is too indolent, and something about it is so full of himself—like he knows he’s hot. And why wouldn’t he? He’s struck more than a few people dumb with his looks. It took me a few meetings before I got used to it.

“Jesus. That’s Ryder Reed?” Wyatt says.

I pat his hand. Ryder is stunning in movies and photos, but what most people don’t realize is that he’s actually not particularly photogenic. It’s just that he’s so damn good looking in real life that it compensates for that particular handicap. “Yup. The rumor is that his mom sold her soul to the devil to have a baby that handsome.” And it’s probably true. His mom is one of the most soulless witches I’ve ever known. She hates me, and the feeling is mutual. She resents that she can’t just barge into her brother’s office because I won’t let her. And it absolutely infuriates her that Salazar sides with me instead of his own sister.

I look around some more and see Jo chatting with a dark-haired guy whose face I can’t quite see from this angle. Hilary’s giggling over something her husband Mark says, then she turns her head and waves.

I wave back. Wyatt and I start moving toward them, but a sudden lowering of the music brings everything to a stop.

Yuna walk to the center of the room and clears her throat. “Thank you all for coming. I wanted to host this party to congratulate my amazing roommate Kim’s bonus. Apparently she was perfect at her job for the last five years, so it is well deserved.”

Yuna gestures toward me, and suddenly I’m in the spotlight. I smile, although part of me wants to squirm a little bit at the attention. Wyatt links his hand with mine and squeezes, anchoring me. I lean toward him, happy he’s here.

Jo pumps her fist in the air. “Yeah!”

Ryder whistles. “Damn, you did it. I didn’t think you’d last this long. Salazar’s impossible to please.”

“So I’ve heard,” Yuna says with a big grin. “And therefore, this must be celebrated! But that’s not all.”

“What more is there?” Nate calls out, his arm around Evie. “Has your mom finally managed to find a man to marry you off to?”

Yuna shudders, then shoots him a purely evil look. “Perish the thought!” She smooths her expression. “I’m hosting this party because…I just like to party!”

“Hell yeah!” Ryder calls out, lifting his scotch. Marriage might’ve made him settle down a bit, but you can’t scrub the party-loving nature out of him.

Yuna points at Anthony. “I want to thank Tony for letting us have this party in his beautiful home.” She waves.

Seated next to his wife Ivy, he waves back.

“The apartment Kim is graciously letting me stay at is lovely, but it’s a bit too small to host something like this.” Then she turns to a tall, dark man propped against Anthony and Ivy’s couch. “Thank you, Edgar, for coming. I didn’t think you’d make it, since you spend almost all your time in Louisiana. And do get him to talk, ladies. He has the nicest voice ever.”

Edgar waves her away. “Stop. You’re embarrassing me.”

I raise my eyebrows. Maybe he’s a bit embarrassed that she’s pointing it out, but she’s right. His voice is calm and velvety with a pleasant southern accent. He could be an audiobook narrator, even though that’d be a waste of a nice face. I can see why Mom is salivating over him as a potential son-in-law, even though her motive has more to do with his bank account than anything else.

“Finally,” Yuna begins again, dragging our attention back to her. “I had this special treat flown all the way from Tokyo on a chartered plane. When I heard about these things, I had to bring them here to share with everyone.”

A couple of uniformed waiters push silver carts in. On the trays are white porcelain plates and small, flaky pastries, shaped like mini-strudels, two on each plate. Servers show up with bubbly drinks. I lick my lips, suddenly hungry as I realize I haven’t had anything to eat since lunch.

“How did you manage that?” Ivy asks. “I thought your mother froze your account for running away.”

The question surprises me. Yuna said she had her own money, but she had these pastries flown in from Japan on a chartered plane. That’s one very expensive way to indulge.

Yuna shrugs. ?