Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 696(@200wpm)___ 557(@250wpm)___ 464(@300wpm)
I settled into his side and smiled up at him.
After he smiled down at me, I noted Jacob claimed Alexis in much the same way.
Good for them.
They could now check off “Indisputable Gesture of Possession” on their to-do lists.
So noted, even if we invented the wheel and learned how to fly, you couldn’t take the caveman out of the cave.
Not a complaint, just sayin’.
“Kickass selfie station,” Knox commented, his head turned that way.
“Luna blew up all the balloons!” Harlow exclaimed over-excitedly.
All three of the men turned eyes to Luna at this.
Her face went up in flames.
I burst out laughing.
“Hey.”
Cap’s body went taut.
My laughter died an instant death and my body went taut.
Luna’s body jerked.
And this was because Dream was there, elbowing in rudely between Knox and Gabe.
They stepped aside, partly because I sensed they were gentlemen, partly because she gave them no choice.
Side to side, she looked them up and down, including Liam in this, not trying to hide her distaste of them, even if she had no clue who they were.
Her dis silently accomplished, she shoved a jar toward Luna that was filled with a candle and tied with a bow of rough twine with a hand-written label that said Patchouli on the side.
And she said tartly, “Happy birthday.”
I felt my lips get tight.
First, because Luna and I could have been separated at birth. Sure, I rocked the glam-boho-sophisticated vibe, and her vibe was more boho-glam-sophisticated, but all in all, samesies.
In other words, a jar candle tied in twine was an even worse gift than a Nordstrom Rack gift card. But at least with a gift card, she could get what she wanted.
Second, Luna detested the scent of patchouli with such a red-hot hatred, it was a little unhinged.
I mean, that wasn’t my favorite scent in the world, but I’d actually seen Luna gag when she’d smelled it.
Last, I didn’t like Dream’s tone.
Luna tried to rise above, taking the candle and saying, “Thanks, Dream. And this is Liam and Knox and—”
“I don’t need to know them,” Dream cut her off.
My body got tauter, so Cap dug his fingers warningly in my hip.
“And thanks so much for the invite,” Dream went on, but she didn’t mean this, she said it in a way that meant Luna didn’t actually invite her.
Luna looked as confused as I was, since I knew she’d asked her sister to her party. “I invited you.”
“By text,” Dream shot back.
“That’s how I got my invitation too,” Jessie put in.
“Me too,” Alexis added.
Dream barely glanced at them before she asked her sister snottily, “You gonna offer me a drink?”
Okay.
I was done.
I’d actually been done awhile.
But now, seeing as it was Luna’s birthday, not to mention, she’d spent all day creating the extravaganza that surrounded us, and that was some serious hard work, therefore, this was even less okay than the other shit Dream pulled.
In other words, it was time to wade in.
“I’m gonna offer you the door if you don’t park the attitude, Dream,” I said.
She turned her attention to me.
“I’m talking to my sister,” she replied.
“No, you have an audience, and you’re at a party, and you interrupted a conversation, so you’re actually not,” I retorted. “You’re trying to make a scene.”
“I’m not about drama,” she shot back.
I couldn’t even think of what to say, that was such bullshit.
“Yeah, and I’m trying out for the Cardinals cheerleaders next year,” Jessie muttered.
I figured out what to say. “Right, time to exit your the-world-revolves-around-me bubble and look around. Luna spent all day setting this up. If you’re here to celebrate her and have a good time, great. If you’re here to be a bitch, spare your sister that on her big day, at least.”
Dream squared off on me, and how she did, I knew things were bad and about to get worse.
I was not wrong.
“That’s the second time you’ve called me a bitch.”
And then she made a grave mistake.
She finished it by leaning toward me and sniping, “Bitch.”
In the flash of an eye, I found myself staring at Cap’s back, and Dream finding her space seriously invaded by my guy.
Oh shit.
“I get a woman like you doesn’t like men like me because you can’t shit all over us and lead us around by our dicks,” he said in a low, dangerous voice. “But women like Raye who are strong enough to want a partner like me get some bonuses from that. One of them is that they don’t stand by and let a woman who’s regretting the choices she’s made in life take her shit out on his woman. Hear me, Dream. You do not call my woman a bitch in front of my face or ever. And it’s not my place to handle your shit, except when it’s Luna’s night and she’s put a fuck ton of work into throwing a party so she can enjoy the people she cares about. Newsflash, she invited you, so she cares about you. Fuck off with this damage you bring into her house. If you can’t be cool, get the fuck out.”