Free Saving Ever After (Ever After #4) by Stephanie Hoffman McManus Page A

have a good time tonight before we had to play taxi cab?” I swiftly
changed the subject.
    “Yeah, I
did, before all that,” her tone was unconvincing.
    “I know you
haven’t spent much time around my friends, but it’s important to me that you’re
comfortable with them.”  
    “Your
friends are great. You know I like them.” Again there was something off. Her
tone was too light and almost sounded forced. I partly blamed myself for not
bringing her around them more often. It just seemed that with both our
schedules being so crazy, her traveling all the time for her photography career
and  me with the band, that any time we were both in town, we spent it at her
apartment, just the two of us.
    “It’s
important to me that you like them. They are my family. We should have them
over to the apartment some time, or all go out together.”
    “I don’t
know. Is some old lady going to dump water all over me every time we hang out
with them? What was up with that earlier?”
    I chuckled, “I’m
not sure. I’ve heard Ace’s Grandma Helen is a little odd.” I’d heard plenty of
Grandma Helen stories throughout the years to know that she was more than a
little odd, but everyone seemed to love her. Even if she was nutty. I didn’t
know how to react earlier when she bumped into Katrina and started shaking out
her tiny bottle of water all over her. I could’ve sworn I saw a tiny cross on
the bottle, but that didn’t make sense. It had to have just been part of the
label.
    “A little?”
she said skeptically. “At first I thought she had a flask in her hand and that
she was just boozy, but it was only water. I just don’t get it, there’s no way
that was an accident. It was deliberate.”
    I agreed. The
laughter I’d caught Mia trying to hide and the way Grandma Helen had slinked
off right back to Mia’s side like they were colluding, made me think Mia could
provide an explanation. I wasn’t about to say that to Katrina. It was already unlikely
she would warm up to Mia any time soon, and after the Elvira comment from Mia,
I was pretty sure it was mutual.
    “At least it
wasn’t booze. That would have been worse, right?”
    “Just get me
home, baby, so you can get me out of this dress. It’s been a long day.”
    “Yes,
ma’am.” I’d been looking forward to seeing her out of that dress since she
stepped out of the bathroom at her apartment with it on. For some reason my
mind went to the way that guy back there had looked at Mia in her dress, and
then I was thinking about him stripping it off of her. My grip tightened on the
steering wheel.

Chapter 7
    Mia
     
    I washed my
hands and splashed cool water on my face. I tried to focus on my reflection in
the mirror, but everything was becoming distorted and out of focus.
    What the
fuck are you doing Mia?
    This was not
how the day was supposed to go. It had started out on such a hopeful note. I’d
been excited, and now here I was, almost too drunk to stand, feeling sorry for
myself in some stranger’s bathroom. Why did I do it? Why did I let Leila and
Chris’ pretty girlfriend get to me? Why did I drink an entire bottle of
champagne? Why was I so awful to Chris? Why did I go with Leland?
    Oh yeah, now
I remembered, he said I was pretty. He noticed me and all the extra effort I’d
put into my appearance today. He didn’t make me feel so completely and utterly
lacking. When he looked at me, it made me feel special, glamorous even. Was
that so wrong? Something in me cried out, Yes! Being here felt
completely wrong.
    Damn it.
    I should
have just listened to Chris and gone up to my room , I thought as I shoved
off the counter and stumbled my way out of the bathroom and back through the
unfamiliar house. I hadn’t even wanted to come to this stupid party, but I’d
just been so angry and humiliated. I don’t know what I thought I was proving by
going with them, other than I didn’t need or want Chris’ help. I wasn’t a
child. I could take care of