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I won’t pretend like we have anything approaching the twin-telepathy that you so commonly see in movies. We’ve never been able to read each other’s thoughts or made up a secret language only we understood.
For just a second, Olivia looks at me the way she did when we were kids and I got in screaming matches with our father. It’s the look that pleads with me to let go of whatever was upsetting me for her sake, because she hated the conflict.
This is the first acknowledgement that the sister I used to have is still in there somewhere.
Damn her.
“Just this.” Reaching forward, I snag a half-full bottle of champagne off a metal end-table before any of them can stop me. “Enjoy your night.”
Maisie makes an offended sound while Serena whispers bitch.
“It’s fine, just ignore her,” Olivia says to them, her voice betraying nothing. “Everyone else will.”
I no longer feel like swimming, but make myself do it anyway because the only other option is returning to the hot tub.
But I don’t last long. In the fifteen minutes that it takes to polish off the rest of the bottle, I make my way back to the hot tub without acknowledging Drake at all. The weight of his stare presses into me, even as I refuse to make eye contact.
“I’m going back to the room,” I announce.
Anya just waves at me with her free hand, the other wrapped around Cole’s ample bicep. That pairing isn’t one that I would have anticipated, but I can’t say it doesn’t work.
Felicia looks relieved as she levers herself out of the hot tub. “I’ll go back with you. I’m getting tired.”
Even though I’m certain Drake watches us go, I don’t risk looking back at him. Not this time.
“Are you really tired?” I ask once we hit the relative quiet of the elevator.
“Tired of that whole scene, maybe. Watching Anya and Cole trade saliva isn’t exactly my idea of entertainment.” She pushes the button for our floor and leans back against the railing with a sigh. “Plus, Drake was acting weird. He didn’t say a word to anyone after you left. Just sat there brooding. Vaughn was busy on his phone, so I could only talk to Nolan, of all people.”
I wince in sympathy. “How did that go?”
“Surprisingly well. He’s the only person who seems legitimately sad about Brady. Maybe he actually has hidden depths.”
Wincing at the blast of cold air as the elevator doors open, I pad toward our room. “Don’t count on it.”
But Felicia’s expression is still musing as I pull my keycard out from under the strap of my bikini top and swipe the door lock.
“Everyone deserves the chance to be more than we think we are.”
“When people show you who they are,” I tell her. “You should believe them.”
* * *
I snap awake, unsure of what startled me out of sleep.
By the time I’d taken a hot shower and changed into pajamas, it had been basically impossible to stay awake. Felicia and I both crashed out hard enough to sleep through an earthquake.
But the sky is still dark around the curtains on the window. A quick glance at the clock confirms that it’s barely after 3 a.m. I’ve only been asleep for a few hours.
Thinking Anya might have finally made her way back, I listen for the sound of footsteps on the tile floor in the living room. I’m met with only penetrating silence. I don’t know what it is about darkness that makes silence more profound, so loud that it’s practically a sound all on its own.
Felicia is a lump under the covers on the other bed. Her breathing is silent but I can just barely make out the rise of her back as she inhales. I’m glad she doesn’t snore, but that still leaves the mystery of what woke me up.
I creep out of bed and go to the window, careful not to wake her. We have an epic view of the city, with all its buildings lit up like Christmas trees. The streets below are busier than I thought they’d be for the late hour, people spilling out of bars and restaurants as they make their way home. So far up, the room is absolutely silent, except for the whir of an AC unit putting out air that is hot and dry as a desert.
Maybe that’s what woke me up. I hate being hot when I’m sleeping, the press of dry air against my skin enough to make me feel like I’m being dried into a raisin with hair. I let the curtains fall closed as I glance back at Felicia’s bed. She hasn’t so much as shifted position in her sleep.
The thermostat is out in the living room. I’m careful to be quiet as I slip out of the room and close the door behind me. Even though it’s late, I’m awake enough that it will be a while before I’m able to fall back asleep.
