by Ana Huang
“I can’t believe you’re here.” Ava squeezed her tight. “You must be so busy…”
Bridget von Ascheberg may have attended Thayer University with us, but that was where our similarities ended because she was an honest to God, real-life queen.
She’d been a princess when we met her, but after her older brother abdicated, Bridget became first in line to the throne of Eldorra, a small European kingdom. Her grandfather, the former King Edvard, recently stepped down due to health issues and Bridget had been coronated queen two months ago.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Plus, it’s a good break.” Bridget brushed a strand of golden hair out of her eyes. With her blue eyes, classic features, and cool elegance, she bore a striking resemblance to Grace Kelly. “Parliament is being difficult. Again.”
“I got her out of the palace just in time, or she would’ve ruptured an artery,” Rhys added, his dry tone at odds with the affection in his eyes as he looked at Bridget.
Standing at a tattooed, muscled six foot five, Rhys Larsen was one of the most dangerously good-looking men I’d ever met, but beneath his rough exterior was a heart of gold. He used to be Bridget’s bodyguard until they fell in love, and now he was the future Prince Consort, since the King Consort title didn’t exist in Eldorra. They’d had to overcome a lot of obstacles to be together considering she was royalty and he wasn’t, but they were now one of the most beloved couples in the world.
The loud snap of a camera shutter interrupted our reunion, and I suddenly remembered we weren’t alone. The rest of the guests were still staring, slack-jawed, at Bridget and Rhys.
Having a literal queen waltz into a birthday party without warning could be a bit of a shock.
No one approached us though, except for Josh, who greeted Bridget with a normal hug and Rhys with one of those handshake hugs guys loved so much. I guess Booth and Rhys’s bodyguard looked intimidating enough to scare off people from approaching.
“So.” Bridget linked her arm with Ava’s and walked to the nearest table. “Tell me what I missed.”
For the next half hour, we caught each other up on our lives while Josh hit the bar and Alex and Rhys sat quietly across the table. They occasionally said something to each other but spent most of the time watching Ava and Bridget with infatuated expressions. Well, as infatuated as someone as cold as Alex and as gruff as Rhys could look anyway.
I ignored the pang in my heart at their obvious love for my friends and refocused on the conversation.
I’d given up on love a long time ago. There was no use longing for it.
“Jules and I are looking for a new place after our current lease is up,” Stella said. We still lived in Hazelburg since I was attending Thayer Law, but our lease ended in April, and I would be graduating in late May. After that, we’d both be working in the city, so it made sense for us to find something in D.C. “No luck yet though.”
Everything we found was either too far from our offices, too expensive, or too gross. I was pretty sure one of the apartments we’d looked at used to be a drug den.
Gotta love house hunting in the city.
“Where are you looking to move?” Rhys asked.
“Ideally downtown, anywhere close to the red line,” I said. The red line dropped me off right at Thayer, and the fewer metro transfers I had to endure, the better.
A thoughtful expression crossed his face. “I know someone who owns a building downtown. He may be able to help. Don’t know if he has any openings, but I’ll ask.”
Stella’s eyebrows shot up. “He owns the entire building?”
Rhys shrugged. His shoulders were so massive the movement was akin to mountains shaking. “He’s into real estate investment.”
“That would be great.” I gave Alex a pointed stare. “At least someone in real estate can help us.”
Alex was CEO of The Archer Group, the largest real estate development company in the country.
I was joking about him helping us, but he actually responded instead of ignoring me. “My properties are full, unless you want to sleep in a shopping center or office building.”
“Hmm.” I tapped a finger on my chin. “The shopping center has potential. I love clothes.”
“Me too,” Stella agreed.
Alex looked unamused.
“Speaking of real estate development…” Ava said as Josh reappeared with a drink in hand. He slid into the empty chair next to Alex’s, taking great care not to look at his ex-best friend. “One of Alex’s business associates has a new ski resort in Vermont, and we bought tickets for the grand opening to support him. Four tickets, to be exact, so we can bring two guests. Bridget and Rhys, I know you guys won’t be here, and Stella, you mentioned you have a big event in New York the last weekend of March…”
Stella was always getting invited to fancy fashion events because of her blog, but if she couldn’t make it, and Bridget and Rhys couldn’t make it, that left…
Oh no.
“Josh, Jules, what do you think? We can all go together.” Ava beamed. “It’ll be so much fun!”
A weekend trip with Josh? I’d have more fun getting a root canal without Novocain, but Ava looked so excited I couldn’t bear to say no, especially on her birthday.
“Yay.” I tried to summon as much enthusiasm as I could. “Can’t wait.”
“I would love to, but…” Josh grimaced, doing the worst job of faking remorse I’d ever seen. “I’m working that weekend.”
Thank God. I could handle third wheeling it if it meant I wouldn’t have to—
“Too bad.” Ava didn’t blink an eye at her brother’s response. “The resort has a triple black diamond.”
Josh’s glass froze halfway to his lips. “You’re shitting me.”
My stomach sank. Josh was a notorious adrenaline junkie, and there were few things more adrenaline-inducing than the most dangerous type of ski trail in the world. It was like waving premium powder under a cocaine addict’s nose.
“Nope.” Ava sipped her drink while Stella stared at her phone, barely hiding her grin, and Rhys and Bridget exchanged amused glances. Alex was the only one who showed no visible reaction. “I know you’ve always wanted to ski on one, but since you have to work…”
“I think I can trade shifts,” Josh said after a long pause.
“Great!” Ava’s eyes sparkled in a way that set off my inner alarm bells. “It’s settled then. You, me, Alex, and Jules are going to Vermont.”
Josh’s strained smile mirrored my own. We didn’t agree on much, but he didn’t have to say it for me to know we agreed on at least one thing.
The trip wouldn’t end well. At all.
6
JOSH
The list of things I’d rather do besides go on a weekend trip with my ex-best friend and the redheaded menace included, but was not limited to, feeding my hand through a woodchipper, eating a pound of raw maggots, and watching Glitter on repeat with my eyes taped open.
But—and this was a big but—it was Ava’s birthday, and the resort had a triple black diamond. I’d never skied a triple black diamond before.
The prospect of the challenge sent a rush through my blood. I would be an idiot to turn the opportunity down.
“Josh.”
My spine stiffened when Alex appeared, the glass of Coke and whiskey in his hand matching mine.
“Alex.”
I kept my eyes on the dance floor where Ava and her friends were partying like it was 1999. We’d long dispersed from our table, and the rest of the guests had stopped gawking at Bridget and transitioned to sneaking peeks in between songs. Her security had temporarily confiscated everyone’s phones, but I bet a few people had snapped pictures of her when she arrived and said pictures would be splashed all over the gossip sites by tomorrow morning.
“Surprised you’re not out there with everyone else.” Alex leaned against the wall, his eyes also on the party, though they were trained only on Ava. “You used to be the first person on the dance floo
r.”
“Yes, well.” I drained my drink in one long gulp. “A lot has changed since college.”
The unspoken meaning hung sharp and heavy between us, like a guillotine waiting to drop.
Once, Alex and I had been best friends.
Now, we were strangers with only one commonality tying us together.
If it weren’t for Ava, I would happily never see or speak to Alex again.
At least, that was what I told myself.
“Vermont wasn’t my idea,” Alex said, sidestepping the elephant in the room.
“I know. Ava isn’t as sneaky as she thinks she is.”
She’d been trying to get me and Alex to make up for over a year. She may have forgiven him for lying to us to get closer to my father, whom Alex thought had been the one behind his family’s murder, but the betrayal ran deeper for me.
Ava and Alex had only been dating for a few months when he discovered his uncle was the real culprit and he revealed the truth behind his revenge plan. But he and I had been friends for eight years.
I’d invited Alex into my home. Treated him like a brother. Shared secrets and advice and things I’d never told my own family. And all that time, he’d been lying to me. Using me.
The whiskey aftertaste turned bitter on my tongue.
“She misses you,” Alex said quietly.
“I’m right here.” I glanced at the bar. “We text all the time.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t, actually.”
His mouth flattened into a tight line. “You’ve been acting different lately. Ava is worried—”
“Dude, stop.” I held up my hand. “If Ava is worried about me, she can tell me herself. But don’t act like we’re going to be best friends again. We’re not. Because you know what’s required in a friendship? Trust. And you lost mine a long time ago.”
I stepped around Alex before he could respond and went straight to the bar, my throat and chest tight. He didn’t follow me, and I didn’t expect him to. He didn’t chase after anyone except Ava. It was the only reason I hadn’t put up more of a fight when they got back together.
For all his faults and fuckups, Alex really did love my sister. I wanted her to be safe and happy, and if she was safe and happy with him, then I could suck it up and act civil.
That didn’t mean I had to have heartfelt conversations with him on the sidelines of the dance floor though.
“Hey, man.” I nodded at the bartender. “Tequila shot. Make it a double.”
I needed something stronger than whiskey to get through the rest of the party.
“You got it.”
I’d just tucked a couple of dollars in the tip jar when I was interrupted, yet again, by a wholly unwelcome interloper.
“Trouble in bromanceland?” The silky purr sent a ripple of irritation and something else I couldn’t name down my spine.
“Beat it, JR. I’m not in the mood.” I didn’t turn my head to look at Jules, but I could see the flash of distinctive red hair and the gold sparkles of her dress out of the corner of my eye.
“Your nicknaming skills leave a lot to be desired, Joshy.” Jules came up beside me and smiled at the bartender, who stopped making my drink to smile back at her. “I’ll have a Sex on the Beach, if that’s not too much to ask.” She tapped her nail on the menu, which listed only basic drinks like screwdrivers and cranberry vodkas and certainly no fucking Sex on the Beach.
The bartender’s eyes gleamed. “For a beautiful girl like you, nothing is too much to ask.”
The line was so cliche I barely held back a snort.
“Thank you.” Jules’s smile widened.
If another group of guests hadn’t come up to order, I was sure I would’ve witnessed more nauseating flirting. Thankfully, the bartender got distracted and quickly finished making our drinks before tending to the half dozen people vying for his attention.
“Slumming already?” I tsked in mock disappointment. “I expected better of you.”
“Why? Because he’s a bartender and not a doctor?” Jules arched an eyebrow. “Your snobbery is showing.”
“No. Because his lines are as pathetic as your attempt to slander me.” I tossed back my shot and didn’t bother with a chaser. “But hey, whatever floats your boat.”
“Don’t try to deflect from your own failed relationship.”
“I’m not in a relationship.” And I had zero interest in entering one anytime soon. Sex was just that, sex. Not a prelude to dating or matching couples’ outfits or whatever people were into. I made sure every woman I slept with knew the deal, because I didn’t believe in leading people on or giving them false hope.
My residency took up most of my time, and even if I wasn’t so busy, my desire for a long-term girlfriend hovered somewhere south of zero. I wasn’t made for the commitment game. I always got bored after a few weeks, and the whole couple thing sounded exhausting. Constant dates, phone calls, checking in with the other person…
I shuddered at the thought.
Good for the people who were happy and in love, but I wasn’t one of them and I never would be.
“I’m talking about Alex.” Jules received her drink from the bartender with a flirty smile before turning back to me. “I remember when you two were practically joined at the hip.”
A stone fist squeezed my chest, but I kept my tone light. “Didn’t realize you were so interested in my personal life, JR.”
“I’m not, unless it happens to affect my personal quality of life.” Jules took a delicate sip of her cocktail. “And since we’re all going on an overnight trip together, this stupid grudge you hold against Alex directly impacts me and Ava.”
I tightened my grip around my glass and imagined it was Jules’s throat. “Stupid?” A sharp edge bled through and colored the word with venom. “Stupid is a fight over which movie to watch. Stupid describes whatever poor schmuck ends up marrying you. But I assure you, it does not apply to what happened with Alex. Don’t talk about things you know nothing about.”
Jules didn’t back down from my glare. “I may not have been personally involved in your…situation,” she said with more tact than I thought her capable of. “But I am best friends with Ava. I know what happened, and it happened almost two years ago. She’s forgiven Alex. He’s apologized. It’s time to grow up and move on.”
For once, I didn’t detect any snark, just straightforward advice, but that didn’t stop my muscles from bunching with tension. “Easy for you to say.” God, I needed another drink. “Come back to me when you’ve been betrayed by someone close to you.”
Something dark flickered in Jules’s eyes. “How do you know I haven’t already?”
I stilled.
How do you know I haven’t already?
I didn’t know much about Jules’s past. Hell, I didn’t know much about her at all beyond what she showed people—the brash attitude, the brazen flirtatiousness, the strange mix of ruthless ambition and reckless partying.
But I did know that one sentence she’d just uttered rang truer than anything else I’d heard in years.
My gaze locked onto Jules, whose wide eyes and slightly parted lips revealed her surprise at the words that’d just left her mouth.
I swallowed the urge to ask her what happened while the air between us thickened with…not camaraderie, exactly, but a hint of understanding that eased some of the pressure in my chest.
We didn’t have the type of relationship where we discussed our problems with each other. Even if we did, I doubted Jules would answer my question. It wasn’t in her nature to display vulnerability.
She straightened, a shutter falling over her face and erasing all traces of her previous softness. “Whether you forgive Alex or not is up to you. Just don’t ruin everyone else’s fun with your sulking…though your mere presence may be enough to achieve that goal.”
With that, she swanned off, her hips swaying and her head held high.
A low growl rose in my throat before
I caught myself. There was no use wasting energy fuming over her. I needed to save every ounce for ensuring I didn’t kill her in Vermont. As satisfying as it would be, I wasn’t throwing away my future for a moment of extreme satisfaction.
I shifted my attention back to the bartender, eager to order another shot, only to find him staring at a certain spot on the dance floor with a besotted expression.
No, not spot. Person.
Jules raised her arms over her head and rolled her hips to the music in a way that had every man around her drooling. She looked over her shoulder and winked at the bartender before shooting me a smug stare.
I did the most mature thing I could think of: I flipped her off.
She laughed, her expression growing smugger, before she turned her back on me.
“She’s so hot.” The bartender’s eyes glinted in a way that sharpened my already raised hackles. “Please tell me she’s single.”
I masked my irritation with a tight smile. “You know what a succubus is?”
He scratched his chin. The group from earlier had rejoined the party, leaving just us at the bar. “Are those the little plants? My sister loves those things. Got a whole windowsill full of ‘em.”
“No, man. Those are succulents.” I lowered my voice. “A succubus is a demon that appears in the form of a beautiful woman to seduce men and suck the life force out of them. They’re supposed to be mythical, but…” I gestured in Jules’s direction. “She’s a real-life succubus. Don’t fall for her trap. There’s a vicious demon lurking beneath that pretty face.”
It was impossible for an actual human being to have hair that red, eyes that fierce, and curves that lush. Supernatural hijinks were the only thing that made sense.
“Oh.” The bartender’s eyes widened. “Does that mean she’ll sleep with me?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“You’ll have to ask her.” I leaned closer like I was telling him a secret. “Here’s a tip. She loves when people compare her to Jessica Rabbit. Tell her how much you’ve always wanted to bang a real-life JR and you’re in. Bonus points if you call her JR. It’s her favorite nickname.”