Bridges Burned (Going Down in Flames #2)(77)

In time, would they come to accept her? Did she care one way or another? Best-case scenario, she could live in Dragon’s Bluff with Valmont or his family. They were all warm, loving people who thought food made everything better. She liked that logic.

“Excuse me.” A Blue male she didn’t know stood in front of her. He glanced back at a group of males who were snickering.

Her internal alarm went off. Odds were this wouldn’t end well.

“Yes?” she braced herself.

“I was wondering if you’d like to dance?” The tone of his voice screamed, I am a jerk.

“One question: Are you the joke or am I?”

He blinked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She pointed at his friends. “Are they laughing at you for asking me to dance? Or are they laughing at me, because they think I’ll be stupid enough to believe you actually want to dance with me?”

The polite expression melted from his face, leaving behind a cold sneer. “You’re not stupid, are you?”

“No.”

“You realize this is probably the only chance you’ll have to dance tonight.”

That hurt a little bit because it was probably true. She gave him a go-screw-yourself smile. “Then I’d rather not dance.”

He mumbled something under his breath that sounded a lot like “bitch,” but she couldn’t prove it. And as much as she’d like to shoot a fireball at his head, she refrained.

When he reached his friends, he said something that made them laugh. What was he telling them? The idea that he’d be the one controlling what people thought had happened made her stomach churn. It’s not like she could counteract the rumors. Who did she know to talk to? Think. Damn it. Jaxon might help. Then again, he might just be pissed off she asked. Clenching her fists, she drank the last of her tea and resisted the urge to wing the empty glass across the room at her tormenter’s head.

A waitress came to refill her drink. Bryn was surprised to see it was Abigail. “Hello. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Thanks to you.” Abigail grinned. “How are you enjoying the party?”

“It’s amazing. But do you know who that young man is over there?”

Abigail glanced toward the jerk in question. “He’s Liam Eldridge, son of a Directorate member.”

“He asked me to dance as a joke, and now he’s over there laughing it up with his friends. I’m not sure how to handle it.”

“Don’t worry, jerks like him always get their comeuppance one way or another.” She patted Bryn on the shoulder. “Forget about him. Go find someone nice to dance with.”

Easier said than done. “Thanks, I might try that.” Bryn sipped her tea and watched as Abigail walked over to another member of the waitstaff, an elderly woman Bryn didn’t know. The woman hovered around the table where Liam and his friends sat. What was she doing?

The elderly server lifted a pitcher of iced tea to refill Liam’s glass. Abigail walked behind the woman and jostled her so that she lurched forward, dumping the entire pitcher of tea onto Liam’s lap.

His outraged growl ripped through the ballroom. The elderly woman backed up apologizing. He opened his mouth like he was going to verbally rip her apart. Then he noticed everyone staring, and forced a tight smile.

The woman continued to apologize. He nodded and said something about it not being a big deal. Bryn ducked her head and sipped her tea when his gaze swept in her direction. Hopefully he wouldn’t connect the incident with her. Whoever the elderly woman was, Bryn was going to send her the mother of all gift cards from Fonzoli’s.

Jaxon and Quentin approached from across the room. Jaxon shot her an I know what you did look. She played innocent and hoped it was a convincing act.

Her grandmother returned to the table a short time later. “I wish you would dance.”

Laughter may not have been the appropriate response, but Bryn couldn’t help it. “That would require someone asking me.”

“But I saw Liam over here talking to you. Didn’t he ask you to dance?”

Was her grandmother fishing for a confession? How much should she tell her? Time to lay her cards on the table.

“He did ask me to dance, but he wasn’t sincere.” She told her grandmother about her conversation with the jerk.

“Well.” Her grandmother did not appear pleased. “That is disappointing. His father is one of your grandfather’s allies. I’d expect him to think of the consequences his actions might bring to his father’s interactions in the Directorate.”

Okay. Bryn’s feelings weren’t important. How this would reflect on Liam’s father and her grandfather were the concern. Did Blue dragons have their feelings removed at birth, or what?

“Are you responsible for Liam’s need to change clothing?” her grandmother asked.

She wasn’t about to admit to anything just yet. “If I were, how would you feel about that?”

“If you had orchestrated the event, I would request that you not use household staff to sabotage our guests.” A slow grin spread across her grandmother’s face. “But I would applaud your resourcefulness. Now, we need to develop your circle of allies, and Jaxon is going to help.”

Oh, God.

Her grandmother stared at Jaxon until he could probably feel the laser-like intensity sinking into his skull. He turned with a resigned look on his face and walked toward the table like a man approaching the gallows.