Twisted Perfection (Rosemary Beach #5)(24)

His eyes said more than they should. I dropped my gaze and stared at my hands resting in my lap. I had a decision to make. I could continue to push Woods away or I could forgive him. I could be his friend. Nothing more. He’d given me a job when I needed one. I would leave soon. The day would come when I left anyway. Until then, maybe I could share memories and moments with Woods. We could find the happiness in life together. New experiences. His last taste of freedom and my first taste.

Lifting my eyes, I met his steady gaze. He was waiting on something from me. “Can we be friends? Even after everything else? We could just start over,” I suggested.

The muscles in Woods’ neck moved as he swallowed. I wondered if I’d read him wrong. If he had just been needing closure and nothing more. But his eyes said something different. “I’d like that.”

Smiling, I reached my hand out toward him. “Hello, I’m Della Sloane.”

A crooked grin touched Woods perfect face and he slipped his hand into mine. “Woods Kerrington. It’s nice to meet you Della.”

His warm touch caused me to shiver and I pulled my hand away and stood up. “I’m going to get a drink. Save me a dance tonight.”

He nodded. “Without a doubt.”



Bethy met me at the bar. I had planned to take a deep calming breath after getting far enough from Woods to think this through. But instead I managed to smile at her like nothing was wrong.

“Can I ask what the handshake was about?” Bethy said, sitting down on the stool beside me and ordering two lemon drop shots.

“We’re starting over. This time I know he’s engaged and we’re going to be friends.”

Bethy nodded but I could see the disbelief in her eyes.

“Really, we are. Nothing more,” I assured her.

The bartender slid both of the pale yellow drinks our way.

“I believe that you believe that. But Woods doesn’t want Angelina. So you see if I’m skeptical about him keeping it friendly between the two of you, I have reason.”

Even Bethy knew he didn’t want to marry Angelina. I didn’t understand this. Would it be so bad not to connect his name with hers?

“It just seems like he’s sacrificing his happiness for money and gain. I don’t think that will end well.”

Bethy threw back her shot and then wiped a drop off her bottom lip with the pad of her thumb. “It will be a disaster. He’ll be miserable. But he thinks this is what he wants out of life. No one can convince him otherwise. In their world of money and power this is what they do. It’s why Tripp took off running. He didn’t want to play that game.”

Tripp? He’d had that kind of ultimatum too? But he’d left. He’d run. He hadn’t sacrificed his happiness. He was living. There was no cage holding him in. Cages were suffocating. I hated the idea of Woods living in one.

“I’m just passing through. While I’m here I think we can be friends. I like him. I want to get to know him. When I have his memory to pull out one day and think about I don’t want it to be just the sex. I want to know the man. Is that wrong?”

Bethy picked up my lemon drop and handed it to me. “No. It’s not. Now, drink up. I need someone to get the karaoke going and-tag you’re it.”

I shook my head. “Oh, no. Not me.”

Bethy nodded. “Yes, you. I’ve heard about your amazing vocal skills. It’s time I heard them. Come on, do it for me. Please.”

I took the shot glass and quickly downed the tangy drink.





Woods



Grant took Della’s seat when she walked away.

“I take it that means you two made amends,” Grant said as he put his beer down on the table.

“We’re friends,” I replied. Not real sure how that was going to work but I was going to make sure it did.

“Friends,” Grant replied and nodded his head as if he agreed. The look on his face though was amused though. “Good luck with that.”

His comment pissed me off, but he was right. I needed all the luck I could get. Keeping a straight head around her was going to be hard.

“Thanks.”

Grant chuckled. “Looks like you think that’s as impossible as I do.”

I started to respond when Bethy walked up on the stage. “It’s time for some karaoke. Now that you’ve all had some free liquor you can sing for your drinks. Don’t worry I won’t make you come up here, yet. You have an entire song to drink enough until coming up here sounds like a good idea. Della has agreed to sing first because she doesn’t have to be drunk to sound badass.”

I shifted my eyes to Della who was looking up at Bethy like she wanted to crawl under a table. I wanted to go save her from this but I sure as hell wasn’t about to go sing. I’d never live it down.

“I got this,” Grant said and jumped up. I watched him saunter over to Della and say something that made her beam up at him. Stupid f*cker. What was he doing?

Della slid her hand into his and they walked up to the stage together. He was gonna sing with her. He hadn’t sung in front of a crowd since high school.

Della looked relieved not to be up there alone.

The lyrics to “Picture” by Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock came up on the screen. He was going with a Kid song. Not surprising; he always liked singing Kid Rock songs.