Shine Not Burn(93)

“Mike check one! One, one, one. Mike check two! Two, two, two. Mike check three four and close the door. The door, the door. Five and six that’s Nikki Sixx. Of Motely Crue and me and you. Mike-a, mike-a, mike-a-phone check, check, check…”

“We hear the goddamn microphone, okay?!” screeched Hannah, her pie trembling in her hand.

The singer banged his forehead into the microphone when he bent down and sent a squeal of feedback through the tents. Everyone either ducked or covered their ears, me included. I could still hear the ringing in my head for a while after it stopped.

Hannah turned to me when the recorded music started coming out of the speakers a few seconds later, her snarling anger going all fake sweetness and glaring sunshine in the space of two seconds. She twitched her head once to the side and then took a long-legged, high-heeled step towards me, the promise of retribution for man-stealing in her eyes.

I threw my shoulders back and angled my chin up, bracing myself for her arrival.

Time to shine not burn, Andie.

And, snakes? If you’re still out there? Now would be a good time to make yourselves known…





Chapter Forty





HANNAH STOPPED IN FRONT OF me, the music growing louder and people moving around to get some shade under the tent. The party was officially in full swing with people drinking beers and sodas while they munched on appetizers scattered around the various tables.

“So. You’re still here.” Her smile reminded me of a reaction to biting into a fresh lemon.

“Yes, I’m still here. But I’m leaving.” I glanced around, but no one seemed to be paying us much attention anymore. Mack was watching from a safe distance with Ian, making me want to stick my tongue out at him for being such a chicken shit and leaving me to deal with her alone. He would pay later, and it wouldn’t be pretty.

“You’re leaving? Really?” She went from bitchy to cheerful just like that. “Oh, wow, such a bummer.” Her words came out in a rush. “When are you going?”

“Tomorrow. I have work and stuff to get back to.”

She nodded, pretending to go all concerned and serious on me. “Yeah, sure, of course you do. Wouldn’t want all that work stuff to get backed up on you. That’s just extra work, right? Plus you could lose your job. Get fired and all that. That’d be terrible, losing your job.”

“If I got fired it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, actually.” Her complete happiness about me leaving her alone with my husband made me mad enough to say the words I’d been toying around with. And as soon as they left my mouth I knew they were true. Picturing myself not working at the firm anymore brought me relief. I realized in that moment that the only thing I would miss about being a lawyer in West Palm Beach would be Ruby.

“In this economy?” She scoffed. “You can’t be serious. I had to take a job at the diner just to keep my apartment.” She looked around casually but stopped as soon as she saw Mack. The wattage channeled through her grin threatened to take out the town’s electricity.

“Mack’s apartment, you mean.” I managed a tight smile.

She turned back to me. “Oh, that’s right. Silly me. I’m living with Mack now. We’ve been together since …,” she looked up at the sky, doing her very complicated math, “… Months now. Months and months. It’s been great. He’s so handy to have around.” She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “And sexy too, right? Especially when he walks around in his skivvies.”

I took a step back to keep myself from doing something stupid to her face. “Hannah, I think Boog wants you.” I looked around desperately for the man-bear-pig. If someone didn’t come over here soon and rescue me, things were liable to get ugly. Primal urges were sneaking up on me that I’d never met before. Caveman-level shit. I was almost ready to tear eyeballs out.

“Boog?” She rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t want me. He just wants to harass me about something.”

“What’s up with you guys, anyway? Did you date before or something?”

She snorted and then laughed loudly, sounding disturbingly like a braying donkey. “I may be country, Angie, but I don’t date kin. Sorry to disappoint you, city girl.”

“It’s Andie. And you guys are related?” My jaw dropped open a little at that factoid. Since when do man-bear-pigs share DNA with Barbie dolls?

“Yeah, we’re related all right. He’s my half-brother.”

“So your mother married a wookie?” I meant it as an insult, but apparently I don’t know how to throw down country-style.

She laughed, giving me her first genuine smile of the day. “You’re kinda funny, City.”

“And you’re kinda not, Country.”

She studied me closely, her smile melting away. “Whaddya say we cut the crap and come to some sort of agreement?”

“What kind of agreement?” My lawyer hat went on as I waited for her terms.

“How about I agree to let Mack and you alone for the day, and you agree to get out of town tomorrow and never come back?”

“Seems like a little one-sided, don’t you think?” I cocked my head to the side.

“How so?”

“Ohhh, I don’t know. Maybe because you work for half a day, and I work for the rest of my life? Doesn’t seem fair, does it?” Staying away from Mack forever would definitely be work. I glanced over at him and my heart strings twanged like a banjo.