12. Sawyer #2
“Derek invited me.” His gaze flicked to Rachel, then back to me. A muscle in his jaw jumped, the way it always did when he was angry. “I didn’t realize we were letting just anyone into parties now.”
Rachel’s eyes went wide. “Knox—”
“I’m kidding.”
Yeah, right. His expression didn’t look like he was kidding. There was nothing playful or warm in his eyes. Just a cold appraisal, like I was a piece of shit he found floating in the pool.
His gaze clashed with mine for another long moment as I tried to read him, as I tried to find some semblance of the old Knox still there. I was about to say something, anything to break the awkward tension, when he dove into the pool without another word.
I watched him cut through the water with powerful strokes, putting as much distance between us as possible. It was clear he couldn’t stand to be near me, like even breathing the same air as me was offensive.
Good. Let him leave.
But with my luck, he didn’t leave, he swam to the far end and hoisted himself out near the diving board where another group was gathered, including Owen.
Owen spotted me at the same moment and his face lit up. He always made me feel better, like I was able to walk on steady ground.
Sometimes I’d wonder how he was so kind after everything. He texted me every single day after the scandal broke. He drove hours from school just to take me to lunch and make sure I was okay. He’s never once made me feel like my father’s mistakes were somehow mine to carry.
Owen patted a guy on the back before jumping into the pool and swimming toward me. I watched him cut through the water for a second but movement near the diving board caught my attention.
Knox put his arm around a gorgeous girl.
Someone I’d never seen before. She had long dark hair, a perfect body in an expensive bikini, gold bracelets that glittered in the sunset.
She was the kind of effortless beauty that made my fraying bikini strings and grown out roots feel even more pathetic.
She laughed at something he said, leaning into him, and he didn’t pull away.
Heat spread through my limbs despite the cool water. This burning that made me want to flee and fight at the same time. To swim over there and shove her into the deep end or disappear from this party, this town, this world.
I hated that I felt this way. I hated that after everything—after his cruelty, after his rejection, after months of silence—I still cared who Knox Aldrich put his arm around.
I wished I didn’t. God, I wished I didn’t.
Owen reached me and pulled me into his solid, safe arms. I hugged him back, but even with my face pressed against his shoulder, while he said how much he missed his Sunny, my eyes couldn’t leave Knox.
And Knox, who’d claimed he didn’t care if I lived or died, who’d made it clear I was nothing to him, was staring right back at me over that girl’s head.
And that look was the opposite of indifference.
Whatever it was it made me choke on a breath and look away…look anywhere but in Knox’s eyes.
I made it through the afternoon somehow. Mostly thanks to Owen choosing me as his partner for volleyball, and Rachel feeding me an endless supply of drinks. Knox seemed to have fucked off somewhere, probably with that girl, not that I cared.
When I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine that life was normal again. That I could go back home to our estate in Ashford, and fall asleep in my comfy bed, in my own corner of the house where my only problem would be waking up on time for tennis lessons tomorrow.
The sun was starting to set, and even with the heated pool, I was getting cold. Goosebumps prickled my arms and legs as I got out of the water and searched for a towel.
“Here.”
I turned to find Owen holding out a fluffy white towel. He wrapped it around my shoulders before I could protest, his warm palms grazing my skin.
“You looked cold.”
“Thanks, I was.” I pulled the towel tighter, suddenly aware of how small my bikini actually was when wet. Owen kept his eyes forward though, always respectful.
“I need to find my cover up,” I said, searching the area where every chair suddenly seemed identical to the rest. “I can’t remember where I left it.”
“I’ll help,” Owen said, finishing his beer and tossing the empty bottle in the nearby trash.
As I was describing what to look for, I felt eyes on me. I don’t know how, but I knew it was Knox watching us.
I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of looking back at him.
We shuffled around a group of guys, talking loudly, Owen holding onto my shoulders.
“You doing okay, Sunny?” Owen asked as soon as we passed them, low enough that only I could hear. “I know this probably isn’t easy. Being back around everyone.”
“I’m fine,” I lied.
“You don’t have to be fine, you know.” His hand came up to rub my arm through the towel. “Not with me.”
“I know, and thank you. You’re a really good friend, Owen.” I smiled a little, truly believing him. Of all the people out there, I could trust Owen with my heart.
He dropped his hand to his side and I instantly missed his warmth. “Always. Come on, let’s find your clothes.”
“Thanks.”
He lifted his chin toward a chair near the entrance. “That yours?”
“Yes, thank God. I’m so cold.”
We rushed toward it, and I dropped my towel, anxious to get covered up. It felt like everyone was looking at me, noticing my breasts spilling from my cups and how my bottoms were barely holding on.
“Nice suit, Thorne.”
I froze. Every conversation around us seemed to pause.
I turned slowly, and there he was. Knox leaned against the pool house, a beer in his hand, that cruel smile on his face. The one that meant he was about to draw blood and didn’t care who watched.
“Knox,” Owen warned. “Don’t—”
“What? I’m just saying, it’s a nice bikini.” Knox took a long drink, his eyes never leaving mine. “Very...economical…and I love the fit. But I have a question, did your dad have to skip a mortgage payment to buy it?”
The patio went completely quiet. Every eye turned toward us…watching and waiting.
My face burned like I’d been slapped, and I shoved my cover up over my head.
“Knox,” Owen said, stepping between us. “What the hell is wrong with you?”