Page 260 of Back in the Saddle

“Ready to party?” he asked when he was done.

I nodded.

With his arm still around me, we headed to the door.

“Be good,” I said to Henny, though I didn’t know why. He was asleep on the black fur Christmas skirt I had under the tree. He was also always good.

We walked down, and with all the fab Christmas décor, and everyone decked out (even Martha was wearing a shimmery sliver number), the place seemed more like a holiday wonderland.

When I’d set up the bar, I’d seen there was a drum kit, a set of keyboards, an upright piano, and some microphones and amps on a portable stage, so I was expecting a band. But instead, there was Christmas music playing from some speakers Bill and Zach had set around.

Eric went right to the drink table to shake our cocktails.

I went right to the food table to get us some pudding.

“Uhhhhhh…”

I turned my head to see Raye in a red, off-the-shoulder, to-the-knee bodycon dress with long, puffed sleeves sidling close.

“What’s going on there?” she asked.

I aimed my eyes at her, then to where she was looking, and I saw Luna, in a glittery gold, plunge-front, floor-length dress standing behind the striped baubles with Knox.

They were both face to face, or more aptly, nose to nose.

Even from where we stood, halfway across the courtyard, it appeared they were also significantly ticked.

“Whoa,” I muttered right before I shoved some pudding in my mouth.

“I’ll say,” Raye agreed. “Then there’s that.”

She nodded her head toward Javi, who was smiling at Shanti, who was saying something. And about ten feet away, Harlow, in a seriously sparkly ice-blue number that looked like something Elsa fromFrozenwould wear, was standing with another resident, Jenn, and she was glaring daggers at them.

“Hmm,” I mumbled.

“I will note, Cap and I have been here for half an hour, and Javi tried unsuccessfully three times to make an approach to Harlow, and she instigated evasive maneuvers each time.”

God, my bestie could be a dufus sometimes.

I turned back to Raye. “Then she’s getting what she deserves.”

“It’s like two live-action Hallmark movies,” Alexis said as she came to stand with us.

She wasn’t wrong.

We all turned back to the baubles in time to watch Luna poke Knox in the chest before she stomped to Harlow’s apartment, entered it and slammed the door.

Knox watched this, then he stalked in the opposite direction and out the security gate.

Man, it had to be said, Knox was nearly as good at stalking as Eric was at sauntering.

Our attention shifted when Shanti’s musical laughter could be heard.

Javi was still smiling down at her.

Harlow, though, had a face that was crumbling, before she dashed across the space with almost as much grace as Alexis would do it, right into her apartment.

When her door closed behind her, I looked back to Javi.

---