The limo ride to Arden’s is short.
“Head upstairs, Chad will have drinks ready.” Arden says waiting for us all to exit the vehicle.
“What are you doing?” I ask him, eyeing him suspiciously.
“You’ll see.” He grins in a way that makes me believe that Arden isn’t finished with surprises tonight.
We head straight through the house and out the back.
Smalls whistles. “Damn. You weren’t kidding about this place.”
“Wait until you see the apartment complex he’s doing up for us. It should be finished in a few weeks,” Rhys says.
“I’m already looking forward to my next visit.”
No freaking way.
It’s a freaking carnival.
He’s hired a carnival. There’s a sideshow alley set up near the pool, complete with moving clown heads and prizes. All the staff are dressed as broken dolls and clowns. It’s Arden all over.
The bar and tables are scattered with old fashioned popcorn cups filled with various snacks.
There’s a fairy floss and Sno-cone cart set up next to the bar.
I spin around and take it all in.
“Holy shit!” Smalls says in amusement. “You weren’t kidding when you said he was over the top. I thought the shoes would be the highlight of the evening.”
I watch him take everything in.
“Is that a strong man game and a dunk tank?” Chase asks, pointing in the direction of the grassy area behind the pool.
I look in the direction he’s pointing.
“Looks like it. I wonder what else he has planned,” I say.
“Who knows, but let’s go get a drink before we check it out. I promise I’ll win you a teddy,” Chase says draping his arm over my shoulders and turning me in the direction of stairs.
Once we get up the stairs, Chad is waiting with a tray of drinks. He passes beers to each of the guys and a fancy looking blue cocktail decorated with a cherry and some fairy floss to Ally and I.
I take a long sip and let out a moan.
“God this is sooo good. It was one of the drinks from the birthday party, but this is new?” I ask Chad while pointing to the fairy floss.
“Good memory. This is the Ohana Colada. You both raved about it, so I thought it’d be a good choice for tonight. I just added my own little twist,” Chad explains.
“Thanks Chad,” Ally and I say at the same time.
“Fuck this really is good. What’s in it?” She asks Chad as she drops into a chair in a very un-ladylike way.
“Mango Rum, Malibu and Blue Curacao,” Chad tells her as she kicks her feet up on the chair beside her, her black Doc Martens on full display. Only Ally would wear boots under her five-thousand-dollar designer dress.
Smalls chuckles as he pushes her feet off the chair to sit beside her. “I like her,” he says, earning another death stare from Rhys.
“Don’t even think about it Jason,” Rhys growls.
That just causes Smalls to laugh even more. He moves his chair closer to Ally’s and rests his arm along the back of it. He leans down to whisper something in her ear, making her giggle.