Page 126 of Scatter the Bones

Rooster strokes his hand over his chin. “Probably that you’re a deviant fuckboy? Maybe how you tried to nail all the groupies when we were out on the road? Your MILF theory? Don’t know. Could be anything.”

Not liking any of those options.

“Shelby wouldn’t do that to me.” I wish I felt as confident as I made that statement sound.

“No, she wouldn’t. She likes Margot too much to hurt her feelings.” He leans in closer. “She likes you twotogether.”

“Good.” I jam my hands in my pockets. “I like us together too.”

Rooster bumps his shoulder into mine. “Then don’t fuck it up. You’re in control of your destiny.”

The way he says it sounds more like “you’re in control of yourdick.”

Which I am.

But damn, did he make some bad past decisions.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Margot

The few sipsof champagne I took have me lightheaded, feeling like a balloon bobbing along as Shelby grips my hand tight and leads me through the crowd.

Her emerald-green dress clings to her curves, shimmering with hundreds of beads and sequins that swing with every step—like a modern-day flapper gone glam, hypnotizing me as she pulls me into a long hallway. Although they’re dim, at least the lights are a normal color at this end of the clubhouse. The hellish red was starting to give me a headache.

She turns to the left and some of the noise from the party mercifully fades.

“Phew, that’s better!” Shelby slows her pace. “Sorry it took me so long to get my makeup done. Serena did Hope and Emily first. But if I’d known you were gettin’ propositioned by Stella, I would’ve come an’ grabbed ya sooner.”

“It’s okay.”

She releases my hand and stops in front of a door. I glance up and down the corridor, noting several doors. Some have little plaques tacked to the wall outside. The one we’re standing in front of saysSergeant-at-Arms.

“Knock, knock!” Shelby taps her knuckles against the door twice, then three times, then once. “So she knows it’s me.” She tugs at a fob dangling from a stretchy band around her wrist, presses it to a pad near the door. The lock clicks and Shelby twists the handle.

The door swings open, revealing a spacious bedroom. The tall blonde I only met briefly the night of the bonfire hurries toward us, motioning for us to come inside. In her hand, she’s holding an iPad with a video of a cute, chubby baby on the screen. She’s flawlessly made up—hair in a low, sleek ponytail and full makeup—but still wearing a button-down shirt and loose shorts. Goodness, it’s not the lighting that makes her so pretty in her makeup videos. Even in the harsh light of the room, Serena’s stunning in person.

Next to her I feel like a vampire who escaped her tomb.

“Sorry,” she gushes. “I had to check in with Lilly and make sure Lincoln was okay.”

“Hi, girls!” The video swings away from the cute baby and onto Lilly’s smiling face. “Hi, Margot!”

Feeling silly, I wave back. “Hi.”

“Oh, we’ve got a doozy for ya tomorrow, Lilly,” Shelby says.

Lilly snickers into her hand. “I can only imagine.”

Somewhere out of view of the camera, a deep male voice says something to Lilly.

She closes her eyes and shakes with laughter. “Z wants to know if the clubhouse is still standing?”

“Yeah, but it looks like the inside of a devil’s butthole out in the common room,” Shelby says.

Serena and I sputter with laughter.

“Wow.” Lilly’s eyes widen. “All right, then. Thanks for the visual, Shelby.”

---