Page 74 of Total Abandon

“Coward,” Mia hisses after him as I turn and paint a polite smile on my face as Sandra approaches.

“Was that Chase Walker?” she trills breathily, her striking gaze peering in the direction he just disappeared.

“Yep, the one and only,” I reply. A cloud of expensive-smelling perfume cloys in my nostrils. In fact, everything about this woman reeks of money. From the red bottoms on her heels to her neat little pink Birkin bag that rests in the crook of her arm.

“Gosh, he’s handsome.” The woman laughs, throwing endless locks of shiny hair over her slim shoulder.

“Don’t let him hear you say that, you might end up with a damp leg,” Mia says dryly. I snort into my hand and disguise it as a cough. Sandra’s perfectly painted brows twitch in what I’m sure would be a frown, but what I suspect to be Botox keeps them neatly pinned in place. I snatch up a cup of fruit punch from the table for something to do with my hands. It’s in a farm animal-painted paper cup, meant for the kids, and I find myself wishing it was something stronger.

“It’s Mia, right? Married to Mason?” Sandra enquires, her inquisitive gaze appearing to scrutinize my friend where she stands.

To her credit, Mia doesn’t so much as bat an eye. “Yes.”

“Congratulations, you did well to snag that one.” She sniffs and I don’t miss the subtle dig. Sandra clearly doesn’t think Mia a worthy match for her husband.

“He’s the one you should be congratulating. His wife is a ten out of ten knock-out with brains and a personality outside of shopping.” I totally shouldn’t have said it, but fuck, it feels good to see the slight widening of the woman’s eyes as she turns her assessment on me.

It’s only there for a second before it’s masked with a feline smile. “Of course! I only meant that many of my girlfriends tried and failed to get his attention over the years.”

Mia hums a noncommittal noise as she sips her champagne.

“Would you mind awfully if I had a moment alone with Chloe?” Sandra smiles, turning back to Mia. Yikes. My friend's sky-blue eyes slide to mine in silent question, and I nod.

“I’ll go and find Chase.” She smiles graciously at us both before walking away, her sandals slapping softly against the wood as she waves at someone she recognizes.

Sandra sighs happily and then shifts so that she is standing beside me, following my lead as I gaze out over the kids that frolic in the crystalline blue water.

“Of course, you’re the one I should really be congratulating.” She clicks her tongue, her French-tipped nail tapping on her champagne flute. I press my lips shut, not trusting myself to speak. “How did you do it? I would ask if you’re pregnant but I can vouch from personal experience that doesn’t work with him.”

“Well,” I start in a carefully measured tone, “I don’t see him as a free meal ticket, for starters.” My skin prickles and my attention is pulled to the right as though by a magnetic force. Two smoldering mahogany eyes are glued to my face from across the decking. Zeke’s jaw muscle ticks as he watches us, and I hold his gaze for a beat while Sandra laughs airily beside me.

“Oh no, honey,” she tinkles. “Thatis my free meal ticket and don’t you forget it.” The thin veil of saccharine sweetness is discarded as she points a long fingernail in the direction of Diego, who is giggling as he sits on the edge of the pool in his arm floaties.

My head rears back in disgust, acidic fury exploding in every cell of my body as the full weight of her statement hits me.That.Like he’s some possession to be wielded and manipulated for her own benefit. My nostrils flare as I suck in a cooling breath to try and dampen the flames licking at my insides. My hands shake and clamp tightly around the cup so that it buckles an inch.

“Thatis an innocent child who deserves more than a mother who rolls in once a year and treats him like a financial asset.” And with that, I lift my hand and dump the entire cup of fruit punch over her stupid glossy head. Her face melts into outrage and she squeals with indignation as I whirl on my heel and march away. Ignoring the shocked tittering of the guests who have clearly watched our encounter unfold, I storm through the French patio doors and down the stairs to the lower levels. I feel a strange fizzing in my hands as I hit the bottom of the last sweeping staircase, making a beeline for the kitchen.

“Chloe?” Hurried footsteps follow behind, but I ignore them.

I snatch open the freezer and grab a frosted bottle of vodka from the icy drawer. The momentary blast of cool air does nothing to quell the heat burning me up from the inside out.

“Chloe!” Zeke snaps and I round on him with a crystal glass in my other hand that I’ve just snatched from another cupboard.

“What?!” I bark, slamming the glass down on the island and yanking out the corked stopper on the vodka bottle.

“What are you doing?” He stands on the other side of the counter with his hands braced against the top, the veins in his arms bulging over thick muscle.

“Drinking, what does it look like?” The soft glug of syrupy vodka fills the silence that follows.

“Why are you drinking?” he levels cautiously as I throw back the contents of the glass and wince. The burn in my throat slips down into my belly, centering me slightly.

“Because your ex is a vapid narcissist who sees Diego as nothing but a paycheck and it makes me so fucking mad I could…I could…” I struggle for words as I slosh more vodka into the glass with shaking hands. “I could tear her perfect head from her perfect bodyand throw them both off the roof!” I yell, slamming the bottle down and downing my second glass of stringent liquid.

“As much as I would like to see that, I don’t think it would be a good idea,” he responds dryly, regarding me warily.

I scoff, flattening my own palms against the counter and staring at him as the vodka glows in my stomach. “I mean, seriously Zeke!” Misplaced anger spills out of me like lava, flowing full pelt in his direction. “What, you couldn’t find a decent human being to stick your dick in? Or is that not even a minimum requirement for you?”

He lets out a low growl from deep within his chest and pushes himself upright, rounding the island in three long strides until he’s towering over me. His hands snake around my upper arms, burning my skin as he glowers.