Page 32 of Fake Dark Vows
Damn, I wish she wouldn’t do that.
“Rookie mistake.” I drag my eyes away from her, and check the controls. “My mom might know how to dress a table and enjoy a few cocktails before dinner, but she’s a Weiss. She’s probably more competitive than me and Damon together, and she’ll expect the same level of drive from her guests.”
Rose studies the ocean. She almost looks hurt, as if I just shattered her illusions of my mom, and I cuss under my breath for revealing too much. I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone about my mom’s relentless energy and ambitions. Why would I?
So, how did I get sucked into it now?
I make a mental note-to-self to keep my mouth shut and focus on the challenges.
“If I know Damon, he’s probably already at the Rain Barrel Village. You have to understand,” I continue, “my parents’ friends are all cut from the same mold. Every single one of them will have figured out the fastest route and done their research to save time.”
It isn’t cheating. I’m simply playing to win. So, why am I still talking, and why won’t she look at me?
Rain Barrel Village is an oversized shack, surrounded by palm trees, with a one-legged pirate in the entrance and a giant lobster named Betsy outside. It looks exactly as the name suggests, like someone cobbled together a building using scraps of wood washed up on the shore. Despite the tourists milling around outside and taking selfies with Betsy to post on their social media accounts, there’s something fresh and welcoming about the place, like rocking up at your grandparents’ house and finding your childhood treehouse.
“It’s beautiful,” Rose breathes.
She stops and soaks it all in, open-mouthed, like she’s just arrived at her first red-carpet event, and I wonder how she would look in a figure-hugging evening dress with her hair swept up and diamonds around her neck.
“Brandon?” She watches me carefully and I realize that she must’ve asked me a question. “I said, can we take a selfie with Betsy the lobster before we go inside?”
“Selfies are for tourists.”
It’s a typical Brandon-Weiss response—they literally roll off my tongue, and for once, I wish I’d reined it in a little. Even I understand that we’ll get through today a whole lot quicker without the abrasive bickering between us.
“I am a tourist,” she says.
“Look, Rose, a crabby!” Georgie points at Betsy and runs over to the giant lobster.
Rose keeps up with the child—Damon might not have acknowledged his own daughter in Key Largo, but there’s no way Rose is letting the child out of her sight.
I follow them, scanning the crowds for a glimpse of Damon and Jennifer, and releasing a breath I didn’t realize I was holding when there’s no sign of them.
“Brandon, will you take a picture of us, please?” Rose stands with my niece in front of her, the lobster in the background, and without thinking, I oblige by sliding my phone out of my pocket. “Say, cheese,” she says to Georgie.
I center them on my phone screen. Georgie pouts, her face scrunched up, eyes squinting into the sunlight, but it’s Rose’s smile that I’m focused on when I click the green button multiple times. I can’t work out if it’s guilt over the wager with Damon, but there’s something in that smile that’s making me question my initial impression of Rose Carter.
“Can I see?” she asks, coming closer.
“Later.” I clear my throat, annoyed at the huskiness in my voice. “We have some shopping to do.”
“Are we going shopping?” Georgie asks. “Can I get a baby?”
“We’ll see.” Rose widens her eyes at me. “I didn’t bring any money.”
“Lucky I did then.”
I turn around and head inside the Rain Barrel Village Store, reminding myself that she isn’t scamming me for money—she wasn’t even supposed to be here. It’s a hard habit to break.
Rose and Georgie stop to admire everything, and I’m starting to think that I should’ve left them on the boat.
“Shell necklace,” Georgie says, poking some strings of shells hanging over a rack.
“Dolly, Rose.”
“Look, Rose, it’s the crabby from outside.”
“We’re not buying a crabby,” I say, using the child’s terminology for Betsy the lobster. “We’re here to find something unusual.”