I shoved my way through the bathroom door and strutted confidently back to our table. Caroline might have wanted Freddie, she might have thought he belonged to her, but the fact remained: he wanted me. He chose me.
By the time I arrived back at the table, everyone was listening to Caroline tell a story. She was smiling and laughing along with Freddie and Kinsley. What a crazy bitch. I leaned forward, cut her off midsentence, and flashed a seductive smile at Freddie.
“Freddie, could I speak to you for a second?”
Caroline’s sharp eyes flashed up to me in shock. I smiled. What do bullying bitches do when you stand up to them? They run and keep quiet. They slink into the background and convince themselves it’s not worth it anyway. I wasn’t going to stay quiet. Caroline wanted me to cower in fear, but I was stronger than her. I’d tell Freddie about Caroline and we’d deal with her together.
I was going to win.
Caroline reached out and gripped my arm, digging her nails in just gently enough so that no one would notice. I bit down on the inside of my mouth to keep my expression normal.
“Actually, Andie, I was hoping you could settle something for me.” She pulled her phone out of her purse with her free hand and held it up, angled so that only I could see the small screen. “Is this you in the photo? It’s such a great action shot. They must have taken it during one of your games.”
I slid down into my seat and felt the color drain from my face.
She wasn’t showing me a photo from a game; she was showing me a photo of Freddie and me from Mascarada. My red mask had slipped off just enough to make me recognizable in the hazy light. My red dress was bunched up on my thighs, and though you couldn’t see anything past the hem, Freddie’s hand up my dress was damning evidence all on its own. I had no clue how she’d found it, but she’d made it perfectly clear what she planned on doing with it. As if to prove her point, it was already preloaded into an email on her phone with a subject line that made my stomach drop.
Soccer Slut Seduces Frederick Archibald
“Is that you?” Caroline asked again, sending a chill down my spine. To the outside world, she was a happy, smiling angel. Only I could feel her fingers digging into my thigh beneath the table. Only I could see the email she was prepared to send if I didn’t leave Freddie alone.
“Yes. It’s me.”
“Andie?” Freddie asked. His voice sounded a million miles away. “Do you want to go talk?”
I shook my head quickly. “No…no. Never mind.”
Caroline smiled and leaned closer. “How wonderful. I do love that photo.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Andie
I’D SUDDENLY FOUND myself in the middle of a minefield. I could have grabbed the phone from Caroline and showed the table what she was doing, but Sophie Boyle was there, smiling and observing the entire scene from her perch across the table. Every move I made had to be perfectly calculated. If Caroline had that photo from the club, there was no telling what else she had packed away in her arsenal. I needed to tread lightly and respect Caroline’s psychosis.
“You hardly touched your dinner,” Kinsley said later as we walked out of the media dinner and slipped back into the car waiting for us out front. I had half a mind to check the brakes, but I shook away the thought. She didn’t want to kill me; she wanted me to leave Freddie alone, and that was exactly what I’d done.
I’d avoided him for the rest of dinner, all but ignoring his questions, even when they were specifically directed at me. He’d joined me when I stood to leave, offering to walk me out, but I’d avoided his hand and shook my head. He was so beautiful there, tall and commanding. He wanted to walk me out and I couldn’t let him. I had to walk away without so much as a promise.
As soon as my seatbelt was buckled into place, I reached for my phone in my clutch and started typing a text for him.
Andie: I’m sorry I pulled away from you as I was leaving. This isn’t going to make sense, but Caroline is a fucking crazy person. She cornered me in the bathroom and threatened to expose us if I didn’t stay away from you.
“So did you think the dinner—”
I cut Kinsley off. “Hold on.”
I could only concentrate on one thing at a time.
Andie: I thought she was bluffing, but she has a photo of you and me from Mascarada on her phone. That’s the picture she showed me when I got back to the table.
My fingers were flying over the keyboard; I had to let him know about everything as quickly as possible.
“Jesus, who are you texting?” Kinsley asked.
I tilted my phone screen so she could read what I’d already sent, and then I continued typing.
Andie: Do not trust her. She doesn’t want you to break off the betrothal and I think she’s prepared to go to extreme lengths to keep you. Please believe me. I know she seems meek and innocent, but she’s not, Freddie. She’s insane.