Chapter 27~

(Rosie) I loop my arm through Petros' and lead him towards my office as casually as possible, feeling Carter's eyes on us the whole time. Once we're in my office, I shut the door and drop the niceties.

"You and your sister need to leave now."

Petros frowns. "What are you talking about?"

"It's not safe for you two to be here," I explain. "Not anymore. I called the PPP. They're on their way to take you guys somewhere safer."

"I'm not leaving," Petros says. "Not tonight. I've worked way too hard on this party not to see it through."

"Who cares about the party? I think Armanda figured out who you are and has alerted your aunt and uncle."

"They won't try anything tonight," Petros argues. "One night is not going to make a difference."

"It could," I argue back.

"You haven't been here the past week and a half," Petros says. "Carter's a mess. She needs tonight to go perfectly. We'll tell her about Armando tomorrow. You've been pretending everything's fine all day. You can keep it up for a few more hours."

"I don't want her alone with him." I feel my voice crack.

"I won't let him hurt Carter." Petros promises. "Or my sister. Everything's going to be fine."

(Carter) I step outside. The sun is shining, warming my skin. I pull my robe around me tighter, knotting the fabric tie loosely around my waist. It's the perfect morning for my birthday, but the last thing I want to do is celebrate.

My gorgeous boyfriend is standing by the pool shirtless mixing chemicals into the water. He smiles wide when he sees me. "Happy birthday, princess."

I don't smile back, not even when he slips his arms around me and smiles down at me, those big brown eyes so happy and full of love.

"What's wrong?" he frowns. "Are you mad I didn't get you a present? Cuz I promise you it's coming and it's gonna be amazing."

"It's not that," I promise. "It's just, Rosie's back."

"Isn't that a good thing?" He looks confused.

"Yeah, except she was never really in trouble. Her mom and Petros know where she was the whole time."

"So she was, what, like taking a vacation?"

"Something like that. She was super vague about it, kept warning me to keep an eye on you."

"That doesn't make any sense." Armando pushes my hair off my shoulders, then his face changes. "Where did you get that?"

I reach up and touch the necklace Rosie gave me. "Birthday present."

"From Rosie?" Armando's eyes narrow.

"No, my dad," I lie and I'm not sure why. "Pretty, isn't it?"

"Looks like the stuff my uncle makes." Armando rubs the smooth glass pendant between his index finger and thumb.

I try to ignore my racing heart. "I didn't know your uncle made jewelry."

"He's retired." Armando shrugs. "He's gotta do something."

"I'd love to go to his shop sometime," I reply.

"I'll take you before the end of the summer," Armando promises.

"Summer's almost over." I lace my fingers through his. "What are we going to do then?"

"It's a bummer we don't live in a technology age with cell phones and texting and video chat," Armando teases.

"Okay, I get it." I giggle. "It just won't be the same."

"I know," he says softly.

"At least I get you all to myself tonight." I smile.

"Not quite," he admits. "I just found out I have to work the party tonight. They're making me a waiter." He makes a disgusted face.

"That's ridiculous! You're not staff tonight. You're my date," I insist.

"Maybe you should take your little party planner," he sneers.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I snap.

"He's the one you spent the night with last night, right?"

"That's not fair." My face gets hot. "Nothing happened."

"Right…" Armando doesn't look like he believes me. "Look, it's your birthday, Carter. I don't want to start anything. We can just talk about it tomorrow."

"But nothing happened," I say again.

"I know." He kisses the top of my head. His grip on my arm feels rough. "I've got work to do. I'll see you tonight, okay? We'll sneak in a makeout session behind the ice sculpture." He winks.

"You're still my partner for the spotlight dance," I remind him.

"I'm sure my waiter uniform will look great on the dance floor," Armando says drily.

There's a bitterness in his tone that shocks me. I step closer and run my hand down his chiseled abs. He closes his eyes and sighs, then lets his mouth fall on mine. We kiss for a while until he gently pushes me back.

"Don't you have a party to get ready for?" he breaths.

"Okay, fine." I try to laugh, but it comes out wrong. "See you tonight."

As I walk away, I look back over my shoulder. He's leaning on his pool net watching me leave. Even as he meets my eyes and smiles at me, I can't help but feel like everything's changed.