Maid of Dishonour. Heidi Rice

will you quit teasing her? It’s not funny.’

      ‘If that’s supposed to be a joke, it’s in really poor taste,’ Marnie said, sounding like a child having a temper tantrum—naïve and judgmental and impossibly young, the way Gina had never been. ‘Missy would be heartbroken if Carter broke his vow,’ Marnie finished and Gina could have sworn she heard the rest of the sentence reverberating in her head.

      Especially with a tramp like you.

      Gina suddenly felt painfully sober, the buzz of alcohol clearing to make her feel reckless and vindictive. Carter had walked away from her determined to throw himself on the mercy of the Virgin Queen—but she wasn’t going to keep his secret. Because she wasn’t ashamed of what they’d done. She wasn’t ashamed of the pleasure they’d shared, and she refused to regret the connection they’d made. It had been real and valid, even if it was only ever meant to be for one night.

      ‘Don’t upset yourself, Marnie.’ Reese patted Marnie’s back, as her mother hen tendencies came charging to the fore. ‘It’s just Gina’s British sense of humour.’ Reese sent her a quelling look, that held a trace of censure, but a much bigger trace of confusion. ‘Stop being so cynical, Gina, and tell her the truth. I don’t know what’s gotten into you tonight.’

      Gina heard the exasperation in Reese’s voice and knew exactly what had gotten into her friend, the Park Avenue Princess, because it was written all over Reese’s face, and had been ever since she’d returned from her trip to New York for their final night together. Reese had fallen head over designer heels for that marine she’d met in some diner. She’d seen Reese caressing the dog-tags under her shirt, when she thought no one was looking. And she’d announced earlier in the evening that Mason was ‘The One’... As if she were quoting a line from one of those fluffy chick flicks she often forced them to endure on movie nights.

      Bitterness and something that felt uncomfortably like envy scoured Gina’s throat, making her want to hurt Reese too.

      Reese the hopeless romantic, who actually believed in love at first sight. Thank goodness she’d never be daft enough to believe such an idiotic concept. Any more than she’d be dumb enough to fall for Marnie’s dictates on the ‘proper way to conduct a committed relationship’.

      ‘Actually, Reese, the only thing to have gotten into me is Carter Price’s stallion-like—’

      ‘Stop, don’t say any more,’ Marnie shouted, covering her ears like a child that didn’t want to hear the truth. ‘It’s not true. It can’t be.’ But Gina could tell the truth had sunk in as tears leaked out of Marnie’s eyes. ‘You’re lying. Carter wouldn’t do something like that. He has integrity. And he loves Missy.’

      ‘He may love Missy, but he made love to me.’

      ‘Gina, you didn’t,’ Reese whispered, hugging Marnie now, her confusion replaced with sadness and concern. ‘How could you do something like that? You knew he was engaged.’

      Because I talked and he listened. And he talked and I listened. And we touched and kissed and held hands and it meant something. Because he was smart and funny and tender and when he looked at me I felt sexy and special, instead of sexy and shallow.

      But she didn’t say any of those things, because they weren’t really true. It had just been an illusion conjured up by the sultry summer night and the heady pheromones that had intoxicated them both—and it had all disappeared by morning. So she said the thing that had been true all along—before she’d gotten tripped up by feelings that she now knew she should never have trusted.

      ‘I did it because he was hot and he was begging for it. Why do you think?’

      Reese swore softly. While Marnie jumped to her feet, her face contorted with anger and disgust. ‘But he’s engaged to be married. Don’t you have any honour at all? How could you be such a...such a tramp?’

      Gina forced herself not to flinch. She’d been called a tramp before; in fact, she’d been called a great deal worse than that by her own father. But it was the first time it had been said by someone who meant something to her.

      ‘She’s not the tramp,’ Cassie announced as they all turned to see her with the newly opened bottle of champagne frothing over her fingers. ‘She’s not the one who was engaged to be married. He is. Blaming Gina for his infidelity is just another example of the double standard that—’

      ‘You knew?’ Marnie interrupted Cassie before she could get into full feminist lecture mode.

      ‘Yes. She told me the morning after it happened.’

      ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ Marnie cried, the emotional outburst in sharp contrast to Cassie’s calm, unblinking stare.

      ‘Why would I tell you? It was between Carter and Gina.’

      ‘Because Carter’s my brother and his fiancée is my best friend? Because I’m going to be her maid of honour. Because this is a disaster.’ Marnie collapsed back into her seat. ‘I can’t tell Missy. She’ll be devastated. The wedding’s in a week’s time. And Missy’s devoted herself to planning it for over a year.’

      ‘Don’t worry, he’s not cancelling anything,’ Gina supplied. ‘He went back to her, didn’t he?’ She inspected her nails, battling the clutching pain in her chest as she maintained the charade that it didn’t matter, that she didn’t care. ‘I don’t know why you’re getting so worked up, Marnie. It was nice while it lasted but I didn’t want to keep him.’

      ‘I can’t believe I respected you. I liked you. I thought you were cool. When all you really are is a lying tramp who has no heart and no scruples.’

      ‘You got it in one, Scarlett.’ Gina stood up, taking the opened bottle from Cassie. ‘I’m the tart with no heart.’ A phrase she’d heard so many times from her father—and had always believed until a week ago, when her heart had put in a surprise appearance.

      She inclined her head towards the now dark athletic track, the buff male bodies they’d had so much fun admiring together over the months now gone for good. ‘Looks like the show’s over for tonight, so that’s my cue to leave.’ She sloshed a final slug of Reese’s priceless champagne into her glass and toasted them all. ‘It’s been a ball, but I’m off. I’ve got an early start in the morning for the flight back to London.’

      ‘Wait a minute, what about our road trip?’ Cassie asked, her eyes as round with concern as Reese’s now. ‘We’re booking it tomorrow, remember?’

      ‘I’ll take a rain check on that.’ She nodded towards Marnie, who was staring at her as if she had snakes instead of hair sprouting out of her head. ‘Right at the minute, I’m thinking I’d rather not spend three weeks in a car with Scarlett staring daggers at me.’

      She strode back through the house, Marnie’s harsh words and Reese’s concerned buzzing fading as she concentrated on keeping her back ramrod straight and the self-pitying urge to cry on lockdown.

      Cassie caught up with her on the stairs. ‘Gina, I don’t get it. You can still come on the road trip. Marnie will get over it. What her brother did with you really isn’t any of her concern.’

      But just as she finished saying it the high, angry shout of ‘whore’ echoed through the house, making them both stiffen.

      Gina pressed her hand to Cassie’s cheek. And wondered how her friend could be so scary smart and yet so clueless about the most basic of relationship dynamics?

      ‘We’ll see. I’ll speak to you tomorrow. See how me and Marnie feel then.’

      But she already knew, Marnie wasn’t going to forget it. Gina had made absolutely sure of that. Once again, she’d burned her bridges. Pushed the people away who mattered so she wouldn’t have to let them mean that much. She already regretted her outburst. The cruel, outrageous, provocative things she’d said. But it was too late to take them back now. And it was probably better that way.