I freeze, feeling every pair of eyes in the vicinity turn toward me. “Uh—”
“This was my party!” Valerie yells, stomping toward me with the energy of a five-year-old denied candy. “You think you can just take over? With this—” she gestures wildly at the setup around us—“this… this… ugh!”
I don’t think there’s a way she can insult the set-up. Luca did a pretty damn good job with everything—which left even me rendered speechless, and in lack of a good comeback.
The man in question chooses that moment to saunter up just as Valerie is in mid-tantrum, her feet stomping up tufts of sand as she screams—his grin wide and unapologetic. “Now, now, Valerie,” he says, smirking. “No need to push the panic button. We’re all just here for a good time, right?”
Valerie’s face twists into something resem
