"You feel like dancing?" Kade asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I look up to see Tag has disappeared. I hope Kade doesn't notice whatever Tag did. I really don't want him running off.
"Something wrong, Raya?" Kade asks as he pulls me onto the dance floor and starts moving me with the elegant music being played by a stringed-quartet.
"Just... Is there something wrong with me that I can't see?"
He tilts his head, seeming bemused. "Why do you say that?"
I glance over to see Tag pulling a girl onto the dance floor, and her dreamy-eyed state reminds me of how I feel around Kade these days. Though I don't want Tag, I'd still like to know what flipped his switch.
"Tag Masters... he acted like there was something wrong with me."
He rolls his eyes as a teasing grin forms. "Don't tell me you're Tagged," he jokes.
I've read that somewhere. The girls who fall over themselves for the rich player are called Tagged.
"No, I just don't particularly like feeling as though there's toilet paper stuck to my shoe or something. I looked in the mirror, but I don't see anything standing out. So, I'm asking you."
He glances down and stares directly into my eyes as he towers over me. "There's nothing at all wrong with you, Raya. Just dance. Lighten up. Then we'll grab some champagne. Tag doesn't have a very big attention span."
"How do you know him?"
"He's my cousin's best friend. My Aunt Melanie pretty much raised him, so he and Wren grew up like brothers."
His jaw seems a little tense for no real reason. I'm starting to worry I've made him mad somehow.
"How did I manage to piss you off?"
Just like that, his anger flees and a smile brushes his lips. "You didn't. I just don't want you going after someone like Tag. He's like family to me, but he's not exactly the kind of guy who sticks around for longer than a night or two."
I roll my eyes while biting back a grin. It's actually adorable he feels that protective. I suppose we've become friends after all.
"Well, I wasn't trying to get in his bed. I was sincerely worried I had something wrong with me that I couldn't see."
He seems to relax under my touch, and he pulls me closer just as the music changes. "You're very hard to read sometimes, Raya."
I tilt my head while leaning back. "What does that mean? Is that what's wrong with me?"
His harsh exhale is accompanied with a small chuckle. "No. Like I said; nothing's wrong with you. Ready to drink?"
After meeting his cousins, Billy and Wren Price, I've decided the family tree is loaded with delicious apples. Though Billy is shorter than the rest, he's still striking, as is his older brother, Wren. Neither of them are as breathtaking as Kade, but it's still obvious this family has a rich gene pool.
Tag and Wren seem closer than Billy and Wren, but I'm sure I don't know everything behind that. Kade surprised me with his interaction with his grandparents. He was a little... stiff.
When he speaks about his grandfather, his eyes gleam with pride, but in the same room with him, he seems so formal and rigid. I was sure I'd get to see him connecting with someone. He's always so... closed off. And he says I'm hard to read.
It's obvious there's a rift between him and his dad, though I can't understand why, since Mr. Colton is one of the nicest people at this party. He seems comfortable with Wren, Billy, and Tag, but I was hoping to see something deeper when he was in the room with the man he seems to adore.
Mr. Grayson, Kade's grandfather, seems just as proper and stuffy with him. He barely offered me a cold acknowledgment. It's not what I expected.
As the evening winds down, more and more people filter out. Soon, all that's left is the family... and me. His grandparents offer stilted farewells and shallow hugs, while Tag, Billy, Wren, and Kade's parents all flop down in the grand den.
The fake fireplace sparks its faux flames - intended for ambience rather than heat, since it's warm outside.
"I'm exhausted," Wren groans, stretching out on the couch.
Tag is texting someone, probably a girl, and Billy is doing the same. Kade tugs me to be beside him on the small sofa next to the fake fireplace.