Out of Mind by Jen McLaughlin Read Free Book Online

father called her over, and she turned to him and walked to the car.
    As she talked, she turned to Riley, smiled, and smacked his arm while also laughing at something he said. She didn’t hit me anymore. Was probably too scared to hurt me or some shit like that. As a matter of fact, she didn’t smile with me anymore. Not like that. I hadn’t seen her smile like that for way too long. Not even with me.
    But without me?
    She looked happy. A hell of a lot happier than she’d been.
    I grabbed the bottle of whiskey off the table and stalked out of the living room, out into the foyer, and headed for the servant’s entrance into the kitchen. I needed to clear my head. Maybe some fresh air would help me think clearly, since I couldn’t seem to do that anymore. Hell, if I was smart, I’d see the one thing that was staring me right in the fucking face, even if I was too selfish to admit it.
    She was better off without me.
    And she was better off with Riley.

I took my teal cashmere cowl off and peeked into the living room. Empty. Riley came up behind me and helped me remove my coat, and I smiled at him in thanks as I strained to see if Finn was lurking somewhere. He was nowhere to be found, even though he’d been with Riley only minutes before.
    Part of me wondered how that had gone. Finn had a tendency not to like guys who were my friends, so it made me think maybe Finn tried to scare Riley off. Or maybe he’d been as taken in by him at the first meeting as I’d been. Something about Riley screamed for you to like him instantly. Outside, he’d been cracking jokes to me about how much my father kept pushing him toward me, despite my very real boyfriend inside the house.
    On top of that, he’d told me he’d met—and loved—Finn.
    That made me like him even more. He obviously had good taste. “Where were you two hanging out?” I asked him.
    “In the living room.” Riley hung my coat on the coat stand and motioned me forward. “I’m sure he’s still there. Let’s go find him.”
    We walked into the living room, but it was clear he wasn’t there anymore. An empty glass sat on the table, but nothing else. “He’s not here.” I picked it up and sniffed it. Whiskey. So, he’d been drinking. “But he obviously was at one point.”
    “Yeah. With me.” Riley watched me closely. Too closely. “That’s my glass, though. Not his.”
    Hope surged through me. “Oh. He wasn’t drinking?”
    “He was. He must have cleaned up after himself when he left.” Riley shrugged. “He must’ve put the bottle away, too.”
    I swallowed hard. He’d probably taken it with him to finish it off. But Riley didn’t need to know that. I’d hoped that after last night, he might not feel the need to drink himself into oblivion. I’d hoped… It didn’t matter what I’d hoped.
    It hadn’t happened.
    I gave Riley my back while I composed myself. Once I was ready, I turned to him with a bright smile. “I can get you a refill, if you’d like.”
    “Yes, please.” He hesitated, reached for my hand, but dropped it by his side without me having to reject him. Good, because I didn’t want to. “Are you okay, Carrie?”
    “I’m great,” I said, forcing a cheerful note to my voice. “I mean, it’s hard to see him like this.” I motioned toward the empty glass. “But he’s working his way through it. We’re working our way through it.”
    “I didn’t ask how he was.” He stepped closer, watching me from under his lashes. “I asked how you are.”
    I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I told you. I’m fine.”
    “Carrie…” He looked over my shoulder and smiled brightly, changing his tone of voice. “Ah, there you are. We were about to send out a search party for you.”
    Finn stood in the doorway, watching Riley and me with narrowed eyes. When I smiled at him, he smiled back, but I could see the look in his eyes didn’t match. Not at all. If anything, he looked sad. He set down his empty glass, and put the