Chapter 133

There’s a definite shift in dynamics after the drowning. Creed has stopped flirting with Ileana, and I rarely see Tristan and Harper in the same room. She is, however, still wearing her ring, and I can’t stop myself from thinking about William Vanderbilt and the crack of his palm against his son’s face. No matter what, Tristan won’t dump Harper. Not unless … I get Lizzie involved.

I put that plan aside for now. I can’t pair Tristan up with Lizzie until after I win my end of the year bet with Harper. There’s no way I can compete with Lizzie Walton for Tristan’s affections, so I’m not even going to try. Instead, I focus on casually working myself into situations where I know the boys will be present. They’re as standoffish and weird as they’ve been all year … at first.

But the more I try, the easier things get.

We’re nowhere near the level of ease and companionship that we had before, but I’m making progress. Of course, from my end, we’ll never have that sort of conn