They both laughed and Serena rolled her eyes at the sophomoric jesting. Talk like this was the reason that she never related to boys, but something about what he said next burned into Serena’s brain. While essentially harmless, it felt like adding insult to injury on her pride.
Calmed down Patrick said, “I didn’t know you were into black girls, Ed. Is that new?”
Edward scoffed, “I like smart women.”
“And good bre*sts.”
Serena heard Edward chuckle before saying, “That’s true.”
Patrick’s phone rang and he stepped away to go answer it outside. Before Edward could depart, Serena made the split decision to come around the corner. She found him under the wooden archway with shocked eyes and a guilty expression on the rest of his face.
“Serena, I— I—,” Edward stammered as he looked for a way out of the corner he’d boxed himself into.
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“Tell me,” Serena said with a cutting tone. “Did you come up to me at the bar just to flirt with me? Was I just exotic-looking in the sea of skinny white girls? Or did you commit an even worse crime of trying to charm me because you knew exactly who I was, and you thought s*x could buy my company and me?”
Serena could see the hot flush on Edward Summerfield’s cheeks, and she was glad she’d burned him. In her mind, he deserved to be mortified, and not just in the darkened corner of the kitchen hallway. He deserved much worse in a public display. Serena’s head began to hurt she was so angry, and before Edward could respond she stormed off.
“Serena!” he called to her.
Spinning around, she glared at him as she shot back, “Don’t you dare put my name in your mouth, Mr. Summerfields! You many be the estate’s guest this week, but you are not mine.”
Edward deflated. Feeing beaten, Serena turned and walked back out to the party. As the noise of the crowd sounded around her, Serena remembered these people were her guests. This was her night to prove to her family that the last five years had meant something. She had to put on her business-like smile, and it seemed like such a herculean task to finish the day’s events. She plastered on a polite smile, and kept going with the welcome dinner. Her viticulturist was giving a event tour of the cellars, so as dessert was served Serena bowed out with a bottle of their strongest wine in hand.