He didn’t want her to think that. He didn’t know why, but it bothered him.
So he plowed after her, into the bushes. Behind him, Strawberry Shortcake gave a huff of irritation, but she didn’t follow. Good.
The hedges in the massive garden seemed to be blocking his sight unless he went deeper in and left the party behind. Fuck the party anyhow. “Edie?” He called out as he stormed through the gardens, looking for a striped top and a woman with an awkward gait.
No answer. Of course not. He continued forward, moving around circular hedges and thorn bushes that grabbed at his clothing, swearing when he ran into a decorative fountain because he wasn’t paying attention to anything but the dark shapes at the edges of his vision. The big manor house was a distant square full of lights when he heard rustling in the nearby bushes. “Edie?” he called again.
Someone emerged from behind a hedge up ahead. Magnus slowed his steps cautiously. It was a man, and he could barely make out a tuxedo of some kind. Behind him, a smaller figure appeared, and for a heart-pounding moment, he thought it was Edie. But then the man looped an arm around the woman’s shoulders as she tried to straighten her clothing and Magnus realized the woman ahead was much smaller.
Not Edie, then. He’d interrupted a tryst. “Have you two seen Edie?”
“Magnus, that you?” the man said, stepping forward. He pulled off his mask.
Magnus groaned inwardly. Asher, the prick.
Asher gave him a broad, almost sinister smile. “What brings you out here?” He slapped the woman with him on the ass and she jolted, scurrying ahead of them, still fixing the buttons on her costume.
Ugh. Not only was Asher the last person he wanted to see, but Asher was apparently drunk and in one of his nasty moods. “I’m looking for someone,” Magnus said abruptly, turning away.
Asher laughed. “Oh, that’s right. I heard you were nailing the gimpy bridesmaid. The foul-mouthed one. Let me tell you, she must suck a mean dick for you to look past all that.”
Magnus’s fists clenched. He knew Asher was a miserable bastard despite his smiles, that he was normally a good guy but he’d turned cynical and bitter after his fiancée had left him. There were reasons to his boorishness, Magnus knew. He didn’t blame the guy . . . fully. But he needed to shut his fucking mouth. “Go away, Asher.”
Asher just stumbled toward him, clearly drunk. He tried to loop an arm around Magnus’s shoulders, but the football pads were in the way, so he settled for giving Magnus an awkward pat on the arm instead. “It’s okay, man. You’re just taking one for the team—”
That was a little too close to home. With a roar of fury, Magnus rounded on Asher and decked the man in the face.
Asher went sprawling to the ground. Pain shot up Magnus’s arm, but it was welcome, because it meant he’d connected with Asher’s fucking smug face.
“Oh my god,” a woman squealed. “Asher!” The tiny woman ran forward and began to help Asher up. Even as she did, Asher put his fingers to his mouth and gave Magnus a cynical smile. “Maybe she’s not so good at—”
Fists clenched, Magnus lunged for him again—only to be pulled back by a new pair of hands.
“No, Magnus,” Edie said in a soft voice. “It’s okay, seriously.”
“Yeah, Magnus,” Asher said, wiping blood away from his face. “It’s cool.”
Seething, Magnus glared at Asher for a moment longer before looking down into Edie’s worried face. In the moonlight, she was beautiful, her hand on his arm, stroking him. She was worried, her features pinched, and her luscious mouth was pulled down in an unhappy frown. She didn’t look over at Asher, though. She just looked up at Magnus with those big eyes and stroked his arm. His hand throbbed, a reminder of what he’d just done, but it didn’t seem to matter. All that mattered was defending Edie, who had no way to defend herself from people like Asher.
He wanted to be the one to protect her. To keep her safe.
“It’s okay,” she told him softly. “Really.”
He sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to calm down. “Get the fuck out of here, Asher,” Magnus told him without opening his eyes. “Or I might do something I’d regret later.”
“Like punching a buddy?” Asher said caustically, but from the sound of it, he was getting up.
“I said something I’d regret later ,” Magnus told him in a cold voice. “I don’t regret that.” Edie’s hand continued to pet his arm, his only anchor to sanity.
“Fuck you,” Asher said.
The gardens grew silent. When Magnus calmed and finally opened his eyes, Asher was gone. He looked over his shoulder and saw Asher retreating with his lady friend. Edie was still at his side, petting his arm, and the look on her face was one of concern.
He glanced down at where she was touching him. “How come you’re stroking my arm?”
Her hands snatched away. “Seems to work for cats.” Her tone sounded a little embarrassed, though it was too dark to see if she was blushing or not. “Are you all right?”
He was, and he wasn’t. He was because she was here now, at his side, and he was still pissed that she had to hear Asher’s bitter words and assume the worst, that he was taking one for the team. Because wasn’t that what he was doing for Bianca and Levi when they wanted to get together? Sacrificing his own free time so Levi could flirt? He hated himself a little for going along with it. Edie would be devastated if she found out the truth. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”