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“I was never—”
“I didn’t tell him,” Forrest interrupted, while tapping his next finger as if counting down, “about the kissing booth, or about the Yellow Moon speakeasy in Minneapolis, or the Pour House in—”
“How do you know—”
“Or how you told him you were spending the night at Mitsy’s and she told her father she was spending the night out here, when in truth both of you spent the night in a boxcar in St. Paul because you missed the last train back to White Bear Lake.”
Lips pursed, she snapped her head forward. With the moonlight glistening against her profile, her eyelashes looked two inches long. He had to swallow.
“It’s impossible for you to know any of that,” she said.
“It can’t be impossible.” From the moment he’d hit town, he’d made it his job to know how she was doing. How all of the Nightingales were doing. Not doing so would have been impossible. The urge to protect Twyla and her sisters from Galen was even stronger now than it had been way back when.
She turned to look at him. “Yes, it is. You weren’t even around town when— You must be lying.”
“When they took place?” He shook his head. “The kissing booth was just a couple weeks ago. The boxing match last month.”
She folded her arms and beneath the sparkling dress, her breasts rose and fell as she sighed heavily. “Did you tell him any of that or not?”
Forrest picked a blade of grass and stuck it in his mouth, attempting to look thoughtful as she peered up at him. He was thoughtful, but he was attempting to not think about how she’d grown into the beautiful woman he’d merely caught glimpses of years ago. He recognized something else, too. The weariness in her eyes. She was far more tired than anyone could possibly know. He could understand why; her dancing alone would have exhausted most people. Tossing the blade of grass aside, he answered, “Not.”
She sat up straighter, and looked rather startled. “Why?”
“I said not,” he clarified.
“I know what you said. Why didn’t you tell him?”
Chapter Four
Twyla couldn’t believe Forrest hadn’t told her father everything. For a moment. Then it dawned on her as bright and unstoppable as a new day. Of course he hadn’t said anything. If he was in love with Norma Rose, he wouldn’t want to alienate her father by saying anything bad about any of the Nightingale girls. The fact he hadn’t said anything should make her happy.
Well, it didn’t. Instead a hard knot had formed in her stomach. One she didn’t appreciate, but one that also reminded her that Forrest being in love with Norma Rose had always been a problem. The fact it still was, was no surprise.
“I didn’t tell him,” Forrest said, “but that’s not to say I won’t.”
“And who’s to say I won’t tell him what you’re up to?” she asked, mainly out of spite.
“Which is?”
She rolled her eyes and turned to settle her gaze on a yellow shaft of moonlight shimmering against the water. The sight was familiar; her bedroom window faced the lake and she’d spent many nights staring out at the water, listening to the music below and dreaming of the time she could be a part of all the fun. Like it had many times in the past, the soothing and tranquil image made her lids heavy. She had a reason to be tired. The sun had barely risen when she’d crawled out of bed this morning to finalize the preparations for Palooka George’s party. The party was still going strong, and therefore she needed to be, too. It was what she’d always wanted, and she wasn’t about to complain now that she had it. Exhausted or not.
Twyla seemed to catch her second wind right then, a little internal blast of energy that told her the party wasn’t over. She wasn’t done. The chef best leave the oven on because there’d be no poking a fork in her. She wouldn’t be done for hours. Her spine grew stiff and firm as she deliberately turned her head slowly to deliver her best I-dare-you-to-deny-it gaze. It was time for Forrest to know that she knew the real reason he was here. “Which is,” she repeated, “that you are still in love with Norma Rose.”
Forrest lifted a brow and the smile that appeared on his lips grew slowly, methodically. Twyla felt her shoulders sinking and she held her breath as she tried to decipher his reaction.
“Still in love with Norma Rose?” he said.
It sounded like a question, and she responded, “Yes, you’re still in love with Norma Rose and you’re trying to break her and Ty apart.” For good measure, she added, “It won’t work.”
