Then they walked outside and turned down the block.
“Was this whole thing a ruse to get me to come and buy a dress?”
Marlowe shrugged. “Not a ruse, really. I’ve been wantingto go shopping. But I definitely had an ulterior motive in making it today.”
They went into the candy store next, and Lila bought bags of homemade fudge in a variety of flavors, while Cara bought some strawberry marshmallows that were apparently handmade in-house. She knew she’d discovered a new product she needed to do some experimentation with in her baking.
Marlowe went and got another coffee instead of indulging in sweets, and then they continued on their sojourn.
A tall man in a cowboy hat crossed the street, and a woman caught his arm, looking up at him with adoration.
It took a moment to recognize that it was Nolan, who she didn’t really think left the ranch all that often. He wasn’t Zane’s level of antisocial, but he wasn’t the friendliest man she’d ever met. He and Lila fought like cats and dogs.
She turned to look at Lila, who looked violent. Her expression was still, but there was something glimmering in her eyes that appeared dangerous.
Oh no.
Apparently, familiarity bred contempt, but it also bred other things.
She supposed it shouldn’t be that surprising.
But… It certainly wasn’t something that she had expected.
“That motherfucker,” she muttered.
“Oh no,” Marlowe said, her lip curling. “Let’s just… let’s not have you and Nolan come to fisticuffs on the street. Over nothing. It looks like he’s on a date anyway.”
“Please,” Lila said. “He doesn’t date. All he does is fuck around. And it’s the poor women who have to find out.”
“I can confirm that fucking around is actually quite fun,” Cara said, and she felt smug that she was able to contribute to the discourse in this way.
“Happy for you,” Lila said, sounding anything but.
“Who is she?”
“I have no idea,” Lila said. “I don’t think she’s local. He must’ve met her somewhere out of town and then baited her down here with the promise of…ew. That sounds like him. He’s always been… Well, not as bad as Walker, but just… Yeah, I caught him once. In his truck with some girl. I was about fourteen. It was horrendous. Didn’t need to see that. Don’t need to see it now.”
“Right,” Marlowe said. “Well, let’s cross the street…”
“Hey.”
They all turned because Nolan was basically flagging them down.
“Fuck you, you fucker,” Lila said, flashing her middle finger up at him. “Get wrecked.”
“Hi, Nolan,” Marlowe said.
“Hi,” Cara added, feeling slightly embarrassed at the scene that Lila was making.
Lila rolled her eyes, but smiled just slightly as they turned away from Nolan.
“What?”
“That was a little bit over the top,” Marlowe said.
“It’s our love language,” she said.
“Or something,” Cara said.
