“Personal space,” she grumbled, pushing at my shoulders to no avail.
I hugged her tighter. “I’m being a sister,” I said cheerfully. “You said you didn’t want a parent, so you get your clingy sister.”
Penn eventually gave up fighting me, going limp as I hugged her. “You’re a loser,” she muttered, lifting her arms. Instead of trying to push me away again, she began typing the movie name into the search bar.
Friday, when Nellie texted me asking if I wanted to bring the kids to the playground in Biscayne Park, I knew it was time. She’d spent yesterday developing a plan, strategizing, and she was ready to lay it out for me. Even though I didn’t want to hear her no-doubt foolproof plot of my fake breakup with Jamie, I agreed, and packed the kids up around noon.
Nellie was sitting on one of the swings when we arrived, her dark hair pulled back into a high ponytail, a lightweight sweater falling off one shoulder. Her hand shot into the air as she spotted us, lips breaking into a grin. “Carmichaels!”
Junie rushed up to her, grinning. “Did Jamie come with you?”
“Ah, I see. I’m chopped liver. No, the bookworm decided to stay home.” Nellie scrunched her nose. “Loser.”
Junie gave an offended gasp on his behalf before they all navigated toward the play structure.
Nellie reached over and wiggled the swing chain beside her, indicating for me to sit down. “Hi,” she said, the sun lighting her face. “I’m glad you could come out. I’m glad Theo’s feeling better.”
I sat down on the swing, but froze at her words. “What?”
“What do you mean,what?” She frowned a little. “You said he was sick.”
I blinked. “You haven’t talked to Jamie?”
“No. Why?” Nellie glanced over to where Theo was climbing on one of the rock walls onto a platform, Penn trailing after him. “Why the ominous tone? Is Theo okay?”
“You haven’t talked to Jamie atallabout what happened on Wednesday?”
“Dude, Daisy, no. I haven’t really been home—Beck and I went on a picnic yesterday afternoon in Bayview, but he lost his keys in the grass, and we spenthourshunting for them. I haven’t really talked to Jamie since Wednesday. He said he was skipping book club and going to your house, but that was it. What happened?”
Yesterday, when I thought she’d been developing a plan, she’d really been stranded with her boyfriend. She didn’t knowanything.
“Jamie wants to break up.” The words were sour. “He said he was going to ask you to help figure out how.”
“Hewhat?” Her voice cracked high. “Why?”
I told her everything—well, almost everything. I told her about how I’d yelled at the kids, and that I’d left the house and called Dalton. Her face screwed up, but I told her how I realized he never really liked the big things about me, and that she’d been right—he was a jerk.
“So Jamie caught you two, misunderstood the vibe, and just… demanded you to end the fake relationship?” The line between Nellie’s eyebrows was deep. “That doesn’t sound like Jamie.”
“I think he just thought I’d lied to him again.” I dug my toe into the pebbles at my feet, gripping the swing chains tight. “And that I’d told Dalton about the fake relationship, which I didn’t. He just overheard us talking.”
Nellie didn’t seem convinced. “It’s still not like Jamie to get mad.”
He hadn’t seemedmad, though, but hurt. I’d assumed it was because he’d felt lied to, or like I hadn’t trusted him. As his best friend, I probably would’ve been hurt too if the roles were reversed. “What are you thinking?”
“S-T-R-A-N-G-E. That’s what I’m thinking.” Nellie’s dark eyes cut to mine. “What areyouthinking? How doyoufeel?”
The loaded question had me stuttering. “W-What do you mean?”
“Doyouwant to end the fake relationship? I mean, it sounds like it’s over, anyway, if Dalton knows. But now that you’re over him, there’s not really a reason to keep going anymore.”
There was a right and a wrong way to answer, a way to be tactful about it without oversharing. Because I’d told her everything that’d happenedexceptfor the fact that, somewhere along the way, I’d developed real feelings for Jamie. It wasn’t something that needed to be said aloud, especially not to Jamie’s twin. The right answer would be to tell her I agreed with Jamie, that it was time to end the fake relationship.
Except the wrong answer came out before I could stop it. “I like your brother.”
Nellie’s head turned at neck-breaking speed, looking at me in pure shock. “I’m sorry.What?”
I turned my face down toward the pebbles, hoping she’d blame the fire swallowing my freckled cheeks on the sun. “I like… Jamie.”
