Page 53 of One Reckless Moment

Taylor and Micah swung the door open before we even knocked and tackled us both in hugs.

“Come on, we have drinks,” Micah announced before grabbing us by the wrists and dragging us both inside.

Micah Shaw was one of the feistiest girl I’d ever met. While Taylor was the girl you wanted to cry to about your breakup, Micah was the girl who would slash your exes tires and leave no evidence. She also looked incredibly out of place in our group. She had jet black hair, tattoos up her arms and legs, and piercings all over her body. When the girl put on a cowgirl hat and boots, I swore the cowboys looked like they were going to cream their pants.

Micah dragged us into the kitchen where she had martini glasses lined up with bright pink liquid in it.

“I call it The Pink Paige.” She smiled, handing us each a glass. I took a small sip and hummed as the sweet strawberry flavored gin lit up my taste buds.

“I feel honored to be the subject of your latest concoction.” I smiled warmly at my friend.

Lottie, Taylor, Micah, and I were sort of known for our girls’ nights. Micah was a bartender in Seattle and she was always trying out new drinks on us. On more than one occasion, they were so strong the guys had to come to our rescue. Cash had dragged me out of this house more times than I cared to admit.

Maybe it was weird to always call him, but my brothers were protective. When I needed a ride or someone to lean on, it was easier to call Cash. I knew without a doubt that he would show up every time. Cash and I would argue and tease each other, but when it came to my safety he never passed judgment.

“Okay, enough small talk. Tell us about the boy,” Taylor clapped as she settled onto a stool at the kitchen island, cupping her drink. She glanced around the room and smiled. “You know…this is giving me déjà vu to last summer.” She laughed.

Last summer when Lottie brought Owen home for the first time, we had a girls’ night where we all grilled her about her new, mysterious fiancé. We didn’t know it at the time, but it turned out that Lottie and Owen had constructed this whole fake engagement so Lottie wouldn’t be pressured to get back together with her gross childhood sweetheart.

In the time they spent convincing everyone that their fake engagement was completely legit, they fell in real love. I was shocked when I found out that Lottie and Owen were old friends who hadn’t talked in over a decade. She spontaneously dragged the virtual stranger up to Montana to meet her entire family.

It hurt that she felt like she couldn’t tell me the truth before it all blew up. She couldn’t trust me with that secret.

I guess it worked out for some people—the secrets and lies.

I took a moment to settle my nerves and faced my friends.

“We just kind of realized we had always been in love but we were afraid to tell everyone. I mean, Walker punched Cash in the face, so the assumption that people would be angry was right.”

“And?” Taylor gestured for me to continue.

I shrugged. “We didn’t see a point in waiting. Neither of us wanted a wedding really,” I lied. “So we figured why not just do it?”

Micah laughed out loud before taking a sip of her drink. “You’re kind of wild for that, P.”

“I just knew you guys liked each other,” Taylor gushed.

The girls had teased me for years about the suspected crush I had on Cash. They used to insist that our fighting was some form of fucked-up foreplay. They weren’t questioning my stories because they loved knowing they were right. To them, this entire marriage was inevitable. But, there was one person in the room that I feared could see through my bullshit.

I risked a glance at Lottie, who was suspiciously quiet. Lottie was the type who could never keep her opinions to herself. She was bold and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind so her silence was a bad sign.

“What was with you guys hating each other, though? You really sold that for sure,” Taylor asked.

“It’s weird, right?” Lottie piped up suddenly, looking at Taylor and Micah, but avoiding my eyes. “I mean, to go to such extremes to lie to your family about hating the guy you’re in love with is weird.”

“Say what’s really on your mind, Lo.”

If she wanted to have it out, then we just needed to do it. I couldn’t handle the silence and passive aggressiveness anymore.

“You could have told me,” she spat.

“I couldn’t tell anyone.”

“You lied to me for an entire year.” The hurt in my sister’s eyes broke my heart.

I hadn’t lied to her for a year, but I sure as hell was lying to her now.

“I didn’t lie, exactly. Cash pisses me the fuck off like ninety percent of the time.”