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“Yeah, well, I’m not. Now I know he wasn’t worth my time, tight ass or no tightass.”
Lilac laughed then and reached for a tissue to blow hernose.
“Lilac, I’m in a storagecloset.”
“That’s a funny place tobe.”
“No funnier than hiding in my roommates’ front closet to get a cotton-pickin’ minute to myself,” he said dryly. “But okay… I want to hearit.”
“Frankie told me you already knew. I got drunk and—howdidyouknow?”
“The Nolan-of-the-sexy-voice texted me and I called him and we chatted about it,” he said. “He kept you safe forme.”
“Foryou?” asked Lilac,laughing.
“For both of us. Lilac, I didn’t mean the bender—I know about the bender. What I want to know iswhyyou went on a bender. It’s not likeyou.”
“So I keep reminding myself,” said Lilac. She blew a breath out and her lips vibrated. “I’m sorry I scared you. It won’t happenagain.”
“Okay,” said Gavin. “I’m glad to hear it. But, Li, you were upset yesterday morning and I… All day, I regretted not hearing youout.”
“You had other crises to deal with apparently.” Lilac was so jealous of Brielle in that moment. She had her hot new boyfriend and she had Gavvy a short drive away, and Gavin wasLilac’smore thananyone’s.
“What happened Saturday?” asked Gavin. “You texted me that you were going to a dinner meeting…” Gavin paused. “I’ve been thinking and well, did… did your boss do something toyou?”
It was a knife that stabbed into Lilac’s chest—from hundreds of miles away. “Gavin, he…” She started crying. And fifteen minutes later, by the time her aunt knocked on her door telling her her breakfast was getting cold, Lilac had told him—and only him, her poor burdened best friend—everything.
Chapter Ten
Nolan puthis Silly Sandgrouse suit on the same as anyone—one fluffy bird leg at atime.
But he was dawdlingtoday.
“Clock’s a ticking,” said Angie, his Tildy Scout caretaker for the second week in a row. “We’ve got Tildy brunch at the buffet, then after lunch we’re supposed to head out for photos in the B-area around theresort.”
Of course, Nolan knew all this, but Angie had a habit of repeating their schedule aloud, as if to commit it to memory. “I’ve never had a character out there late before,” she said, pacing in the break room, “and I’m not about to startnow.”
Nolan nodded and stuck one arm in his suit, staring across the room at Prince Beastly flirting with his Tildy Scout—Jo this week—and leaving poor Queen Animaliao—that would be Cheryl at the moment—off by her lonesome sipping tea from a straw beside a blowing fan. Her wig was rustling a tad off-center from the breeze, but he was sure Cheryl would fix it before she went outthere.
“Andthe other arm, please,” said Angie, grabbing Silly’s empty wing from where it dragged on thefloor.
“Just a second,” said Nolan, and he used his free hand to dig his phone out from his pocket and tap the screen with histhumb.
Nomessages.
Usually that was a good thing. It meant his dad wasn’t texting him to let him know Willow had gotten in trouble again and he was taking her homeearly.
But it’d been almost a day since Nolan had texted Lilac back—Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad we got you home. Feeling better?—and the most he’d heard from her was,I took a sick day.I’ll be back tomorrow.HisMaybe I’ll see you then!had only gotten anOkay!as aresponse.
He’d probably said all the wrong things. He couldn’t help it. He was a bit rusty when it came todating.
Dating. As if you’re going to be dating thisgirl…
“Are you kidding me?” Angie snatched the phone out of his hand and Nolan was so taken aback, he practically lost his bearings for a moment. “Phones go in the locker room, you know that.” She put it down on a nearby table gingerly with both hands as if handling a grenade. “You almost had me zip you up with a phone inside Silly. What if his thigh had started ringing? What was I supposed to say to campersthen?”
“I wasn’t going to take it out with me,” said Nolan, but as he reached for the phone, Angie used the opportunity to slide Silly’s vacant wing on his arm and flit around him in an instant to zip up the back of the costume. “Everything a-go?” she asked, picking up Silly’s head and cradling it beneath herarm.
Sighing, Nolan stared for a moment at his phone longingly. “Yes. All clear,” he said, finishing the Tildy Scout/mascot pre-deploymentcheck.
