AllFreeNovel
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“Maybe I didn’t turn him down,” she sasses.
“Vi, stop fucking around.” He stalks toward her, invading her space, but instead of stepping back, she steps into him going toe for toe. “I know you.”
“You don’t know shit about me. Maybe I wanted a side by side comparison.”
Blake meets my eyes with awhat the fucklook and I shake my head. Now is clearly not the time. This is interesting, though. The fact they already fell into bed together gives me hope for all of us.
“I damn near split you in two last night. I know you haven’t been fucking anyone.”
Holy. Shit.
“Maybe I was lying.” She tilts her head back, eyes locked on West.
“You’re a shit liar, Vi. Always have been, especially to me.”
“I hate you,” she seethes.
“Hate, love,” he shrugs, “just two sides of the same coin, and as long as I’m stuck in the same place as you, I don’t give a fuck which side you end up on.”
“Enough.” Blake’s voice cuts through their staring contest. “Violet, could there be anyone who would want to do this?”
“No. I live a very quiet life here. Besides Lars and Emerie, I don’t really interact much with anyone.”
“Except Captain Crabs,” West mumbles under his breath.
“What was that?” Cherry looks over at him, voice laced with acid.
“You don’t think the guy you were with last night was expecting anything?” Blake asks, gently redirecting her.
“Like sex?” She rubs her temples. “No, he’s never been pushy.”
“But he’s asked you out repeatedly over the years.”
“Yeah, but last night was the first time I ever said yes. And I told him I just wanted to have one beer and relax. After four years, everyone in this town knows me. I’m quiet and keep to myself. No one has a reason to want to do this.”
“What about—”
West shakes his head, knowing I’m going to bring up her uncle.
“What about what?” she asks, turning toward me.
“I mean, could Captain Crabs have followed you up and done this to frame us?”
“His name is Mitch, and that’s not his style at all. He has no trouble getting anyone he wants.”
The three of us share a look over her head. We all know exactly how far we’d go to get Violet back and keep her. There isn’t a boundary we wouldn’t cross. But she doesn’t see what everyone else sees when they look at her, or come to know her. She doesn’t see that she’s endgame.
“So you really didn’t do this?” she asks us, doubt creeping into her voice.
“Pinky swear we didn’t.” West holds his pinky out, waiting as the internal battle wages in Cherry. She hesitantly hooks her finger around his and he pulls her close, their foreheads touching. “Last night meant everything to me and none of it was a lie.”
She nods and relaxes against him. Thank fuck. We don’t need to keep going one step forward and two back with her.
“I need a ride to work. I’ll be late as it is.”
“Okay, we’ll take you,” I tell her.
“I’ll call and have someone tow your truck into town for new tires,” Blake says.
