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Then she’s gone, literally hustling away like she’s in a rush to do something or whatever crazy, nosy women do when they’re not keeping tabs on the condoms you’ve bought or not bought.
“Can you believe that?” I ask Max, who is notably a few shades paler than a few moments ago.
“Change is in the bags with the receipt,” Max states, shoving the bags at me like they’re contagious.
“Everyone in this town is acting even weirder than usual,” I grumble as I take the bags.
When I reach the door, I see Max picking up the phone, his eyes darting to me very suspiciously. Great. Now I sound like Lilah. She’s the one suspicious of everyone. Not me.
I walk to my apartment, since it’s not far, and raise my flag before heading in. Shit. I forgot to lower my flag at Liam’s house.
Maybe one of the Vincents will do it.
My screen door is broken, so I actually have to use my front door for a change, and that blocks out a ton of natural light.
This day sucks, in case it isn’t clear enough yet.
Just as I get my paint put down, someone knocks at my door. Lilah walks in without waiting on me to call her in.
“Hey, I thought I saw you leaving the hardware store.”
“Were you banging your husband in the parking lot again?” I ask her, trying and failing to smile.
Her lips purse as she studies me. “Benson is helping my brothers with the water cannon.”
“Seems to be the thing to do today,” I say with a little more bite than I mean to.
“Okay, what’s wrong?”
Huffing out a frustrated breath, I go to drop down on my couch. Lilah takes a seat near me, her eyebrows up.
“Fine. I’m only telling you this because I feel like an idiot.” Taking a deep breath, I say, “I think Liam told me he loved me.”
“You think he did?” she asks incredulously.
“There were two really intense orgasms,” I decide to point out. “Then a quick disappearing act like he’s never done before.”
“Are you sure he didn’t fart?” she asks seriously.
“See? You understand me,” I groan. “But the more I think about it, I’m pretty sure he did say it. And since he ran, it either freaked him out because he didn’t mean to say it, or he regretted it.”
“He didn’t regret it,” she says immediately, acting like she was there and knows this for a fact. That’s Lilah. “Did you say it back?” she adds.
“Of course not,” I tell her. Did she miss the part where I wasn’t sure if he said it or not?
She gives me a look.
A have-you-pieced-it-together-yet look.
“What?” I prompt on a groan.
“If he said it and you didn’t say it back, then…” She lets her words trail off, and I just stare at her, waiting for this big revelation she thinks she’s stumbled upon with all her married-life wisdom. A ring does not make you smarter at relationships, but she hasn’t figured that out.
She rolls her eyes.
“For fuck’s sake, Kylie, if you didn’t say it back, then he felt like an idiot.”
For a second, I’m confused. Then my eyes widen, my lips part to form an o, and I face palm myself.
“By George, I think she’s finally got it,” Lilah says sarcastically, while blowing a piece of hair out of her face. “Come on. Aunt Penny gives a great ‘love’ pep talk to help you sort out your feelings.”
“I don’t need help sorting out my feelings,” I tell her, not even bothering to ask what a ‘love pep talk’ is. I’m not sure I want to know.
I really am an idiot, and that’s my main point of focus right now.
Before she can say anything else, someone starts banging on my door. Really? I’m never this popular, and the first day I’ve been here for longer than it takes to pack a bag, I suddenly have visitors everywhere.
Nila stumbles in with Krysta, both of them slamming the door behind them and fighting to look out the peephole.
“What are you two doing?” Lilah asks, looking at them like they’re crazy people.
“Do you think they saw us come in here together?” Nila asks Krysta as she shoves her aside and takes another turn at the peephole.
“I have a window right there,” I say, pointing beside the door, but they both ignore me.
“So what if they did? This is important! They can fuck off today,” Krysta tells her. “We didn’t get to be there for Lilah because we heard the news late.”
“That’s because we went camping to get closer to nature—your suggestion,” Nila reminds her.
“What news?” Lilah asks, sounding just as confused as I feel.
Nila turns and exhales heavily, as Krysta turns and runs a hand through her hair. Both of them look at the bag I have on the floor, and Krysta goes to look inside it.
