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“What happened to that other boy? Stephen, I think it was? He seemed really nice.”
“That ended about a month ago. She was underwhelmed. He played too many video games and only took her out for fast food.”
Mom sighed through the phone. “She really knows how to pick them.”
“Hey, she did date Aiden for a while.”
“No comment.”
I laughed, finally feeling a little less shaken.
“What about your love life?” Mom asked. “Is there anyone special?”
I tipped my head back, staring at the ceiling. “No. There isn’t anyone special. There isn’t anyone period.” It’s not that I didn’t want to date, but so far I hadn’t exactly been impressed with anyone since my last relationship ended more than two years ago. Not enough to give them more than a couple of dates anyway.
“Maybe Aiden knows some nice guys.”
“I’m not letting Aiden set me up. Besides, the idea of any of his friends dating his cousin weirds him out. He’ll never do it.”
A timer dinged in the kitchen, and I dragged myself to my feet. Propping my phone between my ear and shoulder, I turned off the stove and started pulling dishes down from cabinets.
“Hey, Mom? Have you ever seen something you couldn’t explain? Something that shouldn’t have been possible?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m just stressed or something.”
“Sierra, is everything okay?” I hated the concern lacing her tone. It wasn’t that I didn’t want her to care about me, but she’d had enough to worry about in her life. I was supposed to be able to handle myself. I was twenty-one. I could do this whole living-on-my-own-with-a-friend thing with no real adults to make sure we did the basic stuff like waking up when our alarms went off and paying bills.
“Yeah, Mom. I’m fine. It’s just been a weird day.”
The back door opened, and Kylie came in. She dumped her Fountain of Youth visor on an end table, followed by her keys.
“Hey, Mom? Kylie’s home. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“All right. Love you.”
“I love you too.” I ended the call and started ladling soup into two bowls.
“How was the rest of your shift?” I asked Kylie.
She held up a bottle of cheap wine. “This good?”
I shook my head, carrying the food to the small round table in the corner of the living room. “What happened?”
“Did you know Aiden has a girlfriend?” I could tell she was trying to sound casual and nonchalant, but her voice trembled.
Oh shit.
This is why being best friends with your cousin’s ex is a questionable life choice.
“Where did you hear that?” I asked as I returned to the kitchen for wineglasses. I actually didn’t know if Aiden had an official girlfriend. I knew there was a girl, but there had been girls before. None of them had made Kylie buy a bottle of wine.
“Merida was talking to Joanna about it.”
“Joanna was at the café?” My aunt wasn’t big on coffee… or juices, smoothies, or restaurant food either.
Kylie dropped into a chair, pulling her hair out of its tight ponytail. “She was only there for a few minutes and she didn’t buy anything. I think she was just saying hi to Merida. She didn’t know I…” Her breath caught while she struggled to keep her emotions in check.
