AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She didn’t dare move.
No one else did, either, except Bryce, who waved to someone.
“Excuse me?” Lucas said very, very quietly.
“What? Oh, Colleen and me,” Bryce answered, and oh, sphincter damn and blast, Colleen’s legs turned to water.
“What do you mean, you and Colleen?” Paulie asked, her brows coming together.
Realization dawned on Bryce’s perfect face. “Oh. Uh...um...nothing?”
Colleen looked at Lucas, then immediately wished she hadn’t.
This was very bad. Very, very bad.
“Did you guys...date?” Paulie asked.
“Well, I wouldn’t, uh, call it dating,” Bryce said.
“This isn’t really the time,” Colleen began, her voice tight and strange.
“No, no,” Lucas said. “Whatwouldyou call it, Bryce?”
“Uh, um, I mean, we slept together, but—”
More silence, and then Paulie barked, “Are youkiddingme?”
Lucas was granite-still.
“This definitely isn’t the time,” Colleen whispered.
Paulie’s mouth was open. “YousleptwithBryce,Colleen?”
And the thing was, Paulie’s inside voice was more of an outside voice, and Didi and the minister and Mr. and Mrs. Forbes froze, and the song on the speakers was “Yellow Ledbetter” by Pearl Jam, for some reason, and who knew what that song was about, anyway? Sounded like the guy was speaking in tongues.
Focus, Colleen.“Um...I...” Colleen couldn’t seem to get her mouth to work.
What could she say, after all?
“This is—you know what?” Paulie said. “This is not my problem. Bryce, sorry about your dad. Lucas, see you around.” With that, she left.
Colleen swallowed. “Um...”
Lucas was glaring at Bryce, who gave her a panicky glance, then looked back at his cousin. “Lucas, bud, uh, remember the time I saved you?”
Then Lucas looked at her, and man, Colleen wished he hadn’t, because those black eyes were burning into her, andsonot in a good way. “Let’s talk about this in private,” she whispered.
“No need,” he said. He stood there a horribly long second, then turned and he walked out, dragging her heart behind him.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Bryce said.
She turned to him. “Bryce...”
“Shit, Coll, I’m sorry. I mean, I just...my dad and stuff, I guess I was feeling sentimental.”
“It was one time, and we both agreed never to mention it again! And come on! It wasn’t exactly meaningful.”
“Ouch,” he said.
