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“What girl?”
Yvonne looked at Kelli, who lifted a hand, gesturing for her to continue.
“The stupid one. You knew it wasn’t pretend.”
Sunnie swallowed heavily, not ready to admit that. “Finn will never accept this. Landon is his best friend. I’m his sister.”
“Oh my God,” Kelli said. “That girl is worse.”
Sunnie leaned back, exasperated. “Which girl is that?”
“The one who uses other people as excuses for her own stupidity. Go back to just being thick.” Kelli picked up her margarita and took a drink.
The weight that had been pressing down on her chest since she woke up this morning lifted a bit more, and Sunnie grinned, even as she said, “I hate both of you.”
Kelli laughed and kept drinking.
Yvonne smiled, unoffended. “No, you don’t. I’m your best friend/cousin. You’re crazy about me.”
Sunnie shrugged. “I think I’ve changed my mind about that. Might pick Caitlyn or Ailis for that role.”
“They have each other.”
“Fiona,” Sunnie said.
“She lives too far away. Besides, she’s got two gay best friends. She’ll never have time for you.”
Sunnie laughed, then the three of them fell silent for a few moments, eating chips, drinking margaritas, giving her a chance to let their words sink in.
Finally, she said the thing that had caused her stupid freak-out to begin with. “Landon thinks I’m in love with him.”
“You are.”
The more Yvonne kept pointing out the obvious, the more Sunnie wished she could rewind her morning freak-out. “Well, obviously I love him. I’ve always loved him. It’s just…”
“You’ve never been in love, Sunnie. You’ve never really set yourself up for that emotion because your taste in men was pretty shallow. Pretty faces and big muscles.” Kelli leaned closer and winked. “Not that I fault you for that. Some of those boys were very, very easy to look at.”
Sunnie laughed again, figuring Kelli probably understood her the best. Like Sunnie, Kelli wasn’t looking to settle down, and her track record with men wasn’t much better.
Then Sunnie said, “Those guys were easy to be with. No expectations. No commitment. This is…”
“Hard,” Yvonne finished for her.
Sunnie nodded, then spoke her real fear. “What if it doesn’t work out, Vonnie? If I screw this up, or he figures out it was a mistake…it’ll kill me. I hate feeling so scared.”
Yvonne reached over the table and grasped her hand, squeezing it. “That’s what I mean by hard. But you’re not going to mess anything up. And no part of this is a mistake—Landon knows that. Love is one big-ass risk. But believe me, you and Landon are a pretty safe bet. I’d put all my money on you.”
Kelli lifted her glass and toasted her. “Me too.”
Sunnie smiled, still not completely convinced.
Yvonne recognized her doubtful expression. “You saw the video, Sun. You saw how Landon looked at you after that kiss. How can you doubt his feelings aren’t completely genuine?”
Sunnie closed her eyes and sighed. “I only watched it once. And I wasn’t looking at him. I was kind of looking at my hair. There was this one piece—” she continued, reaching up.
“One time?” Kelli interrupted in disbelief. “I’ve probably seen it fifty times.”
“You watched it one time?” Yvonne repeated, equally shocked.
