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Olivia peered at the screen. “Is that my pink blouse you’re wearing?”
Annie smoothed down the shirt. Since she worked as a nurse, most of her wardrobe consisted of scrubs. “Yeah. I’ve seen you wear this shirt with the skirt so I know it goes.” She reached into Olivia’s closet and pulled out a turquoise top. “Do you think I should wear this one instead? Turquoise makes my eyes pop but I don’t know if it matches with the skirt. Is it too dark?”
“We all just pretend that everything goes with white, so that means it’s fine to wear together.”
Annie held the shirt up to her and moved to the mirror.
“Wait,” Olivia said. “Are you wearing my sandals too?”
“All my shoes are either comfy nurse shoes or exercise shoes. But you have all these cute shoes.” She dragged her attention away from the mirror for long enough to send Olivia a sympathetic look. “And nowhere to wear them until you’ve completed your time with the resident devil. How was work today?”
A loaded question. “Work has actually taken a turn for the better. Carson is, um, not as bad as I first thought. In fact, I’d say we’ve worked out our differences.”
It was Annie’s turn to peer at the screen. “You no longer hate Carson Clark?”
Olivia shifted on her bed. “I didn’t everhatehim…”
“When Miles made you bet on football teams, you always bet on whichever team was playing the Broncos”
“Everybody needs a system.” Olivia fluttered a hand as though to erase the choice. “I misjudged Carson in high school. Now that I’ve spent time with him, I see him more clearly.”
Annie pressed her lips together and trained her eyes on Olivia. “You mean you noticed how hot he is?”
“Yeah. You could say that.” Should she tell Annie that she was now in a relationship with him? It was supposed to be a secret.
Annie tutted. “You remember the way Carson went through girls in high school, right? You don’t want to be the next Layla McCurdy.”
Layla McCurdy had been a new move-in senior year. She spent her first month in Lark Springs relentlessly throwing herself at Carson. He finally asked her out. She only got one date before he dumped her. “I’m not going to become Layla McCurdy. Besides, that wasn’t a real relationship. He never even kissed Layla.” Rumor had it that Layla had tried to kiss him and that’s when he’d given her the let’s-just-be-friends speech.
Annie brought her phone closer to her face, filling the screen with her expression. “You say those words like you’ve kissed Carson Clark.”
Olivia gulped. “I don’t know why you would infer that.”
Annie’s voice went loud. “You’re not denying it? You totally did, didn’t you?”
“Shhh!” Olivia said. “It’s all very new. Like today, new. We don’t want his parents to find out about us yet.”
Annie laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think they can hear me from our apartment.”
Olivia glanced around her attic room like someone might walk in on her. “I know, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. I want to have a chance to figure out how Carson and I work as a couple before we go public.” The need for secrecy wasn’t just about Carson’s parents, she realized. Olivia lived in a town where everyone knew everyone else’s business. If Carson dumped her quickly and people knew about it, Olivia would set a whole new precedent for pity. She’d be the girl Carson charmed out of nemesis status just long enough to break her heart. People would start warning women not to be the next Olivia Travers.
Annie cocked her head. “This sounds like a sort of bizarre relationship. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Yes.” Actually, no. Olivia had no idea what she was doing. “You can borrow whatever you want from my closet. I hope your blind date turns out great.”
Annie snorted. “I don’t even know why I’m bothering with online dating. I should’ve just had my brother steal money from Carson. Then I’d be the one with secret kissing privileges. He’s an amazing kisser, isn’t he?”
Yes, he was. “I’ll talk to you later. You’ve got to get ready.”
“Yeah. We’re definitely going to talk about this later. I need someone’s love life to live vicariously through.”
That would be a first. Usually, all Annie had to do was swish her long blond hair around, and she had no lack of attention from men.
Annie put the turquoise shirt back in Olivia’s closet and pulled out a yellow one. “Can I tell Riley you’re dating her ex-boyfriend’s older brother?”
“I just told you it was a secret.”
Annie examined the shirt. “But secrets don’t apply to us. Just to everyone else.”
