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Every night since that first night Chase came to my room with the request to alter the deal we have with each other, he’s crept into my room after the boys have gone to bed.
He leaves most mornings, waking by that annoying alarm on his phone, so we aren’t caught in there together on the off chance that one of the boys wakes up early.
I may be tired, but I’m not a fool. I patiently wait every single night for him to arrive. As the saying goes, I can sleep when I die, and I’m not going to let a little loss of sleep keep him away. He seems to be of the same mind since he hadn’t missed a night until last night. I got even less sleep, wondering where he was, than I would’ve had he shown up like he’d been doing. It’s left me feeling a little on edge since I crawled out of bed this morning.
“Where are the boys?”
I wave my hand to indicate somewhere else in the town square.
“I didn’t ride with them. It’s my day off.”
“You said you came because they asked.”
“I did,” I tell her. “But we took different cars.”
“Purposely avoiding him in public?” She raises an eyebrow as she hands over the new dish of ice cream.
My brain is freezing, the sharp pain behind my eyes a reminder to eat my ice cream more slowly this time around. Her incessant interrogation makes me shovel it in to keep my mouth full. Speaking with food in your mouth is a huge no-no in the South, but it’s nearly impossible to get my best friend on a different subject once she’s set her mind to something.
“Is it because of the rumors swirling around town?”
I lift the spoon to my mouth once again, busying myself with a bite and trying to figure out how to respond.
“There are rumors?” I lean in closer. “About what happened in Austin?”
She frowns. “You know better than that. The people here don’t care what you did in Austin. They’re just glad you’re back home.”
Thewhere you belong, is implied, but I can see that part in her eyes.
Maybe things in my life would be different if I had listened to her when she begged me to stay in Lindell over ten years ago. I could’ve easily attended Lindell University like she did. I would’ve married a hometown boy or maybe a guy from college who wanted this slower paced life. Sam would’ve never happened. There’s a possibility that I could have had a successful business in Lindell with an interior design degree. The cost of living is much lower here after all.
But without Austin, without Sam, without moving back and getting woken up by my parents’ headboard banging on the wall, I wouldn’t have what I have with Chase.
I clear my throat, trying to keep my mind from going there.
I have made a lot of bad choices, but when did I get to the point in life where what I have now—a boss with benefits and bags under my eyes—was worth all the heartache, pain, and soul-crushing manipulation I suffered?
“It’s good to be back,” I tell her, trying to divert her attention once again.
I love this woman, but she’s never been subtle.
“You disappeared on me last Saturday night,” she says, pointing at me as if to hammer in her point. “I saw you leave with Chase.”
“He gave me—”
“I’d rather you keep your mouth closed than lie to me, Madison LeAnne Kelly.”
I roll my lips between my teeth, my silence the same as a confession.
Her smile grows, and it’s as if I’m having to raise my chin to look up at her on that high horse. We can’t have that now, can we?
“I figured you were too enraptured by Cash to even see what others were doing.”
Her eyes narrow. She’s not as keen to get personal when it comes to discussing her messy little life.
“Did you two leave the bar together?”
She scoffs, her head shaking. It’s the tremble in her hands as she busies herself to avoid looking me in the eyes that speaks volumes.
