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I was about to give up when one of the doors burst open and Harold stormed out, his face red, angry, and unlike anything I'd ever seen before.
Something made me hide behind the wall opposite the room.
A young man followed him his hands bunched into fists.
"You're gonna regret this. You hear me?"
I realized I knew his face. And it was one of the few things I wanted to forget most in the world.
3
Juniper
Hunter Mason was the worst thing that ever happened to me.
I knew living in the same town meant there was a pretty high risk of running into him eventually.
But hey, I'd been resourceful. I went full-on detective and dug out every possible map of the town. I spent hours poring over maps, studying every street, alleyway, and park.
I started with the pizza places.
The folks at Vinnie Van Go-Go's, Screamin' Mimi's, and even Your Pie were mighty surprised when I kept calling to ask if they'd seen a man with a mole on his lips and a snarky grin on his face.
I wasn't going to risk bumping into him while I was chomping down on a slice of pepperoni, no, ma'am!
From studying the entire Chatham Area Transit System to finding a whole new grocery store, I did everything shy of wearing a fake mustache and disguising myself as a clone of Colonel Sanders.
But all the sleuthing had helped, and I'd successfully avoided him for a whole half-revolution around the sun.
Apparently, I hadn't done enough to keep the streak going. Was he associated with these people in some way?
I knew he was well-connected.
That had been part of his charm.
When we were best friends, I'd actually thought I was lucky I got to play the role of his wing woman.
Again, this was at a time when I felt as worthy as a plate of lackluster fried chicken, you know, the kind that's really greasy but has no flavor.
So, when Hunter came around and actually wanted to bemyfriend—no, mybestfriend, I thought I'd made it pretty far in life.
Then he told me he needed my help talking up girls, and I thought—easy enough, since it was him!
And he'd had it all—the looks, the charisma, and the slickest silver tongue. I really thought I'd met my match and that this would be the kind of friendship you'd grow old with.
But you know those really stupid times when you trust someone so much you decide you can do anything for them? And you actually follow through and do just ... anything?
Yup, that was me. As sharp as a dumbbell. Nothing could have prepared me for seeing him again, especially not at Harold's party.
What was Montgomery doing, getting mixed up with the likes of Hunter? He was bad news.
Could he have gotten the old man into trouble too?
I suddenly felt as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Before I could do or say anything, the butler announced dinner.
And I was hungry.
I hadn't come this far or extended the limits of my social energy to go back home on an empty tummy. Hell no. I sighed and made my way to the dining room.
