Daisy shoves him. “Seriously, Landry? That’s what you’re worried about? You don’t think he’s been beating himself up over whatever this is? You know Rowan. I’m sure the guilt has been eating away at him.”
I click my tongue. “You’re not making me feel any better, either, for the record.”
She cringes. “Sorry, it’s just that we’re not used to watching Rowan make mistakes.”
“Yeah. I can see that.”
And I guess I’m his first and only mistake, I add in my mind. Because it’s obvious they wouldn’t find this whole thing so amusing or scandalous if I weren’t the one responsible for ruining Rowan’s reputation.
The sound of the front door nearly slamming makes all three of us flinch.
“So, uh … who’s going outside to talk to the slut?” Landry poses after a while.
“Not it,” I say quickly, mostly because I’m afraid he’ll turn this into another one of those times when I end up sharing too much about myself and getting overly emotional, and this one is about him.
“I love my brother, but I’m not sure I’m the right person to talk to him aboutthis,” Daisy retorts.
“Fine, I’ll go,” Landry says on an exhale. “But one of you will need to be on standby for when I inevitably say something that makes him feel worse.”
“Didn’t take Landry Reed for a heart-to-heart kind of guy, but he must really have a soft spot for you LaFleurs,” I muse quietly once Daisy and I are left alone.
She frowns. “Claire, I’m sorry my brother wasn’t honest with you. Regardless of what’s happened between you, you deserve the truth from him.” She pauses and purses her lips, as if she’s debatingwhether or not to go on. “And I know it doesn’t excuse his actions, but I’m sure he was just worried you’d judge him for this, like other women have in the past.”
I scoff. “Or maybe he’s just like every other man and was willing to say anything to get laid.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “Rowan’s not like that, and this is such a big part of his identity, a core value for him.”
My stomach churns. If Rowan really is a virgin, and this is truly one of his “core values,” then that might make everything a million times worse. Because it would mean the emotional intimacy I was so certain we’d shared was all one-sided.
“Or maybe he’s not the man either of us thought he was,” I repeat.
“After the way you baited me into talking about my brother when you apparently know him much better than you’ve been letting on, I’m not sure you’re the friend I thought you were, either,” she replies, her expression pained, as if it hurts her to acknowledge it.
And that’s when I break.
“You’re right. I’m sorry, Daisy,” I choke out, my chin trembling. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve only been playing dumb for Rowan’s sake, and it’s been killing me not to tell you everything.” I blow out a breath. “The truth is that he actually called me for help with the whole busted-pipe situation, and he ended up staying over at my place that night, too. But he’s been sleeping in my guest bedroom, I swear.”
Her eyelashes flutter as she digests the information. “I don’t understand. You’re both adults, and where you sleep is none of my business. But why go through so much trouble to hide the fact that you’re friends?”
I whimper when I realize she’s backed me into a corner again. And while a part of me wants to continue protecting Rowan, I can’t keep lying to Daisy.
“Because he doesn’t want you to find out about the night we met.” She lifts a brow and gestures for me to continue. “I guess you could say we felt an instant connection, both emotionally andphysically. And while he didn’t go into much detail about his … religious convictions, I wasn’t entirely forthcoming about my marital status at the time.”
Her eyes widen. “Does he know?”
“Yes. I ended up spelling it out before the end of the night, and he made it clear that being a few days away from a finalized divorce wasn’t unmarried enough in his book.”
“Oh.”
“We parted ways on some pretty awkward terms after that, thinking we’d never run into one another again, much less share a common acquaintance. Yet, here we are,” I explain, unable to keep the sarcasm from seeping into my tone.
“It’s also why you didn’t come to my bachelorette party, isn’t it?” she asks quietly, and I nod.
“Sorry,” I whisper. The situation with Rowan isn’t the only reason I avoided most of her bridal festivities, but I’m not about to fess up to being jealous of her friendship with Loren or too cowardly to attend any kind of girls-only party in general.
“I guess I understand why neither of you was eager to volunteer the whole story,” she says after a while. “But you’re not married anymore, and there’s obviously something left of that connection you mentioned. Now that you know the truth about Rowan, couldn’t you just … kiss and make up?”
I huff out a laugh. “Us not having a chance might be the only part we were both honest about. Your brother is definitely dating with intention, and I’m only fit for a good time.”
