“Come, sweetheart,” Dad extends his arms for Nina. She only huffs and turns her head away, holding me tighter.
“It’s fine,” I chuckle. “She can ride with us.”
“Be careful with her.”
I roll my eyes and open the door of the car. Nina crawls into the middle seat, struggling to get into the car seat, with Astrid and me on each side of her. I chuckle, buckling Nina up in her seat, making sure everything’s secure and strapped properly.
As soon as the car hits the road, Nina busies herself with the glitter in her dress, chatting mainly to herself, playing around. Astrid, on the other hand, turns to look at me, giving me a scrutinizing glare.
“Are you going to behave tonight?”
“Knock it off, Astrid. I’m not a child.”
“Yes, but you also do very childish things. The last thing we need right now is for you to act out.”
I clench my jaw, looking out the window. “You should be focusing on yourself and your little dalliances.”
Although I’m not looking at her, I can physically feel her go rigid. She’s silent for a couple of moments, and I flick my eyes to meet hers. She’s like a deer in headlights, unsure of what to say.
“Uh, what?”
“Uh, what?” I repeat her words, mockingly. “I know you’ve been seeing a certain someone you’re not supposed to be seeing.”
Astrid’s eyes go wide.
I love my sister, but she’s not the best at keeping secrets. Especially when it’s something as big as this. She’s always told me thesmallest details of her life, and the only reason I can think of for being so secretive this time around is that the man in question is either one of my friends or someone she’s really not supposed to be seeing.
If it’s one of my friends, it’s not Kenzo. That one has been obsessed with Grace for years, and I highly doubt an obsession as great as that would just diminish.
“How did you know?” She breathes out.
“I know you like the back of my palm.”
She bites the inside of her cheek. “Are you mad?”
“Mad? No.”
She blinks, then leans back a little, looking me up and down a handful of times. “You are not mad? Are you sick?”
“Why would I be mad? You’re old enough to make your own decisions.”
“Yeah, but it’s Sawyer Sloane.”
My entire body goes rigid, and it’s as if someone has dropped an entire bucket of iced water over my body. Slowly, I drag my eyes away from Nina, taking them back to Astrid. Instantly, she realizes her mistake — and her face pales.
“You… what?” I breathe out, trying to keep my rage at bay. “Have you fucking lost it?!”
“Heh, Soren said a bad word,” Nina said, looking up, giggling.
“I’ll give you a cupcake for breakfast tomorrow if you don’t tell Mom and Dad.”
She grins. “With extra sprinkles?”
“Fine, with extra sprinkles,” I kiss the top of her head, then turn back to Astrid. “Seriously, Sawyer?”
“You said you knew!”
“I thought it was someone like Aiden!”
