“Carrie—”
“I’m hurt you’d think I’d stoop that low. That would make me a horrible, manipulative, twisted little…” She pauses and grins at me. “Okay, you win—I blackmailed her.”
“Youblackmailedmysister?”
She holds up a thumb and finger. “Maybe just a little.”
“I’m listening,” I say, tapping my foot.
Carrie sighs. She reaches for my shirt collar, pulling me in and down to meet her gaze. I can feel her breath on my skin, and all I can think about right now is kissing her.
“I grabbed her by the sweater—which was super soft, by the way. And then with my other hand, I wagged a finger in her face, like this. Scary, right?”
“Terrifying,” I drawl.
“And then I said—‘Listen up, Amelia. You’re coming with us tonight. Because if you don’t…’?”
Carrie lets go of my shirt, and my head is spinning.
“Because if she didn’t—what?”
“I just left it hanging there. Like a cliff-hanger, you know?”
“You’re such a bad liar.”
“Really?” She smirks. “And how exactly would you know?”
“You do this thing with your nose. A kinda crinkly thing, like this…”
She curls her lip at me. “Oh, great. So, you’re telling me I look like a dog with rabies? Anyway—I call bullshit.”
Carrie pauses, then says, “Okay, fine—I told her she was coming with us, or I would spill. To your parents, I mean. And when I say I would tell them everything, I meaneverything.”
Oh, wow. Hard-core.
“And so, this was right after you told her everything about my entire life, right?”
She gasps. “How did you… You were spying on us!” She thumps my chest, thinking for a moment. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”
“At first I was. But then you started building me up…”
“Good thing Amelia doesn’t know about the crinkly nose thing, huh?”
“Good thing I can tell when you’re being honest, too.”
She stares at me for a while, and it’s strange, but she’s not smirking at me the way she usually does. Just a step closer… I can’t help it. I pull her tightly into my arms.
“Donovan, what the hell?” Her voice is muffled against my chest.
“Just trying to suffocate you to death. Payback for letting my sisternearlyget away with murder-by-lasagna.”
She’s shaking, laughing hard into my chest, and I hug her even tighter, feeling her arms snake around my back, sensing her relax. This single moment is worth every kiss I want to give her.
“Hey!” My sister sticks her head out of the car. “You guys wanna wrap it up?”
I look down into Carrie’s face. “You sure this is a good idea?”
“I thought if she could meet your friends, maybe that would help change her mind.”
