“No, it wasn’t.” I gesture at Kate. “She did nothing to you, and even if she had, you swore you wouldn’t kill anyone else! But I guess you’re good at going back on your word, aren’t you?”
Lina’s shoulders slump. “I said I was sorry, Guy.”
“Wait …” Ella holds up her hands. “What is going on?” She looks between us, and then her eyes widen. This wasn’t how I wanted her to find out. In fact, I never ever wanted her to find out. “WasMontyyour Christmas girlfriend?”
“Oh my God!” Gable cries, his hands on his cheeks. “I’d never have guessed!”
I sigh, ignoring Gable’s amateur dramatics. “She wasn’t my girlfriend; it was one night.”
“Two nights!” Lina brandishes her index finger at me. “And we had sex like six times!”
Ella groans and shudders. “Oh, I did not need to know that.” And then she punches Lina’s arm. “You swore you wouldn’t sleep with my dad! I told you he was out of bounds! This is the worst dinner party ever!”
She runs her fingers through her hair, and Gable comes to her side. I hope he can say something to get this evening under control again, because I’m lost for fucking words.
“Okay, let’s list the facts here,” Gable says, kissing Ella’s head. She leans into him and whimpers. “One: Kate is super dead. Two: we need to move her car and the body pretty sharpish. Three: Your dad and Monty had sex six times. And four: I knew absolutely nothing about it. Are we all firm on those facts?”
I shake my head. “We’re not getting rid of the body; we’re calling the police.”
Gable and Lina cackle. “Not a chance,” Gable says. “You really want to bring attention to the two dead people?” He points at himself and Ella. “We’ll wrap her up with some rocks and chuck her in the lake.”
“No, we should cut her up,” Lina says. “Spread her around the forest, let the animals take care of it.”
Gable rolls his eyes. “That’s how every true crime documentary starts. Do you want some dog walker to come across her head?”
“Fair point,” Lina says. “Or?—”
I bring my hands together, one loud, sharp clap. “Enough! We are not cutting up or dumping an innocent woman!”
“Well, first of all, she wasn’t innocent,” Linasays. “I’m telling you, I got vibes from her. Didn’t you, Gable? She felt familiar. Let’s check.” She goes over to Kate’s body and snatches up her purse.
Now we’re robbing an innocent dead woman. Great.
Ella sits down and sighs, pouring herself more wine. She takes a sip and passes the glass to Gable, who takes a mouthful of his own.
“I’m sorry we ruined your vacation, baby,” I say quietly.
Ella shrugs. “It’s fine. It wouldn’t be a family get-together without a little murder, would it?”
This is what our life is because of the fucking Flynns. My gaze cuts to Gable, and he raises his brows, pausing the wine glass at his lips.
“You aren’t seriously blaming me?”
I shake my head, looking away. “I didn’t say a word.”
“You didn’t have to!” He slams the glass down. “This is so fucking typical. Monty kills someone, but of course, it’s my fault. This is history fucking repeating itself.”
Ella looks between us. “Please don’t fight.”
“What else am I supposed to do when everything that goes wrong lands in my fucking lap, Gibson?” He gestures at me. “You have something to say, Guy, just fucking say it.” I tense my jaw, the night already weighing on me, and this adds a ton of fucking bricks, too. I won’t say it, though. I can’t. It’d break Ella’s heart. “Say it, Guy. Say you wish Ella had married someone else and the twins had a different dad.” We’re almost toe to toe, his anger palpable, but there’s hurt, too. Ella watches me, her eyes sad, because I may not be saying the words, but I’m not denying them, either.
“Ah-ha!” Lina cries out, snapping us out of our argument. She’s holding a piece of paper victoriously. “Look!”
Striding away from Gable, I take the paper from her.
It’s a photograph of Lina and me holding hands in the grocery store before New Year.
Shit. I lift my gaze to Lina. “You were right.”
