“Yes,” I said flat. It was nicer than what she deserved.
You see, Kynzleigh was a mean girl through and through, and she’d known I had it for her bad. Three weeks before summer vacation of our eighth-grade year, she’d lured me in, making me believe she’d finally noticed me. For three weeks, we were that couple. We walked the halls of Seddledowne Middle School together. Spent hours on the phone, wrote each other letters, and promised to be exclusive through high school.
She was the first girl I ever told, “I love you.”
So imagine my surprise when I showed up at the spot she’d picked for our first kiss and found an envelope addressed to me, taped to the wall. Inside was a letter thanking me for helping her win a bet with her friends, and she “hoped I understood” that while we would not be continuing our relationship, it was all in good fun. As a consolation, she gave me a five-dollar Starbucks gift card.
A freaking gift card.
The devastation and humiliation took years to get over. So I was about as excited to run into Kynzleigh now as I would be to gargle broken glass.
She slapped me on the right pec again and giggled. “Oh, don’t be so modest. You had a full-on glow-up.” Her eyes widened, and she glanced at Theo like they were best buddies. “Amirite?”
Theo, bless him, just tilted his head like he was trying to figure out how she’d made it this far in life.
“So.” She stretched, arms above her head, forcing her crop top up another three inches, probably trying to get her money’s worth out of the tattoo. “What’ve you been up to? I saw that you graduated from Virginia Tech, right?”
I raised one eyebrow. “Correct.”
The polite thing would’ve been to ask her about wherever she’d graduated from.Ifshe’d even graduated. I couldn’t remember what college she’d gotten into. William and Mary? Virginia Commonwealth University? Longwood? I hadn’t looked her up on social media a single time since high school.
“C’mon, silly.” She thumped my chest again. “Tell me about yourself. You’re a firefighter, right?”
Clearly, she’d done some digging. “Yes.”
She puffed, looking annoyed at my one-word answers.
“C’mon, Griff,” James said, lining up his second dart. “Tell her all about the shirtless firefighter calendar.” He waggled his brows. “Griffin makes one heckuva July.”
I groaned inwardly and glared at him. Yes, I’d been on a firefighter calendar. Our unit had done it as a fundraiser.
Kynzleigh made a sound like she’d just won something. “A shirtless firefighter calendar? Where can I get one?”
“Sorry,” I said. “They’re all sold out.”
“Not true,” James said. “Mom has at least twenty at homein a box somewhere.” He winked at Kynzleigh. “No worries, I’ll hook you up.”
Kynzleigh squealed and pumped her fist. “Yes.”
I rolled my jaw, trying to bleed off the pressure. It was that or deck my brother in the face. “Just remember, Jim-Bo, I know where Dad keeps the bander.”
Chapter Thirty
JULIETTE
Iheld up a menu, pretending to scan the desserts. In truth, it was my shield. Line dancing was the whole reason I’d agreed to this girl’s night, and it looked like a blast. Sophie and Maddie were just as impatient as I was—they’d already talked Cash into performing a couple of Ford’s twangier songs and were now front and center, leading the crowd in a full-blown line dance.
But I couldn’t join them because, at any given moment, at least five people were recording anyone with the last name Dupree. Sticking near Bowen was my best bet. He growled anytime a phone turned his way. He’d even told one guy he’d personally shove that phone somewhere the sun doesn’t shine if he didn’t put it away.
I peeked over the menu and caught a woman angling her phone at me. I ducked back down, pulse slamming. I needed to get the heck out of here.
“Maggie,” I power-whispered, interrupting her and Bowen mid nose-nuzzle. “I thought we were just stopping to say a quick hello and for Charlie to grab her credit card from Cash.Have we given up heading to the Blue Bonnet Barn altogether?”
“I think so,” Maggie said with a sigh and gestured at Sophie and Maddie. “Why do we need to line dance somewhere else when we can do it right here?”
Because I needed anonymity. Also, I couldn’t be in this restaurant with Griffin. When we’d walked in, and I saw him making an idiot of himself by butt-bumping Bowen all to support James, my resolve took a direct hit. But when Sophie ordered them to do the “Right Stuff” dance, and Griffin outdanced everyone else? I’d nearly launched myself onto the stage, cameras rolling, and kissed him until he forgot his own name.
I glanced over at him again, playing darts with James and Theo, and my French fry went down wrong. A petite blonde in a crop top and painted-on jeans circled like he was fair game.
