Theo offered her a grin and a wave, eyes glazed, still knocked sidewaysby her beauty.
“And that’s Bowen and James.”
They both waved.
“They’re my brothers. And that’s?—”
“No.” Laney slapped both hands over her mouth. “That’s Cash Dupree.” She released an embarrassed laugh, shoulders curling in. “I wish I’d known he’d be here,” she whispered to me. “I would’ve at least put on a swipe of mascara. He was my crush in high school.”
“It’s okay. You look great. And he’s happily married now,” I said, because it was Laney.
“Right.” She fanned her face. “I knew that. To Charlie.” She turned to look at Cash. “Your wife is really beautiful, by the way.”
Cash beamed. “She totally is.”
But then, I wondered—if Cash had been her crush, why had she gone after me so hard? And immediately I understood. She’d used me to one-up Jules.
“Geez,” I muttered.
I’m sorry,she mouthed, looking shamefaced.
“It’s okay,” I mumbled, not sure if I meant it.
She glanced back at Cash, then at me. Then she kicked off her Birkenstocks, picked her feet up, and hugged her knees to her chest, trying to hide.
“This is so crazy,” she whispered to me. “No… surreal. I liked Cash, and Julie-Bean liked you.” She waved that away. “Liked is a complete understatement. She wanted to marry you. And she actually did it.” She made the mind-blown gesture. “Just… wow.”
“Wait.” My chest swelled with hope. “That was true. Because they said on TV that she wanted to marry Liam.”
“Seriously?” She burst out laughing again. “You can’t keep making me laugh. My abs already hurt. Come on, Griffin.” She threw a hand up. “You’re a Dupree. You know how easilyregularpeople twist the truth. And the people at DayGlow areexpertsat making lies look real and the truth look like a joke.” Then, as if she’d just remembered the paper in her hand, she held it out for me. “Here. See for yourself.”
I unfolded it and sucked in a breath.
It was just as Jules had described, and it was written in her unmistakably gorgeous cursive.
“Okay.” My mind was reeling. “But how do you explain her calling Liam multiple times and trying to get him to hook up with her? Because she did that, like ten times in one week.”
Laney stared at me like I was slow. “Didn’t you hear me? DayGlow’s basically the mafia in better packaging. They can do anything. If I had to guess, I’d say they hired a voice actress or used some kind of software to replicate Julie’s voice. They’re using you to smoke her out.” She flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder. “They’ve done it before.”
Cash chuckled. “Sounds like something out of one of my parents’ movies.”
I dropped back against the cushions, heart pounding, feeling like an absolute idiot. Not only did I owe Ford a massive apology, but I also divorced Jules—and she hadn’t done a single thing wrong. I dragged my hands through my hair, my gaze ricocheting until it landed onTheo.
He looked as wrecked as I felt. “I’ve never hated saying ‘I told you so’ so much.”
Laney gave me a pointed look. “No offense to your cousin Liam, but I’ve never even heard Julie say she thought he was cute.”
“Wow,” Liam said.
“Just being truthful.” Laney looked over at him. “At least Sariah Morgandale thinks about you constantly. Granted, mostly to publicly dissect your failures, but still.”
Even I laughed at that.
“I don’t like this woman,” Liam declared.
“Nobody asked you to,” Laney said. “Besides, I’m used to not being liked.”
Theo grinned. “I knew Juliette was good people.”
