Page 17 of On One Condition

“Huh? Is that a good huh or a bad huh or simply a shut-up, Nita, huh?”

I take the bill from her and play with its corners until the ten numbers in bold black marring its face blur together. “It’s the it appears Ledger Sharpe likes trying to buy forgiveness from his ex-girlfriend type of huh.”

“Wait. What?” she screeches. “You dated that man? That fine-looking specimen I was flirting innocently with?” Her eyes are wide and her expression is surprised.

“I did, but it was a long time ago though.”

“Like how long?” She shifts so she can face me, her penchant for gossip rivaled by no one.

“Like from age fifteen to seventeen.”

“Oh, girl.” She waves a hand at me. “You were just babies.” She takes a sip and makes an approving sound. “If you ask me, I think you need to see how much better the man is now.”

“Jesus,” I mutter and take another drink. “Thanks, but I didn’t ask.”

“That phone number,” she says, pointing to the hundred in my hand, “says he wants to do the same.”

My only response is a heavy sigh as I lean my head back to look at the stars and push the swing.

“What are you not telling me?” she asks.

“His family used to come here every summer. Him and his brothers. They’re identical triplets—”

“Hold up. There are three men in this world who look just like him?” She holds a hand to her chest in a dramatic fashion. “There’s hope for me yet.”

“I hate to break it to you, but there is no hope.” Especially if they all turned out like their father. Willing to play in this town so long as they could throw their cash around and leave it all behind. “They’re one of them,” I say, and she knows exactly who I mean by them. The wealthy. The people who look at townspeople as their servers, guides, or waitstaff, but definitely not their equal.

She pushes my shoulder. “Let a girl dream, now, will you? Fantasy has no boundaries.” She closes her eyes and a cat ate the canary grin graces her lips as if she’s imagining just how good it could be. A soft hum escapes as if she’s satisfied. “Okay. Fantasy played out. Now you can carry on.”

“There is so much wrong with that.”

“I know, but I never claimed to be wholesome.” She flashes me a grin. “You’ve been keeping secrets from me. Now tell me about them. About him.”

“His father and the three boys—Ledger, Callahan, and Ford—would come to Cedar Falls every summer for three months. The dad was always working in some capacity and so the boys had the run of this place without much supervision.”

“In a small town like Cedar Falls?” She whistles. “The girls must have been salivating.”

“Yep. We all were but . . . one night . . .” I remember the fireworks exploding over the lake and how their booms echoed around the valley. How after the display I stood on the outskirts of a party on the shore, wanting to join in with my classmates but feeling out of place, always on the outside. I was just about to leave, but then I saw him, Ledger, and my feet refused to move. He was tan and had the cutest lopsided grin and, when I looked back again, he was right in front of me.

Lavender Girl, please tell me you’re not going to run away?

My smile is bittersweet as I remember. “One night we met and from there on we were inseparable.”

“Three months inseparable?”

“It was more than that. It was three months for three summers. We talked during the rest of the year and then fell right back where we left off when he arrived in June. It was like we both knew there were other people we flirted and messed around with during the time we were apart, but when summer happened, we only had eyes for each other.”

“For three years? What happened?”

I nod. So many good memories. “We made plans that last summer together. Big plans. Ones for our future. Ones for us.” I smile wistfully. “Looking back at it now, I know they never would have worked. We came from two completely different worlds, but we thought they would and, at the time, that’s all we saw. That’s all that mattered.”

“He was your first, wasn’t he?” she asks softly.

“We were each other’s . . . at least that’s what he told me, and I believed him. We’d fooled around before then—a lot—but the night we finally went all the way ended up being the last night we ever saw each other. Until tonight that is.”

“What do you mean it was the last night? How did I not know any of this? I’ve been your best friend for almost thirteen years. Apparently, you’ve been holding out on me.”

My heart thumps in my chest as I stare at myself in the mirror. My cheeks are flushed and my smile is wide.