Page 52 of Never Let You Go

“Chris and Alex,” Willow says.

Please make it stop already. I put a hand out to make them stop. “Guys. Stop spreading rumors. You can’t do this. Seriously.”

Kiara explodes in a cackle. “Seriously,” she repeats, with what’s supposed to be a big voice. Then she plops herself on the armrest of the couch, next to me, but higher than me, leans over and says, “Does he snore?”

My mouth opens. “I don’t know!” I cry.

“Bambi. You sleep right above his bedroom. You can probably hear him fart too.”

“Eww, seriously,” Willow says.

“That’s gross,” Grace concurs.

“He’s a man, Grace, but I get it. Dealing with delicate ears here,” Kiara says, then puts a hand on my shoulder. “He could use some sweet in his life, after what that bitch put him through,” she says to me.

I glance up at Kiara. What bitch?

Willow plops cross-legged on the floor in front of me, and Grace sits on my other side. They have me in a tight circle.

“Grace, give her the deets. You’re family.”

“They mean Skye’s biological mother. Chris wanted to marry her, and she pretty much told him he was beneath her.”

“That’s awful,” I whisper. “Were they together long?”

Kiara and Willow exchange a look.

“That’s the thing,” Grace says. “No. It was just a summer fling—”

“Didn’t last a summer,” Kiara interrupts. “He just fucked her once or twice.”

“Kiara! Really?” Grace says.

“I was there, dude. Almost.”

Grace chuckles. “Oh well, then. They had brief intercourse—”

Kiara snickers. “Potato potahto.”

“And he still wanted to take care of her, do right by her. When she turned down his marriage proposal—”

“He was stoked,” Kiara interjects.

“—he tried talking about laying the grounds for co-parenting.”

“She was already looking up adoption agencies,” Kiara drops.

“Yup,” Grace says.

“Well, shit,” I say.

Grace nods. “Now you know. Chris is a good guy. A really good guy. And he was burned really deep.”

“He still has a fine ass,” Kiara drops. “Built up some upper body muscle too. Bet she’d regret it if she saw him now.”

“Kiara! Really?”

“Gracie. Your cousin is eye candy. Right, Willow?”

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