Page 65 of Pin-up Girl

19

aubrey

Sending Clint home this morning left me with an ache inside that I couldn’t name. It wasn’t like I’d sent him away for good, and it wasn’t as if he could stay.

If I had to guess, it was probably because the sex last night was incredible. Brodie and I had conversations that hot, but living it was different.

And so, so good.

After Clint left, while I was opening my shop, Sylvie called.

When I saw her name on my phone, I grasped at the thoughts I needed to talk about Peter without pissing her off, and answered. “Hey.”

“Hello.” Sylvie’s greeting was bright and warm.

Good. That was the perfect intro for me to slide into let’s talk. I opened my mouth.

“Aunt Neva has a friend who makes wedding cakes.” Sylvie launched into things before I could. “They’re heading up there, to help me pick flavors and colors, and I want a bunch of people there to help me decide.”

“A bunch?” I could probably gather a large portion of the town, especially if there was free cake testing. I doubted that was what she actually wanted though.

“You know. Like, your friends. Call them. Have them come over.”

Up to this point, I hadn’t minded accommodating most of her requests, but when she made decisions about other people and their schedules, I wasn’t as willing to go along without an argument. “My friends work during the day.”

Sylvie huffed.

“Like you used to.” I wanted to do this more nicely, but if this was my opening, I’d take it. “Why did you quit your job, Sylvie?”

“Can we talk about that in person?”

I wanted answers, but she was right it wasn’t a conversation to have over the phone. “Promise me. If you’re coming up here, we’re going to talk. Give me your word, Sylvie.”

“I promise. And the cake tasting would be this evening, after five. Does that work?”

If it got her here, especially without Peter, I could agree. “Just us girls? No guys?”

“Umm…”

“Then again, if we invite the men, they can get to know Peter.” It bothered me that I used that as a negotiating tactic.

Especially when Sylvie said, “No boys, then.”

“Do you need me to come pick you up?” I asked.

“No. Grandma rented me a car, so I could run my errands.”

This kept getting weirder. It wasn’t that I needed every detail of my sister’s life. She was an adult, she could do for herself. Except that since she’d been here, most of her behavior had been out of character. “Why didn’t you rent your own car?”

“You’re the best sister. Top two. See you this afternoon.” Sylvie hung up.

I sent a text to our Nerd Herd group chat, which had doubled in size in the last few months.

Not that four was a huge number, but Alys, Evie, Ravyn, and Elaina were safe. They kept secrets. They didn’t judge. I adored them. The message said Wedding cake testing. My place. Five. We’re helping Sylvie pick a flavor.

The assortment of yays and okays came back quickly.

Alys: Maddox wants to come.

---