Page 51 of My Almost Ex

“Hey, you two! You’re missing out on some great tacos!” Cora yells over the deck, her mouth still full of food.

“We started without you,” Mandi yells down from beside her as she refills Cora’s wine glass.

“Come on, let’s go have fun and forget me ruining our night.” Satisfied that the fire is going enough, Nikki turns to go back up the stairs.

“Nikki,” I say.

She glances over her shoulder.

“Do you think Adam loved me? Like, truly loved me?”

“Oh.” She comes back and puts her arms around me. “That is one thing I’m certain about. That boy never stopped loving you. This is why I wish my big mouth would just stay shut.” She squeezes me. “We all loved you, Lucy. We loved you like you were one of us, and like any family member, we all have annoying tendencies. I hate the way Mandi acts so damn perfect all the time. Or the way Posey gossips at the hair salon and won’t share any of it with me. And Cade’s judgmental attitude toward my radio show makes me crazy, as does Jed flirting with every female in a ten-foot vicinity. We have our quirks. And you had yours. That’s all. It was neither good nor bad. It just was.”

She squeezes me tightly again. She might be the best hugger I’ve come across. Although since the accident, I haven’t been hugged that much I guess.

“Now, let’s go have tacos and a fun girls’ night, okay?” She smiles at me.

“Can I ask one more question?”

She sighs.

“You’re the only one willing to be truthful with me.”

Her head moves right and left. “Which is probably the quirk none of my family likes about me.” She laughs.

“Was I happy? Like, truly happy with Adam?”

Another sigh falls out of her. “I think so. You seemed really happy. But when you left so abruptly, we were all in the dark. Shocked, really.”

“I feel like I was too. I want to be with him now, but did I find something out that changed how I felt? What if I was cheating on him?”

She laughs. “In this town? Hmm… I doubt it, but I suppose anything is possible. If you were, where’s the guy?”

I nod. “I didn’t return to Idaho right away. Maybe me and that guy broke up.”

“Then why didn’t you come back here?”

“Because I left Adam? I don’t know.” I shrug.

She rubs her hands down my arms. “I don’t think you cheated on him, if that’s what you’re worried about. You two were always together. And when he was working, if you weren’t, you were usually hanging with Cora or one of us Greene girls. You didn’t enjoy being alone.”

“Well, that hasn’t changed.”

“Then it’s a good thing we bombarded you, huh? See? And they say I don’t have good ideas.” She laughs.

“Could he have been cheating?” My chest tightens as I wait for her answer.

She shakes her head. “No way. Hell, it took him so long to get over you. Alicia is his first girlfriend and I’m not even sure how long they’ve been dating. We were just meeting her the night you came back.”

My eyes widen. “Really?”

She grins like she’s happy to divulge this little piece of information. “My gut says you leaving had nothing to do with a third party, but I’ve been known to be wrong before. God knows my instincts haven’t led me to a good man.” She chuckles.

“No boyfriend for you?”

She shakes her head. “I’m going to be a spinster, I know it. Or the aunt who watches all her siblings have their happily ever afters.”

“Who’s spoken for in the family?”

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