Page 102 of Stolen Summer

I plucked the drink from her and tossed back a healthy swallow before scrunching my nose from the burn. Definitely whiskey. “You’re all I ever needed.”

A fraction of her teasing slipped from her expression. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Isn’t that my line?” I set the glass on the nightstand closest to me.

“Surgery changed me.”

“Not funny.” Resting my chin on Mr. Floppy’s head, I stared at the ripples on her bedding. “I think I fell for him, and I don’t know what to do now,” I admitted, my voice soft and a bit sorrowful.

She grinned, shaking her head. “Crew Riley, huh? I would have put my bet on you falling for Cole, not Crew.”

“Why would he lie?” I muttered softly.

“You tell me?”

“The girl I’d been before I got to know either one of them would have been sure it was a cruel joke played by two jackasses who had nothing better to do than torment me.”

Her expression turned thoughtful. “From what I’ve heard about them, that wouldn’t have been a far-off assumption. And what does the Arie who spent weeks of her summer with them believe?”

A sigh breezed through my lips, rumpling Mr. Floppy’s fur. “That she no longer should trust her judgment of character.”

Frankie adjusted the pillow behind her back, brows drawing together. “Seriously, though.”

“I don’t know if it is me wanting him to be a better person or if he is.”

“We’re talking about Crew, right? I just want to clarify,” she added.

“I think so. Hell, I don’t know,” I groaned. “I’ve spent the last few days sorting through my memories, attempting to separate them.”

“You know, as soon as I can move without wincing in pain, I’m paying the dickish duo a visit, and I don’t plan to give them time to defend their roguish behavior. Their balls are mine.”

“As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm to protect me, it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m done with them,” I said with added conviction and meaning. I wasn’t sure who I tried to convince more. Me or Frankie?

My best friend also wasn’t convinced. “Are you?”

I didn’t answer immediately, and my silence was damning. “The truth is I don’t know. I hate to admit that I miss him.”

Frankie rested her head on the back of the headboard, twisting her face toward me with a somber expression. “So, you’re not going to like this, but considering what happened, I think you should know.”

Alarm bells went off inside me. “Know what?”

“There’s a rumor going around about you,” she said.

“And I care why?” Rumors were always circulating in Fallen Oaks. How bad could it be? They’d already done their worst.

“Apparently, you’re pregnant.”

I snorted, fighting against the knot rising in my gut. “That’s the best someone could do?” I plucked the drink off the table.

“Here’s the fun part. You don’t know whether the baby is Cole’s or Crew’s.”

I spit out my drink, spraying booze all over my shirt and Mr. Floppy’s head. “You’re shitting me?”

Worry edged into her eyes. “Wish I was.”

Bottom line, the rumor was I was a slut who slept with twins. Some things in Fallen Oaks never changed.

The bell rang at the diner, announcing we had more mouths to feed, as I wiped the back of my arm along my forehead where beads of sweat had gathered. Ann was all too glad to give me my job back when I went to see her two days ago. It had been ten days since I’d stormed out of my neighbor’s house. Ten days since I’d last seen either Cole or Crew, but that didn’t mean the twins didn’t grace my dreams. Or haunt them, depending on the direction my sleeping subconscious steered.

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