Page 17 of Still Love You

CHAPTER FIVE

Willow

Silas and I are driving to the park when my phone rings. It's Lilly, my friend from college who lived in the room next to mine. Lilly is a Kensington, as in the daughter of Pearce Kensington, one of the richest men in America. But if you met her you'd never know she was wealthy, unless you saw her car, which is a top-of-the-line BMW.

"Hey, Lilly," I answer. "How's your party?"

Lilly's family had a welcome home party for her at their house in Santa Barbara.

"It was great! It's wrapping up now. Jade and Garret are leaving soon. They have to get the kids to bed. So what are you doing tonight?"

"Going to a movie at the park."

"With who?" She laughs. "The hot guy who showed up at your door?"

Lilly knows all about Silas. I talked about him a lot last year. For some reason, I kept bringing him up in conversation.

"Yeah," I say. "How'd you guess?"

"Are you guys back together?" she asks in an excited tone. She'd never met him before today and yet she thinks we belong together. Probably because I couldn't stop talking about him.

"No." I don't elaborate. I can't tell her about Silas when he's in the car, although there's really nothing to say. We're just two friends going to a movie.

"He's really hot. I thought he was hot in that photo you showed me, but he looks even hotter now."

My eyes wander over to the driver's seat. Silas has his window down, his muscular forearm resting there, his other arm casually draped over the steering wheel. The breeze is blowing his dark wavy hair and he glances over at me and smiles that perfect Silas smile.

"Willow?"

"Yeah, I'm here." I was so distracted by Silas I forgot to respond to her comment. I switch topics. "So have you talked to Reed?"

"Yeah. He made it home. He's out with his dad right now, having a late dinner. Hey, Garret's leaving. I have to say goodbye to my nieces and nephews. We'll talk later. Have fun on your date!"

"It's not a—" I stop when I realize she hung up.

"Who was that?" Silas asks.

"My friend, Lilly. You met her when you picked me up."

"Oh, yeah. She seemed nice."

"She is. We're good friends."

"Does she have a boyfriend?"

"Yes!" I yell it, then realize how crazy that must've sounded. But having Silas show interest in my friend made me crazy. It shouldn't, but it did.

"Why are you yelling?" he asks.

"I didn't mean to. Sorry. So um, why did you ask if she has a boyfriend?"

 "I heard you ask her about someone named Reed. I just wondered if that's her boyfriend."

That's why he asked? And here I thought he wanted to date her. What is wrong with me?

"Yes," I say. "Reed was her boyfriend all last year."

"Did you have a boyfriend last year?" he asks in a casual tone, as if the answer doesn't matter, even though I know it does. He doesn't want to think about me dating someone else. And yet he hides it with that casual tone. I don't know how he does it. If I asked him who he'd dated the past year, I'd sound nervous, giving away the fact that I was desperate for the answer to be no one.

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