Page 70 of Her Pretty Words

“You made me feel so special,” I say, trying to wrap my mind around him being Daniel. They’re separate people in my mind, and now I need to merge the two. His last name is Wright. I remember now.

“Youarespecial to me, Mace.”

Now, I realize, beneath all his masks, Daniel Grayson Wright is a liar to his very core.

“Then why didn’t you tell me?” I snap. “In the airport, when you saw me, why the hell wouldn’t you tell me who you were? Why pretend to be someone else?” I squeeze my hands into fists, the familiar bite of my nails brings me back to the morning I left Walter. It’s like I’m reliving the memory, only Grayson has hurt me a million times worse than my ex-fiancé ever could’ve.

“Because I don’t want to be Daniel.” His voice breaks. “I wanted to tell you so many times, and I was going to, but I kept putting it off because…” His jaw clenches. “You have no idea how long it’s been since I’ve beenhappy, and it’s selfish, but I didn’t want those lose that feeling, and being Daniel certainly would’ve chased it away.”

“You’re making no sense.”

His eyebrows pull together. “You make mehappy, Mace, and suddenly all this time had passed, and I knew it’d ruin everything good between us if I told you, because then you’d think I was a liar?—”

“Youarea liar!”

“I’m not a li?—”

“You lied about who you are!” I shout at him. “God, you might be worse than Walt?—”

“Don’t,” he snaps darkly. He fists the roots of his hair. “I’m not Daniel anymore.”

I laugh dryly. “What the hell does that even mean?”

“That happy boy you knew, the one you told Sarah you loved? He’s gone, Macy. He died the day his family did!” The man standing before me crumbles to the floor, as if he can’t hold himself up anymore.

Chapter 26

Grayson

18 Years Ago

The first thing I see when I wake up is a mop of dark brown hair hanging from the top of my bunk bed. Two blue eyes identical to mine stare at me. Delilah giggles and her hair disappears, and then a stuffed dolphin flies at me from the top bunk.

“Lila!” I laugh, rolling out of bed and climbing the latter onto hers.

“Are you ready for the best day ever?” she singsongs, grabbing another one of her stuffed animals and hugging it to her chest.

Dread tugs at me. “No,” I say. “Macy is leaving today, remember?”

Her smile flips, but when she looks down at her stuffed animal, it returns. “Yeah, but Mom and Dad are giving ustwenty dollarsto spend at the festival! I’m going to buy a new stuffy.” She grins at the one in her arms. I wish I was as excited as her.

Everyone jokes about how different we are even though we’re twins. Delilah was born first. It’s like those extra minutes in the world made her so much wiser than me. The grown-ups like to sayshecould babysitme. “Do you think Mom and Dad will let me stay home?”

“I don’t know, but I really want you to come,” she complains. “The festival only happens twice a year! Do you know how long a year is?” Her eyes widen.

It’s only open at the end of summer, and around Halloween. There are bounce houses and toys I can buy with the money Mom and Dad are giving me, but I want to play with Macy one last time before she leaves. Idoknow how long a year is because that’s how long until she’s coming back.

“I don’t want Macy to go either.” She frowns. “When we get bigger, you have to marry her. Then her and I will be sisters and she’ll have to live here all the time. Not just in the summer.”

“Married people kiss.” My face scrunches up.

“You’re going to have to kisssomeonewhen we’re bigger. Every grown-up kisses, so you might as well kiss her. You think she’s pretty, don’t you?”

My face gets hot, but I lie and say no.

“Delilah! Daniel! Come eat, we gotta go soon,” Mom calls from the kitchen.

Delilah grins at me. “I bet we’re having strawberries.” She loves the fruit. Me not so much. We just learned what a bet was last week. “I bet we’re not.”

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