Page 56 of Mistle-Ho

“That smile on your face does not saynothing.” She waggles her brows at me. “That smile says you just got a text from a certain long-haired rugby player.”

My stomach drops as my eyes flash to where Maddie sits, hoping she’s not paying attention to me or Isla. Sadly, the widening of her dark eyes as they meet mine crushes any hope I have that my entanglement with my brother’s best friend will stay on the down-low.

Isla continues on, oblivious to the mess she’s spilling. “You went home with Gavin last night, didn’t you?” She leans closer, lowering her voice. “Did you have to leave because he nutted on your dress again?”

My stomach drops as shit keeps getting worse and worse. “I…” This is not how I want my brother to find out what’s going on between me and his best friend. I wanted to wait for a while. Let this whole thing with Maddie blow over before explaining the overlap in our personal lives.

And I sure as shit don’t want him to find out from someone other than me.

My loudest, and most oblivious, friend finally seems to notice everyone has gotten very quiet. Isla’s brown eyes go wide, her skin paling as she realizes what she’s done. “Oh fuck.” She looks from me to Maddie, then back to me again. “I sorta forgot we had a new addition here.”

I don’t know what to say. How to fix this. I know Isla didn’t mean to spill the tea about me and Gavin, but I still want to throttle her. Just a little.

The silence drags out until finally someone breaks it.

“I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t hear a single word you said then.” Maddie gives me a cautious smile. “But if I did, the only thing I would have to say is good for you.”

Isla’s shoulders drop as she lets out a loud sigh of relief. “Thank God.”

I look my redheaded friend over. “I’m still mad at you.”

Isla grins at me. “No you’re not. That’s just how your face looks.” She turns to Maddie, leaning an elbow on the counter. “Well, since we can’t talk about Alexis, and no one else here is getting laid, why don’t you tell us how you and Leo got together.”

Maddie presses her lips together, eyes flicking to me before darting away. “Leo and I have known each other for a while. Our parents are friends.”

My phone buzzes in my pocket again, and I pull it out, keeping it below the top of the island so no one else can see.

You were right. Your boss knew exactly who I should talk to.

I tap out the response before refocusing on Maddie as she talks about how great my brother is.

“Never in a million years did I think I would want to have another relationship. Especially so soon.” She gives me another quick glance before looking away. “But it just sort of happened.”

Her explanation makes me huff out a little laugh. “I understand completely.”

I’d left my teenage dream of being with Gavin behind a long time ago. Even when we started messing around, I still didn’t see it as anything long term. I figured it would just be a quick little fling. Enough to sate my curiosity and fulfill a fantasy.

My cell phone buzzes again, and my eyes drop to the screen to find a picture of Gavin holding the iguana in one arm and Cilantro in the other. Another text pops up almost immediately.

I think they might be starting to like each other.

Normally, getting a steady stream of text messages starts to annoy me. Makes me feel overwhelmed and inundated. But every single one of the peeks into Gavin’s adventures today has left me with a smile on my face.

They’ve also left me a little… Perplexed. Off-balance. Uncertain.

I feel like I bought vanilla ice cream and got home to discover I actually had peanut butter fudge ripple. Way more than I expected and planned for.

It’s not at all what I anticipated. But it might be even better.

As long as I’m brave enough to take a bite.

26

Granny D Approved

Gavin

“FUCK.” I TIP my head back, taking a deep breath before returning my attention to the project in my hands. “This shit was not made for someone my size.”

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