Page 10 of Fallen Stars

“The new investigation company, right?”

I nod. “Yeah. Runs it with a friend he met during college.”

Skylar’s lips turn down at the corners a moment. “Wish they would’ve been here a year earlier.” Her eyes lose focus as shestares over my shoulder. After a deep inhale, she blinks and meets my gaze once more. “Things might’ve been different for many of us.”

Too true.

Had Tymber been in town even a few months earlier, had the town and police known Levi worked with an investigative team, maybe our town wouldn’t have lost some of its citizens to tragedy. Maybe the culprits behind several heinous acts would’ve been located sooner.

But if I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s best not to question what might have been after the fact. All it does is drive you mad.

“Agreed.” My stomach cramps, so I shove the milkshake away. Leaning back in the booth, I give Skylar a sympathetic smile. “But things might not have turned out the same if all that shit hadn’t gone down.”

Skylar mirrors my position across the booth as her brows scrunch together. “How so?”

How do I say this without sounding like an asshole? I don’t think it’s possible.

Fingers drumming against my thigh, I swallow and do my best to soften my voice. “If you were never abducted and the”—I lean forward and barely whisper the next word—“embezzlers were never caught, do you think you and Law would be where you are now? Blissful, living together, and not constantly looking over your shoulder.”

Confusion wrinkles her forehead. “Of course?—”

“Would Kirsten have decided between Travis and Ben so easily without her stalker thrown in the mix?” My lips twist up as I shrug. “Probably not. Without the additional stress, she would’ve had more time to get to know Ben better. The pissing match for her affection might still be happening had her stalker not made them go into protector mode.”

Skylar scoffs. “So the intensity of someone’s protection level determines who you love?” She crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t believe that for a second.” Skylar shakes her head for emphasis. “Chemistry speaks volumes.”

At this, I laugh. Not because Skylar is wrong. Chemistry is vital between romantic partners.

The reason I laugh at her comment has everything to do with Delilah and Phoebe.

For years, their chemistry was one-sided. Delilah never came across as miserable regarding her unrequited love for Phoebe Graves. Occasionally bummed? Yes. Consistently hopeful? Absolutely. But never depressed. Somehow, Delilah knewsomethingwould happen between them.

“It does,” I agree. “But chemistry also changes in certain situations. When life gets shitty, you look at the world through a different lens. You also see people in a different light.” I reach for the straw wrapper on the table and roll it between my fingers. “If Dee Dee hadn’t been taken, would she and Phoebe still be in relationship limbo?”

“No, they’d be?—”

“You don’t know that for sure.” I shake my head. “Yeah, Dee Dee and Phoebe were headed in that direction. But the possibility of finding her dead in the forest like the others… it flipped a switch in Phoebe’s brain.” I curl my fingers into loose fists, hold my hands up on either side of my face, and pop them open as I make a detonating sound. “Tell me I’m wrong,” I dare her.

“If you’d let me speak.” Her brows shoot up as her lips flatten into a line.

I clamp my lips between my teeth to hide my smile.

“Thank you,” she says after a moment. “And yes, those situations sped up the process of our friends falling in love.” Her attention falls to the table for a beat as she mulls over her nextwords. When she meets my gaze again, I see the resolution in her thoughts. “I still believe we’d be where we are had those events not happened.” She rocks a little in her seat. “Would it be exactly the same? Of course not. But I firmly believe we’d have the same outcome.”

“Really?”

Skylar narrows her eyes as she studies my face. “Nice try, Ollie.”

I tilt my head. “What?”

With a shake of her head, she mumbles, “Always steering the conversation away.”

From Levi, she means but doesn’t say.

And maybe I am. I don’t see the point in carrying on a conversation that will lead to the same point it always does—my friends giving me that gentle, nonchalant push to tell Levi how I feel.

Bless my friends for wanting me to have the same happiness as them. But it will never happen.

Levi has never seen me as anything more than what we are. Though he hasn’t been in a relationship with anyone, I’m not oblivious to the women he gawks more than in passing. I’ve never seen him check out a guy. Not even a little. If he had, I may not be as hesitant to open up that part of myself to him.

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