Page 48 of It's Not Home Without You

“Aren’t you hilarious.” He stuck his tongue out at me, making me grin. I felt at ease when I was with Dex. There was a connection between the two of us. I thought it had to do with the fact that he was new in town and he couldn’t judge me based on my past.

“Did you have fun blowing it? I give you the girl, I give her to you to watch over, and you think getting in bed with her was the right move? What kind of dumb-ass move was that? You could have woken up, made her breakfast, and forced her to have a conversation with you, but instead, you get a busted nose and a spooked girl.”

“She had a nightmare,” he defended himself. “I tried waking her, but as soon as I touched her, she calmed down. I didn’t mean to fall asleep holding her.” He seemed sheepish at his confession.

“Lucky for you, I have a plan to fix the mess you made.” Dex put what he was doing down and gave me his full attention. Ha! Whoever said guys didn’t need help with theirgame lied. No one was a better wingman to a man than a girl. We knew what other girls wanted.

“What’s in it for you?” His skepticism didn’t take away from his curiosity.

“I get to drive the car with the lights blaring all around town.”

“No.”

“It was worth a try. All I want is for Emma to be happy.

She deserves it.” Love may not be in the cards for me, but it didn’t mean it couldn’t be for Emma.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The next day,I had to manipulate Emma into having another girls’ night with me. Did I feel lousy I would ditch her? Nope, she needed a push, and I was the person for the job.

There were five places to eat in Sunny Pines. Emma’s, Franny’s, The Convenient Store—our take on 7-Eleven, Rocco’s,and Moore’s. Moore’s was a bar slash grill. I had never been there, but I knew the place was the local watering hole.

Emma and I were in my shed, aka my closet.

“Emma, close your mouth,” I said as I rummaged through my clothes. I found the perfect emerald skater dress, black booties, and a black leather jacket. It was chic and cool. Emma’s only request was no heels. She was scared to end up in a neck brace.

“Are you opening a small boutique?” she joked. Thatwouldn’t be a bad idea, except the town was too small for a boutique to thrive. Besides, I had already shared my closet with San Francisco’s slutties.

“I’m giving you a makeover for tonight.” Once I grabbed my stuff, I dragged Emma to my little room. It was odd having her here, not just because my place was tiny, but because I never had another chick in my room.

“Emma,” I said as I straightened her waves.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad we’re friends.” I could see her grin reflected in the mirror, and it hit me deep in the feels.

“I’m glad we’re friends too.”

“You look beautiful.” I grabbed oils and put it on her hair so it wouldn’t frizz. Looking at herself in the mirror, Emma seemed to forget her worries. Quincy and Jess were holding the fort down tonight, and it made Emma nervous since she had never taken a night off, which was another reason I didn’t feel guilty about lying to her. To keep up appearances, I had to wear a dress.

Not that I minded, I loved dressing up.

Mine was also a skater dress, long sleeved, and black, with the difference that the whole back was open. I loved it. It made me feel sexy, and let’s face it, after the weeks I had, I needed to feel desired.

Too bad there wasn’t anyone worth looking at. Dex didn’t count, Rusty was my brother, and he-who-shall-not-be-named most definitely didn’t count. My dress was awesome, and my silver stilettos rocked. Hopefully, Emma didn’t hate me after today.

“Wow, Freya,no one has ever dolled me up like this.”

Where I was dark and jaded, Emma was sunlight and innocence, and it sucked that she was also lonely.

“Well, with me as your bestie, you can count on it,” I said. I didn’t expect to be overcome with emotion.

Grandpa was in the living room as we made our way out.

“Grandpa, this is Emma. Emma, this is my grandpa.”

Emma waved at Grandpa.“Nice to meet you, sir.”

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