Page 88 of Frisco

“Agh! Do not think I don’t know what you’re pulling. What’s going on with you and Mr. Hottie Biker Badass Shane King?”

“I don’t know either.” That was the truth. We hadn’t had sex yet. “So Aly and that Brandon guy, huh?”

Harper growled. “I totally know you’re deflecting again, but I’m going to let this one slide. I could do with some gossip distraction myself. And yes! She’s had three one-night stands with him. Keeps saying each night is the last night, until the next evening when we’re at Manny’s and she’s waiting for him to close up. That guy is a workhorse. And I met the sister. I have a crush on her. It’s official. I’m going to start my own Instagram page and fill it with pictures of her and her man, who is delicious looking. The both of them? Sex on wheels. Hot sex on wheels.”

“Aly likes the sister?”

He made a noncommittal sound. “You know Aly. She’s all bubbly and nice, but internally she’s lying to herself about what she’s doing with Brandon.”

I frowned. That sounded more serious than I thought. I sat up again slowly. “Wait. What?”

“She’s in love.”

“It’s been three nights.”

“Yeah, and you know Aly. We know Aly. She’s in love.”

“What?!”

“She blushes when he says her name. She gets butterflies before she calls him—or texts him even. She’s got the look. Our girl’s done fell in love, Kalista.”

I shot to my feet, now standing on the bed. “What?!”

Panic seized my chest.

Rising.

Squeezing.

The pressure filled my chest, rising to my throat.

The bedroom door opened, and Shane appeared, his face thunderous. “What?!”

I dropped the phone, not thinking. “My best friend fell in love for the second time in her life, and I WASN’T THERE TO WATCH IT!” I launched myself at him, knowing he’d catch me. My legs went around his waist, and I peered down at him, glaring. “You kept me here while my best friend fell in love! How dare you!”

Shane caught me easily and shook his head, probably at how insane I was being.

I didn’t care. I kept glaring, seething. “My best friend, Shane!”

The thunderous look was gone, and he took a step, dropping me on the bed. My ass hit the phone. I heard Harper squawking under me, but I was so beyond caring.

I felt myself hyperventilating. I had missed this time. I hadn’t checked the guy out. I shoved back up to my feet, shaking my hands in the air. “The last time she fell in love, Three-Inch Dick dumped her for a size-two girl. Aly’s a size ten. That’s it. A ten. He specifically told her he was leaving her for someone who looked like a trophy on his arm. Aly loves hard. She’s not loved anyone since. Now I find out she’s in love with someone, and I wasn’t there to check him out—cyberstalk him, interrogate his family members, his friends, look for him on dating sites, see what fetishes he might have. I wasn’t able to do any of that because I was here because of you and oomph—”

He’d moved in, wrapped his arms around my waist, and put me over his shoulder.

“Shane!”

He bent, then handed something to me. “Your phone, babe.”

“Babe?!” I could hear Harper again. “He calls you babe?!”

Oh Jesus. I took the phone, putting it to my ear in a very uncomfortable way. “Hey.”

“Hey? Hey yourself!” Harper was all chirpy now. “He calls you babe?!”

I cringed, some of my anger melting, because yeah, he called me babe. “Um, I think I need to call you back.”

“You do that! You definitely do that. Take your time. Babe. Oh my gawd. Babe. I have to call Aly right now.” He hung up on me this time.

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