Page 74 of Just Like That

His smirk faded slightly, a hint of uncertainty creeping into his eyes. I didn’t wait for a response. I hung up the phone, turned, and walked away, the sound of my footsteps echoing in the hollow, empty space between us.

TWENTY-FOUR

HAZEL

“You’re not foolinganyone behind those mirrored lenses. I can see you’re still staring.”

“Staring at what?” I lied, dragging my attention to Veda and trying my best to look innocent.

She hiked an eyebrow and stared at me over her own sunglasses. “More likewho.”

Veda’s emerald-green eyes had flecks of gold like a cat, and it was unnerving the way she was always analyzing. “You’re staring at JP. Unless you’re actually staring at Royal, which I would totally understand.” She pushed the glasses up her nose and leaned back in the Adirondack chair with a soft exhale. “I’d still have to claw your eyes out, though.”

“I’m just keeping an eye on Teddy. He gets upset if his clothes get too dirty.” It wasn’ttechnicallya lie. Though Teddy, Ben, and Tillie were currently chasing a three-legged dog and a duck around the barn, with Gus toddling behind them.

They were all dusty and giggling, so what the hell did I know?

“Mm-hmm,” Veda answered, clearly not believing my bullshit.

Sylvie had invited Teddy and me over to the farm for some late-season blueberry picking and a barbecue. Across the yard, Duke was operating the massive grill while Royal and JP appeared to be in a friendly but heated debate. Abel was on the outskirts, matching Duke’s grumpy energy as they pointed at the grill.

I shifted under Veda’s quiet assessment. She was sharp and seemed to have a built-in bullshit detector. It was pretty freaking obvious I was sneaking glances at her boss every other second.

Ever since he came on my tits, then I yelled at him, things had been weird.

Imagine that.

Not weird because I discovered there was a filthy mouth hidden beneath that buttoned-up suit, but because he was attentive.

Tender, even.

JP looked genuinely stricken when I confronted him about Olive’s letter, and I didn’t slow down for a second to hear him out. He’d been avoiding me for the past few days, and I couldn’t stand it. A large part of me wanted to give him another chance—to allow him to explain his side of the story, but after I told him I needed space, he gave it to me.

Sometimes it’s really freaking annoying to get what you asked for.

Instead of talking about it, I’d been wrestling with guilt over how intimate we’d been ...somany lines had already been crossed. I knew better.

Olive had JP first, and I had no right to feel the way I did about him. Only, another part of me didn’t care and wanted more.

I wished I could crack open his skull and look around inside.Was he as torn up about it as I was? Did he think of me and wish it were different?

I shifted and looked at Veda. Maybe I couldn’t peek inside JP’s head, but she spent a lot of time with the man. Maybe she had some insight into what made him tick.

“Truth?” I glanced around, making sure no curious ears were around to overhear me. I leaned toward Veda. “Things have gotten ... complicated with JP.”

Her jaw set with a tiny nod, but she didn’t look my way. “Aren’t they always with this family?”

I inhaled, gathering my courage. “We’ve fooled around ... more than once.”

Her dark eyebrows popped up as her head turned. “I see.” She was quiet for a moment, then shrugged. “Teddy’s enamored with him. You are two consenting adults. What’s the problem?”

My jaw dropped. “The problem,” I hissed, desperately trying to keep my voice low, “is thathewas involved with my sister—mydeadsister—and is very likely Teddy’s biological father.”

“But that was only once, right? It’s not like they had some long-standing relationship. Sure, it might seem a little odd to some, but it was a long time ago.”

I didn’t like how logical she was thinking. I toyed with my lower lip. She couldn’t possibly understand the hours of self-shaming I’d been putting myself through. My entire life I’d been the emotional, reckless, impulsive sister that made rash decisions and simply hoped for the best.

Now I was expected to be theresponsibleone, and I was royally fucking it up.

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