Page 74 of Never Kiss and Tell

“Well,” Peter starts, swirling his wine glass. “If you had two dogs and one was old and sick, while the other was a healthy pup and you could only save one in a flood, which would you choose?”

Is this guy for real?

“I wouldn’t save one. I would do what I needed to save both.”

Peter eyes me, annoyed. “Bailey. Think about it. The sick one will die soon, while the other has a whole life to live.”

“And I’m not God,” I snap. “It’s not my decision who gets to live or die and it’s not a politician’s, either.” I attempt to take another drink of wine, but he pulls it from my mouth, again.

I shoot him a glare and drink it, anyway. I’m not a child. “Well, when you look at it that way, it does sound bad. Perhaps that was the wrong explanation. Let’s move on from that.”

“Let’s,” I say, a little too harshly.

Be nice, Bailey,I scold myself.

“How do you know Charlie and Andi?” I ask, aiming tochange the subject. . . . again.

“Well,” Peter says. “I met Charlie when we were younger. Andi is, of course, marrying a good friend of mine.”

“Charlie seems to think you’re a bad guy,” I say, waving my hand so he thinks I don’t believe him. Really, I want the full story, there.

Peter’s jaw tenses. So, thereissomething there.

“Why would he say that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. He just told me not to talk to you. You know how it goes. Once you’re protective over your little sister, her friends become your little sisters, too.”

“Well, there was a misunderstanding a couple years ago. Charlie thought I was seeing his girlfriend, at the time, behind his back.”

Oh. Oh, shit.

“Pricilla?” I ask, my mouth suddenly very dry. I finish the rest of my wine and Peter eyes the glass like I’m taking shots of one-fifty-one out of a stripper’s butthole.

“Yes. She and I were together for a while. She and Charlie were on the outs, so I thought they were separated, at the time.”

As my mind connects the dots, I start to understand why Charlie didn’t want me going out with Peter. And now I feel guilty as shit.

“So, you’re the one Charlie beat up.” It’s not a question.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far.”

I can see the scar on his cheek. He’s the guy Priscilla cheated with that Charlie caught.

“The problem with Charlie is he’s too hot headed. Say you and I were dating. If I caught you cheating, I wouldn’t beat upthe guy that you were with. I would leave.”

“His mother had just died,” I pointed out.

“There’s that. He’s also an alcoholic.”

“Was,” I correct, heat starting to trickle up the back of my neck. “They were still dating and you were inhishouse.”

It makes sense to me, then, why Priscilla would bring Peter to Charlie’s for sex. ShewantedCharlie to catch her.

“Yes, but she wasn’t happy. Everyone has the right to be happy. And I thought that was Priscilla’s house. Charlie either doesn’t care or he doesn’t know when a woman is upset. He was one of those guys in high school who got by on their athletic skill. He thinks all women are the same. Women want to be submissive. Protected.”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing right now?”

Finally, the waitress delivers our food before Peter can say anything else. As it turns outbar au beurre blancis a fish, eyes and all, with a goopy yellow sauce on it. Revulsion coils in my stomach and I have to look away.

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