Page 48 of Jilted

“You were reading one of those the night I came to your office. Do they work?”

“Sometimes when I’m reading them, I get invigorated by the ideas and outlook they have. It’s sort of like getting a pep talk from the coach before a game.”

“I can relate to that.”

I nodded. “Except after it’s over, you probably kept the excitement you felt by playing in the game. An hour or two after I shut the book, I forget everything I just read.”

“So play the game after the pep talk,” he suggested. “Start writing the book you always wanted to write.”

“I guess… Maybe.”

“I should be your coach, encourage you to follow your dreams. But selfishly, I also want to have a reason to see you every month, so you can’t quit your current job anytime soon.”

The front door burst open. Lucas and Olivia were laughing and talking like the best of friends. They offered us a chin lift and disappeared into another room.

I pointed. “Who were those happy children?”

Wilder shrugged. “Fuck if I know.”

“I won my sixth-grade spelling bee,” Lucas said. “Wilder has a tattoo on his ass. And Wilder is so afraid of clowns, he once pissed himself at the circus.”

“I did not piss myself. I spilled my drink.”

Lucas cracked up. “Because you jumped out of your seat when that clown came near you. That counts as pissing yourself.”

Wilder grumbled and shook his head. “I thought the truths and lies we told playing this game were supposed to be about ourselves.”

Lucas smirked. God, he really looked like his older brother. I glanced over at Olivia, who was currently gazing at the boy much the way I looked at Wilder. I wasn’t the only one with a little crush.

Lucas pointed to me. “You go first. Which is the lie, Sloane?”

“I’m going to say… Wilder has a tattoo on his ass is the lie.”

Lucas pointed to Olivia. She smirked. “He definitely looks like he could have an ass tattoo. I’m going with Lucas didn’t win the spelling bee.”

Wilder grumbled and gestured across the table at Olivia. “I’ll vote with her.”

My eyes widened. “You have an ass tattoo?”

“Show it to ’em.” Lucas nudged his brother with his elbow. “Come on, show it to ’em.”

“I think I’ll pass on taking down my pants in front of a fourteen-year-old girl. Thanks, Lucas. People get arrested for that.”

I couldn’t stop laughing. This board game had turned out to be more fun than I’d thought, even if I was the only one whose game piece was still stuck at start. It was sort of like two truths and a lie, except when you guessed correctly, you moved your piece forward a few spaces.

“It’s your turn, Aunt Sloane.”

“Oh gosh. I’m going to sound boring after an ass tattoo.” I looked over at Wilder. “You better tell me what it is later.”

He winked. “I’ll show you.”

I wasn’t sure how many hours we played, but I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed so hard for so long. My face actually hurt a little. Eventually Wilder looked at his watch. “It’s almost midnight. We should probably get going. We have an early flight in the morning.”

I grinned. “Need to get home and put on your mud mask, huh?”

Wilder closed his eyes and dropped his head while the teenagers enjoyed my teasing. Lucas had revealed a lot of dirt on his brother tonight, most of which involved girly habits, like using mud masks, taking baths with candles, and watching theReal Housewivesshows. “I’m going to kick your ass, kid,” he growled. But it was all in good fun.

Lucas and Olivia said goodbye after exchanging phone numbers, and Olivia gave him one of her recent drawings. She stayed behind while I walked the guys downstairs and out front. Lucas waved goodbye and jogged to the car, giving Wilder and me a minute alone.

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