Page 155 of Bookworm

It wasn't until a couple hours later that I got the answer.

I was just coming out of the girl's bathroom when someone stepped in front of me.

Aspen Vanderbilt stood there with her arms crossed.

"Hey Aspen," I said. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah, I do," she replied. "I want my $20 back."

"What?"

"Oh, drop the act. I know what you and your sister did."

I shook my head. "Sorry, I'm so confused right now. What are we talking about?"

Aspen released a long-suffering sigh then pinned me with an accusatory stare.

"The HUBS bet," she said. "The one about who could be the first to hook up with Bo Stryker. I knew it was rigged all along. Your sister startedthe bet, then she somehow got Bo on board, just so you and she could split the money."

It felt like I'd been slapped.

"Scarlett started the bet?" I asked just to make sure I'd understood her correctly.

"Yeah, like you didn't know," Aspen said.

"I didn't."

She looked at me for a long moment before giving a careless shrug. "You're either a better actress than I gave you credit for, or you're telling the truth. If it's the second, I truly feel sorry for you," she said then scowled. "But I still want my money back."

Without a word, almost as if on autopilot, I reached into my purse, pulled out a twenty and handed it to her.

"Thanks, Loser Lottie."

"I really didn't know," I repeated.

"Getting duped, not just by your boyfriend but your sister?" Aspen gave me a sympathetic look, and I honestly couldn't tell whether it was real or not."That's gotta hurt."

She was right.

It should've hurt.I should've been angry or sad or a combination of both.But I was still trying to process everything.

Scarlett's words from earlier replayed on a loop in my head.

I knew he could do it.

Then the conversation I'd had with Bo rang in my ears.

Remind me to thank your sister.

For what?

For all her help.

And finally Aspen's accusation.

Your sister started the bet.

Scarlett had also been the one to add Bo to my suitor list. She'd been in his corner from day one, and I'd never questioned it.But I was starting to do so now.

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