Page 90 of Tempting Promises
I know he is, but I shouldn’t know that. “I assume he was invited.”
“Okay, then just tell him that it makes more sense to drive in together, which it does.”
“Oh, sure, and then I can just casually drop that I should stay with him in his room since again, I have no money for a hotel?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
Faye laughs at that. “Or you can stay with Aurora.”
My sister. I forgot about that option, but I really don’t want to see her. After the last few calls, I’m just not in the right place to be around her, but it would make the most sense.
“All the more reason not to drive in with Rowan, then. If she found out I drove with him, forget it.”
“What the hell does she think happened in the woods when you spent days trapped with the man?”
I look away, biting my lip, and say under my breath, “I didn’t tell her I was with him.”
“You didn’ttellher?” The shock in Faye’s voice makes me feel defensive.
“Look, Aurora and I aren’t exactly on the greatest of terms right now. She’s pissed at me for a multitude of reasons and, honestly, I’m not exactly all that happy with her.”
Faye rests her arm on the top of the clothes rack. “Why are you mad?”
“Because she won’t stop pestering me about coming to visit her, she judges me for everything I do, and she went off after we spent the night when I got hammered at Rowan’s.”
She rolls her eyes. “Your sister is such a drama queen.” She lifts her hands in surrender. “I know, I know, he broke her cold, black heart, but give me a break. Rowan is not a bad guy. He’s been incredibly nice to you, took care of you, and I totally saw you smile at him at his party before we left.”
I focus on the dresses in front of me to keep from letting her see my red cheeks. I did a lot more than smile at him that night.
However, my best friend stops talking and I look up to see her staring. “What?”
“Why are you blushing?”
“I’m not, I’m just hot.”
“The hell you are. It’s not even warm in this place,” Faye calls me out on my lie. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been weird since that hiking trip. If I didn’t know you better, I’d think that something happened between you and Rowan, but . . .”
One thing I’ve never been good at is lying to Faye. She knows all my secrets, except this one. For weeks I’ve kept this to myself, and I feel like I’m going to explode.
“I’ve been sleeping with Rowan since the ice storm,” I admit, and I wish I could take the words back.
Her brows shoot up and jaw drops. “You’rewhat?”
I nod. “It’s...yeah, I don’t know. I’m clearly insane and a horrible person.”
She comes around the rack and takes my hands in hers. “Explain everything.”
The lack of judgment on her face is the only reason I spill my guts. I tell her about the entire ice storm, how we slept together, stating it all ended when we left the woods, because it was clearly just because we were bored and frustrated. Then, I tell her about how I went to his house to return that hat, and she just stares at me. All of it comes out in such a rush that I’m not even sure what I’ve said anymore.
“You’re sleeping with him as in present tense?”
“Last night was the last time . . .”
I mean, I guess that’s present tense.
For the first time since I’ve known her, she’s at a loss for words. She keeps opening and closing her mouth while shaking her head.
Not that I can blame her. It would be more plausible if I had said I was moving to Hawaii to be a pirate than sleeping with the man I’ve vowed to hate in solidarity with my sister. But, here I am, absolutely not hating him.
“I’m . . . well, okay, wow. You and Rowan . . .”
