Page 52 of Olivia's Only Pretending
“Uh, just a few text messages back and forth. Have you?”
“One phone call. And I asked about her message from Austin, and she really dodged it.”
My heart sank. “What is it about Austin?”
Lucy groaned on her end of the line. “Seriously.”
I perused the premade cheese trays. Did I want simple or elaborate? I picked up an elaborate one.
“Maybe we’re jumping to conclusions. Maybe she just doesn’t want to talk about him anymore, like he’s a sore subject,” Lucy said optimistically.
I dropped the tray in my cart. “Doubtful. I know our little sister. If she’s avoiding a topic, it’s because she’s hiding it.”
“Huh, I know someone else who hides from topics, too,” Lucy said in a sing-songy voice, oozing with insinuation.
“I don’t hide from any topics,” I said. A ’90s love song crooned from the market’s stereo system in the background.
“Really. How’s Victor?”
“He’s great. Brought me over Midol and breakfast yesterday for first day cramps,” I said smugly.Did leaving out a few details count as hiding?
Our conversation continued, but the back of my mind snagged on what Lucy said. Did I hide from certain sensitive topics, like the topic of Victor?
I’d remained quiet about the kiss.
And the feelings I’d been wrestling with.
I’d never felt like I hid, but I definitely wasn’t sharing it.Because,I thought to myself later while buckling the cheese tray into the front seat of my car,why involve others in my own messy thoughts until I cleaned them up?
I knew Lucy. She’d just try to clean it up for me. Or with me.
And then there was a thought I wrestled with the whole drive to Lucy’s, in my big-sister voice:and what’s so wrong with someone helping sort out the mess alongside me?
Lucy’s house smelled like tomato sauce and garlic. My mouth watered at the bubbling, gooey lasagna she and Adam had made for dinner.
She was tossing the garden salad at the kitchen counter while Adam told Mom and Jeff about how he’d seasoned the lasagna meat. Lucy’s own art hung on the walls around us.
I leaned over Lucy’s shoulder. Her wild red hair was back in a messy clip. “What do you think of Jeff?”
Gracie suddenly appeared by my side. “You guys whispering about Jeff?”
I shot a glance at Mom. She was completely immersed in the lasagna conversation as Adam used his hands to emphatically describe something about the recipe.
“He’s nice. He brought a great bottle of red wine.” Lucy shrugged, adding a few more croutons to the salad.
“He seems friendly,” Gracie mused, stealing a crouton from the opened bag.
“I think he really likes Mom,” I said.
So far, he’d found multiple reasons to make physical contact and looked at her like he was taken aback by her beauty, her shaggy auburn bob, and her big, brown eyes.
“I noticed that, too. He seems flustered,” Gracie agreed, reaching for another crouton.
Lucy swatted her hand away from the salad toppings. There was a knock at the door. “That’s probably Victor. Will you go answer, Liv?”
I wanted to protest, but that would garner suspicion, so I swallowed back my nerves. We hadn’t seen each other since our second accidental kiss.
He’s just my old pal Victor,I reminded myself.
