Page 22 of Unfriend Me
“What’s so funny?” Amelia asked in a low voice meant just for me.
I looked down at her, seeing the ways her face had changed over the years. “When did we get old? We used to sit around this fire and talk about cars, who was dating who, and what pranks we hadn’t gotten caught for yet. Not wildlife conservation and the merits of choosing our words carefully.”
She laughed with me. “I guess things have changed.We’vechanged. Sometimes it happens so slowly we don’t even recognize it until something wakes us up. Which is why I’m glad I started my phoenix tattoo. All that shit with Daire woke me up, and as weird as it is to say, I’m grateful for it.”
The mention of that asshole made my blood boil, but I could see she was over him. Truly and completely. And if that’s what it took to wake her up to how a man should treat her—namely me—then I was begrudgingly grateful too. My Amelia always had a hard head. It took drastic measures to get her to change her mind about something.
I ran my hand up and down her back, happy to have her by my side again. The whole year without her had been torture. She made me come alive in a way I couldn’t replicate without her. I’d tried. Trust me. But it was like I wasn’t a complete human without her. Like the most essential part of me was missing when she was gone.
“I’m happy to have you back, Lia.” It was all I could get past my lips without spilling everything I felt inside. I still planned to make my move tonight, but it wouldn’t be in front of every single one of our friends and all her sisters.
“Speaking of happy, did my picture do the trick to distract you last night?” She nudged me, wisps of dark hair flying around her face in the ocean breeze and making me want to tuck it behind her ear.
A surge of lust so great I almost had to adjust myself coursed through my body. “Um, yeah. That definitely worked.”
She grinned, but it faded quickly to be replaced by a serious set of her eyebrows. “I’m sorry about your brother. Seems like he’s never going to change his ways.”
I nodded, instantly subdued by the mention of Dom. “When I picked him up, I told him I wouldn’t bail him out anymore. I don’t know if he believed me, but I just can’t continue like this. Two or three times every single month I get a call from someone, lately Bain down at the jail.”
Amelia nuzzled into my side and kissed my neck, a move meant to impart sympathy. A bolt of electricity ran through me at her intimate touch and I took a lot more than sympathy from her lips touching my skin.
“So, are you two back to being friends again, I assume?” Lenora’s sweet voice cut through whatever moment Amelia and I were having.
I lifted my head and flashed her a smile. “Most definitely.” What I didn’t divulge was that I intended to add a whole lot more than just friendship to the equation.
Amelia laughed, the sound music to my ears. “Yeah. He agreed not to introduce me to any more douchebags, so I let him be my friend again.”
Lenora jumped up and hugged us both before sitting back down all smiles. “I knew you’d come to your senses eventually.”
“Thank God. That guy was seriously annoying,” Lucy piped in.
“But hot, you gotta give him that,” Hazel said wryly.
I shook my head, not understanding how girls could think a guy was still hot, even after he treated women so poorly.
“It’s that bad-boy image, you know? Girls think they can tame him and make him change his ways,” Lenora said. Jayden made a face and looked at me, mirroring my own feelings on the subject.
“So, how are your parents doing, Rip?”
I tuned quickly back to Amelia, seeing her focus entirely on Rip. He shrugged and mumbled an answer I couldn’t catch.
“Was your dad ever a rancher? Or like, is he into cattle?” Amelia asked again, spinning so she could see Rip clearly.
What the hell was she going on about?
“No, he grew up around here.” Rip frowned, just as confused by Amelia’s line of questioning.
“This may seem a bit forward, but relationships intrigue me. How’s your parents’ relationship?”
I stood quickly, reaching down to pull Amelia off the blanket. “Okay, time to get going. Got work in the morning.” I knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to sniff out what was going on with the mayor.
“Happy birthday, Hazel,” I called out over my shoulder as I pulled Amelia with me up the path to the cars parked above.
“But—hey!” Amelia started flailing and I let her go. “I’m not ready to leave yet.” She put her hands on her hips, eyes flashing in the moonlight.
I put my hands on my hips too. “And I’m not ready to see you question poor Rip when he’s got nothing to do with his dad’s behavior.”
“But he might know something!”
