Page 30 of Sugar
Her face grows solemn. “And then he died.”
“Oh fuck,” I say. “What happened?”
“Car accident. He’d been drinking.”
“Shit. I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. But there’s more.” Layla pauses and gives an exasperatedWhere do I even startsigh. “The Bennetts threw his celebration of life here at the bar, and hisothergirlfriend showed up.”
“Ohhellno!” I screech. Saddlebrook Falls certainly has its share of drama, but I’ve never heard of anything like this.
“It was fucking horrible,” she mutters, sighing. “But, Wells helped me through it. And we realized there were feelings there between us. Well,Irealized there were feelings.”
Something small cracks open in my chest. “He already knew?”
She smiles. “He had them the whole time. Kept it to himself because of his loyalty to Jason.”
“Damn.” I look at Wells again. He’s behind the bar now, a white towel slung casually over his shoulder, laughing at something Kasey says.
I look at Kasey too.
His mouth is turned up in a comfortable smile, the shape of his eyes tilted in humor. His lips are parted, jaw relaxed, shoulders confident as they stretch the chest of his half-buttoned Henley. It’s nothing at all like the way he spent the day, wound so tight I thought he might snap. It was obvious he didn’t want me to be on the ranch, and if I’m being honest, I’m not sure why I pressed it, like a thumb in a sore bruise.
Maybe I’m holding on to some shred of hope that if I stick it out, he’ll pull off some of that armor and we can find each other again, at least in friendship. We’re going to be spending the next few months together; we might as well find a way to enjoy it. But I saw the way he frowned when I kicked off my sandals in the barn, moving around the cement floor barefoot as I helped him tack up two of the horses. And I saw the way he threw a look toward Rhett, as if to sayDon’t you dare fucking askwhen he thought I wasn’t looking. Like he might be embarrassed by all of this, having to entertain his ex-girlfriend in an uncomfortable and very fake marriage just to keep the vultures away from his family.
He was quiet and broody, pinched with discomfort. And still, I wouldn’t leave.
“Aren’t you ever worried that he’ll end things?” I ask Layla, eyes bouncing back to Wells. “That he’ll break your heart?”
She looks mildly surprised by the question. “No. Not at all.”
“How?” I ask, a smidge incredulous. “How can you be so sure?”
She considers. “If I’ve learned anything it’s that nothing’s guaranteed, so why spend life anticipating the worst things thatcouldhappen? Wells could wake up at any moment and realize he doesn’t love me anymore, and it would break me, for sure. But waiting for it every day could very well be worse than it actuallyhappening. I need to hold on to the joy and love and hope of it all, for my own sanity. You know?”
“I’m familiar with that kind of anticipation,” I admit. Hell, it’s why I left. I couldn’t bear the thought of either of us wanting an out one day, so I got ahead of it. Ripped off the Band-Aid. There’ve been plenty of days that I regretted it, but also plenty where I’ve felt justified. The way we burned . . . it was too hot, too explosive to be healthy.
“Hey, girls!”
Layla and I turn our attention to the freckled girl heading right for us, her strawberry-blonde hair brushing against the tops of her shoulders. “Hey, Liv!” Layla says, pulling out a stool beside her.
The girl sinks down into it, her patchwork quilt purse sliding off her as she smiles at me. “You must be Ava,” she says, tucking her hair behind her ear before holding her hand out to me. “I’m Olivia.”
“I remember you,” I say. I’d been at the bakery next to her mom’s café enough growing up. “You’re Rhett’s girl, now?”
She beams. “Yeah. Still feels a little weird to say.”
“More like he’sherman,” Layla says with a burst of laughter. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a guy so whipped.”
Olivia grins. “He’s still making up for . . . well, you know.”
“Ah,” Layla says, nodding. She turns to me. “So . . . tell us all about it. I want to know every detail.”
“About what?”
She laughs, not unkindly. “You and Kasey! What was he like as a teenager? I was too young to know much of anything back then.”
“Me too,” Olivia says.
