Page 85 of Beneath the Stands (Sugarlake 2)

I made the right choice.

That fact is more than obvious after this meeting today. How could I have ever thought we were compatible? Lee’s right. We’re oil and water. We don’t mix.

My chest pulls tight at the thought. “Well, I don’t know how Sarah puts up with him. I could never. Really, there’s no way I could ever marry that man, let alone live with him. It woulda been a terrible decision.”

The buzz from the wine filters through my bloodstream, my body humming with a fuzzy warmth. I sigh in relief, the throb in my heart finally dying down.

“Come again?” Lee’s staring at me slack-jawed.

“Huh?” I yawn, suddenly exhausted from the drama of the day.

I can’t believe I agreed to plan his weddin’.

But maybe this chunk of money will help me cut ties with Papa once and for all. I can take Jax up on his offer and get out of this hellhole. How ironic it’s Eli’s marriage to another woman that ends up being my Hail Mary.

Lee’s head is cocked, her brows pulled in. “You said it would have been a terrible decision. What exactly are you referrin’ to in that statement? The marriage part, or the livin’ together part?”

My heart stutters in my chest, my stomach free falling like I’m on a rollercoaster.

I straighten off the couch. “I didn’t say that. You misheard me.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“What’d you say, then?” Her gaze is locked on to mine, and I’m afraid to move. Scared that if I do anything, she’ll see the truth. I can’t believe I let my guard down and let that slip.

“Hmm?” I take another gulp of my wine. “Hey, how was your trip with Chase?”

Lee shakes her head. “Nope. Nope. No way. You don’t get to change the subject like that, Becca.”

I groan, throwing my head back. Why can’t she just drop it? “I don’t wanna talk about Eli anymore.”

She throws up her hands. “That’s the whole reason you came over!”

“Well, I just needed to vent. I did and now I’m done.” My curls twist through my fingers, my stomach somersaulting to the beat of my heart.

“You know, you and Eli are really startin’ to tick me off. I don’t appreciate bein’ the in-between for you two when neither of you will tell me what’s goin’ on.”

Everything in me screams to just say it—push the words from the tip of my tongue, and let them settle in the space between us. But I can’t. I’m terrified of losing her.

To this day, Jeremy tries to convince me to tell her, but I just can’t risk it.

He wasn’t here to witness the fallout when our best friend, Lily, found out about Chase and Lee.

Lily was already a mess,

chasing a high none of us could provide, but realizing her big brother and her best friend fell in love behind her back? That was the push that launched her off the edge. I loved Lily, but my loyalty to Lee runs strong and true, so when she dropped Lee, I dropped her. And then she abandoned all of us when she ran away, never to be heard from again.

The absence of Lily hurts, but it’s nothing compared to what it will feel like if I lose Lee.

She’s been fragile as hell for eight years, and I will not be responsible for throwing her off that carefully balanced ledge.

Lee sits next to me, grabbing my hand. “You can tell me, you know? You’re my best friend Becca. Nothin’ will ever change that. Just please, tell me what’s goin’ on.”

Guilt slides up my stomach and wraps around my chest, squeezing until my lungs constrict.

“Nothin’ is goin’ on, Lee,” I whisper.

Omission is not a lie.

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