Page 95 of Panty Dropper

Timmy came back with our drinks, we gave him our orders and handed over our menus.

I smiled across the table at Nadia. “All right. Let’s hear it.”

Nadia groaned and dropped her head into her hands. “Crap, Reagan. This isn’t going at all like I planned.”

I reached across the table and laid a hand on her forearm. “I’m just messing with you, hon. Seriously. Go ahead and tell me what you brought me here to say.”

She shook her head. “Honestly, that makes it sound so much more well-planned than it is. This isn’t some kind of intervention. I just wanted to give you a heads up that people are flappin’ their gums.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Which, if you remember, I warned you would happen if you decided to take up with Billy.”

I had to laugh. Not because it was funny, though. At all. “You heard I’m takin’ up with Billy?”

She gave me her patented “what do you think?” face.

“I wouldn’t call it ‘takin’ up.’ Not that I even know what that means. We’re friends.” With clauses. “Even if it was more, whose business is it? We’re consenting adults. Why would anyone care?”

She breathed out, eyes widening in exasperation. “Because, Reagan. Firefly is a small town. People care about what everybody does in a small town. Especially the consenting adults. Not only that, but you’re doing whatever it is you’re doing with Billy Comfort. He’s a legend around here. People are gonna care about that. And talk about it. It’s just the way it is. People already have bets on whether or not you’re the girl that he’ll risk the curse for.”

The curse. Did people actually believe in that? Did Billy? Since we hadn’t talked about it, I had no idea.

“Apparently the L word has been thrown around.” She sipped her diet Coke.

“The L word?” I didn’t think she was talking about the HBO show, but I needed to make sure.

“Love.”

“Love?! Who said anything about love?” I’d dreamt that he’d told me he loved me, but I hadn’t told anyone that.

“Pete Wilson heard it from Jimmy, or Hank, I’m not sure. Then Lacy Hanson, who has been crushing on Billy since grade school, asked Cash if Billy was off the market and he nodded.”

Off the market? Love? We had a friends-with-clauses arrangement.

Oh, shit.A small niggle of panic tangled in my gut. If everyone in town was talking about this, chances were Mr. Abernathy had caught wind of it. What did that mean for my career? My future?

“And there’s more.”

“More?!”

“Yep.” She popped the p sound. “Word is he hooked up with someone at the will reading.”

I started to shake my head. Things had been strictly professional between us at the will reading. Well, I had had some dirty thoughts, but there was no way anyone knew that.

“Or should I say, before the will reading. In the supply closet.”

I gasped, “Daisy.”

Nadia grimaced. “Yeah.”

It all made sense now. Why she’d done a one-eighty and acted like I ran over her dog. If rumors were swirling around me and Billy, and she hooked up with Billy that recently, of course she would be upset.

Wait. He’d had sex with her in the afternoon, and I’d gone home with him that night. For the first time since this affair began it felt dirty, and not in the good way. I wanted to go home and take at least ten showers.

“Apparently, he’s been dipping his pen in your company’s ink.” Nadia stated flatly. “And not just with you.”

Jimmy returned with our food, and as delicious as it looked and smelled, I had no desire to taste it.

When he left I picked up my fork as I stared down at my chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. “I think I lost my appetite.”

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