Page 67 of My Scorned Best Friend

I open my mouth to say something about what Presley suggested, phone sex or something, but lose my nerve.

Mandi and Nikki come in and walk toward me, then slide onto the stools to my right.

“Hey guys,” I say.

“Hi. So, did you see his interview?” Nikki asks.

“Do you all have something hooked up that the minute he’s on the television, you know?”

They both laugh. “Our mom was with Hank at the doctor, they were waiting, and it came on. Of course, she tapes everything with her phone, so we all got a clip.”

I forgot how involved they all are in each other’s lives. I’ve always been Xavier’s friend, slightly on the outside but still a part of them. Never had to worry about being gossip with them.

“Anyway, he looked stressed,” Nikki says.

“I kind of agree.” Here I am, loose and carefree, smiling at everyone as if it’s my birthday or something, and he’s upset in San Francisco.

“You should go to him this weekend,” Mandi says. “Unessa can cover for you.”

“She actually can’t. We’re not going to see one another until he comes home for off-season.”

“Then you better find a way to work him out while he’s away. You know once…” Nikki lowers her voice. “Logan went away for a week to go help some guy train in the Rockies or something.” She flips her hand as though it doesn’t matter. “I was so horny because I was pregnant and in that second-trimester sex-crazy phase. He ended up sending me something sexy and we had sex over FaceTime.”

“That’s a hot idea,” Mandi says.

Presley returns, picks up Leighton out of my arms, and puts her in the stroller before rocking it back and forth. “What are we talking about?”

“Unconventional sex,” Nikki says.

“Talk about interesting sex things when you have babies.”

“Please, you two were going at it with Leighton right there,” I say.

Nikki raises her hand for a high five.

“Seriously, think about it,” Nikki says.

“I will, but more importantly I want to know why I keep seeing a hot lumberjack kind of guy hanging around the Sunbay Inn?” I say. All of our eyes land on Mandi’s.

Her cheeks turn bright red. “It’s nothing. It’s just… I don’t know. He stays there sometimes when he’s on assignment.”

“But if he’s Midge’s grandson, he lives in Greywall?”

Mandi holds up her hands. “I don’t know. I really don’t. Family drama or something. But he’s been staying at the inn for a while now, before I even knew he was Midge’s grandson.”

“Who doesn’t love a man of mystery?” Nikki says. “It wasn’t that long ago that we had a woman of mystery come to our town. Now she’s our sister-in-law and married to our stepbrother.”

They look at Presley and laugh.

I love my town and my life here, but the question Presley asked pops up in my mind again. What happens when Xavier goes back to San Francisco for his season? Because I can’t leave the library or all my people.

21

“WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?”

Xavier

I arrive back at our condo building with Ben after a grueling practice the coaches put us through after our loss last weekend.

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