Page 70 of All Yours

Lauren gasped.

If Adrian didn’t want to talk about it, good luck getting anything out of him. He left Hart Valley right after graduation and didn’t return until he had to take over running Lou’s. And to this day, he’s never said where he went or what he did while he was away.

“Privacy is a novel concept in this town, isn’t it?” Camden said. As the newcomer to the town, he learned fast that secrets don’t stay that way for long.

“Let me up,” Adrian said, nudging my arm. “She was supposed to call me if she ever got picked up. And she hasn’t.”

“If it’s just questioning, there isn’t a chance to call,” Camden said.

“Unless you’re aware of what happened,” Lauren said.

“How are you so in the dark?” I asked. “You and Sloane let this woman into your inner circle without knowing a thing about her. And need I remind you how particular Sloane was about letting people close?”

“No,” Lauren hissed. “You certainly don’t. Look, I made a gut decision about Eden. I stand by it.”

“Do you,” I snapped, heart pounding in my chest. “Shall we recap everything that’s happened since she came to town and into our lives?”

“That’s not her fault,” Adrian said.

“Whatever,” I said, jerking out of the booth and stomping away.

The frosty night air blasted me straight in the face as I pushed through the door, but I was so steamed I didn’t care. I took the path past the outdoor seating with the chairs stacked on top of the tables, and over to the boardwalk by the Marina. They aimed the lights on the boardwalk down, casting illuminated stripes across the wood. Lights glowed inside a few boats speckled throughout the marina. But most boats floated in the dark stillness, dormant for the coming winter. My pace slowed, and I inhaled the cool air coming in off the water deep into my lungs. The tightness in my shoulders easing only a fraction.

Damn it. What happened? When I’d left her that morning with a kiss, everything seemed fine. Then it all went to hell after the interaction with that stupid reporter. Why did I even call her about it? I left the boardwalk and climbed the small grassy hill of the field between the marina and the street. I dropped onto the grass and listened as the water lapped against the rocks along the bank. Stars twinkled against the inky sky. I stretched out across the grass, the cold seeping through my clothes, prickling across my skin.

“So, you’re taking all of this well,” Lauren said, leaning over the top of me, staring down.

“She ended it with me earlier,” I said, pressing my palms to my eyes. “Out of the blue.”

“Camden told me,” she replied, plopping down on the grass beside me. “He said something about a reporter showing up this morning?”

I groaned. “She said that Sloane’s relationship with Sebastian was fake.”

“And you said something to her about it?”

“She didn’t tell you?” They tell each other everything.

“I haven’t heard from her today.”

My chest tightened. “I just asked if it was true.”

“Why didn’t you let it go?”

“It didn’t occur to me she’d freak out.”

“What did she say?”

I dug the phone out of my pocket and pulled up the text and handed it to Lauren. I didn’t need to see it again to remember every word.

Lauren sighed and dropped my phone onto my stomach. “So, you never told her it was real for you.”

Heat flashed over my face. “No. I assumed she knew.”

“How would she know?”

“Because… Ya know…”

“Because you two sleep together?”

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