Page 91 of The Good Girl (Nashville Neighborhood)

“Yes.”

It gave me hope he knew I was being genuine when his anger subsided a degree. “For how long?”

I’d only put a label on our relationship last week, but I went with the truth. “Since the end of May. But, shit, Troy. I’d been fighting it almost a year before it happened.”

He blinked, dropped his arms in surprise, and stared at me like I was suddenly a new person. And then his gaze moved from me to my girlfriend, who sat on the steps of the pool and pretended not to hear what we were talking about.

But her gaze was fixed on the rippling surface of the water, and I could see from her unnatural posture that this was all an act. She was desperately trying not to reveal how my words affected her.

“If anyone knows what that’s like,” I said to him, “it’s you.”

Because my friend had been hopelessly in love with Erika for years before he’d finally landed her. Once he had, they’d had to keep their relationship a secret for months.

His focus slid back to me, and there was sad recognition in his eyes.

“I do,” he said quietly.

There was a long moment where we just looked at each other, acknowledging without words how everything in our group was changing. I’d been there for each of them when they’d started their current relationship, and I’d done it without judgement. Was it too much to ask for the same in return?

“If this thing with Sydney has any chance of going somewhere, you’ve got to tell Colin.”

“I’m way ahead of you.” I’d made the decision not long after talking to Cassidy. “I’m telling him as soon as your launch party is over. Going behind his back? I feel horrible all the time. It fucking sucks, so trust me. I’m over it. And, yeah, I don’t want to keep lying to him, but I need your event to go as smoothly as possible. I’ll sit him down right after.”

As Troy considered this, the only sound around us was the subtle windchimes nearby blowing in the breeze.

Finally, displeasure edged his face, along with acceptance. He didn’t like the situation, but he didn’t disagree with what I’d said either. He got that if I told Colin today, it had the potential to fuck things up personally and professionally for all three of us.

“Saturday?” he half-asked, half-demanded.

“Yes, Saturday. I promise.”

“Okay. You tell him,” his tone was resigned, but his expression was firm, “or I will.”

TWENTY-FOUR

Preston

Sydney was still sitting on the steps in the water when Troy left. I’d stood motionless and watched as he walked back up the hill to Erika’s house before I finally turned to face her. I was off balance as I strode toward the end of the pool, lumbered down the stairs, and sat on the bottom step beside her.

“How much of that,” I asked, “did you hear?”

She looked nervous to answer. “All of it, but once you said that you’re ‘really fucking into’ me, I think I stopped processing. It was hard to focus after that.”

I turned on the step, making the water slosh around us. “I am, Sydney.” I let out a breath. “I tried not to be.”

“Yeah? Well, welcome to the club. But don’t worry. It’s not a big deal.” She leaned in, gently knocking her shoulder into the center of my chest. “Are we really telling Colin about us?”

“We have to.”

Her gaze worked over my face, like she was trying to memorize every detail. “I guess we do.”

We hadn’t talked about the future, or what happened when she returned to Vanderbilt. Hell, we hadn’t even discussed if she’d decided she was going back. Maybe she’d been trying to stay in the bubble of summer like I had been.

Except I liked planning now, and when I started to look ahead, I was surprised to find I wasn’t nervous. If anything, I was sort of excited about where this could lead. Vanderbilt wasn’t far at all, and she wouldn’t be under the watchful eye of her parents.

Her voice dropped to a hush. “Can I tell you a secret?”

Instantly, I flashed back to us more than a year ago, walking down the street toward her mother’s borrowed car, where she’d confessed her high school crush on me. Shit, we’d come so far since then.

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