Page 71 of A Little Twist

“I think it’s safe to say this has gone so much further than I ever expected it would when I asked you that.”

“Are you sorry? It’s not too late to come clean. It’ll be a little awkward, but I think our friends will understand.”

She hesitates, and my insides clench. I don’t want to stop. I like being with her. I want her to be my girl. I like being able to touch her in public, hold her hand, and no one questions it.

“I’m not sorry.” Her pretty blue eyes lift to mine, and I step forward to catch her chin, covering her mouth with mine for a kiss.

CHAPTER20

CASS

I’m a classy bitch.

The words are in a bright white script on a fire-engine red background. It’s impossible to miss.

“He really wasn’t thinking, was he?” Using my thumbnail, I manage to loosen the corner of the bumper sticker so I can start to pull it off.

“To be fair, Pinky can’t read very well, and definitely not in cursive.” Piper is beside me, working on the other end of the sticker. “And isbitchreally a curse word these days?”

“Yes.” Britt has already snapped photos of everything. “Owen will not be saying that word if I have anything to do with it.”

“When you put it that way, I guess you’re right.” Piper nods. “I don’t want Ryan being disrespectful of women either.”

“I can’t believe you put that silly BBL bumper sticker on his car.” Britt leans against the side of Roger. “I missed so much this week! You got engaged, you loosened up Mr. Grumpy Gills.”

“Pinky does watch an unhealthy amount ofNemo. I need to find something else for her to love.”

“Are you really the nanny? Or are you thenanny…” My blonde friend’s eyebrow arches knowingly, and I decide to keep our extracurricular activities to myself.

“Yes, and I am very professional. I don’t sleep with a man who’s paying me.” As I say the words, I get an icky feeling.

I really don’t want to be sleeping with a man who’s paying me.

Piper reads my expression at once. “Oh, for lord’s sake, he’s not paying you for sex. He’s paying you for childcare!”

“Don’t make it weird, Cass.” Britt waves a hand at me. “You provide a service he would pay anyone else to do. It’s only right.”

“Yeah…” I think we’d better set up some kind of direct deposit situation ASAP. The first time he tries to hand me a check, or worse—cash, I’m moving out.

They’re both watching me with so much happy expectation, my stomach sinks even further than it was when I was struggling with the thought I might be a hooker.

I hate lying to my friends.

Alex is right, they’ll totally understand when I explain to them how it all came about. They’ll probably make fun of me for being so insecure and dragging Alex into this mess. Still, I’m embarrassed at the thought.

“Whatever happened with the kindergarten thing?” Britt loops her arm in mine as we walk across the street to where the kids are packing up the baseball field.

“I filled out the application and sent the email to Dr. Bayer.” I shrug. “Now, I guess I just wait.”

“It’s going to work out for you.” She’s saying the same words Alex said to me. “I bet you could go virtually, so you don’t even have to leave Eureka!”

“I bet.” I lean my head on her shoulder, wanting to believe it’s going to work out for me, even if I’m terrified I’m in way over my head.

* * *

“Look, Daddy! I’m fishing!”Pinky stands on a floating platform in the middle of the marshy grass leading out to the ocean.

Her red hair is styled in two curly ponytails, and in her hand is a pink princess fishing pole with a sparkly rubber lure on it and streamers off the end of the handle. I’m not sure she’s fishing, but she has something in the water.

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