Chapter 22
chapter
twenty-two
MAREN
It’s Friday night, and Tonya’s opening the truck in the morning, which means it’s time to get wild.
That’s exactly why I’m in baggy pajama pants and an old tee I cropped during one of my craft nights with Addie, settled onto my couch for a marathon of Holiday Baking Championship. I usually watch for entertainment, but lately, I’ve been using it for inspiration for my own bake-off debut.
A knock on the door interrupts me as soon as I begin.
I set my decaf iced latte onto the coffee table next to my bowl of popcorn, pause the episode, then amble toward the door on socked feet.
Through my window, Addie and Caroline stand under the dim light of my porch, and I swing the door open.
“Surprise!” Addie holds up a bottle of wine, and Caroline gives jazz hands in a ta-da gesture that makes me smile.
“Not that I’m mad about this surprise, but what are you two doing here?” It’s none of our birthdays, nor is it some anniversary of our friendship. We already celebrated Caroline’s return to Sapphire Creek before the Halloween party too, so what is going on here?
I move away in time for Addie to barrel inside, and Caroline follows, completely at ease here, as they should be since they’re my closest friends.
Actually, they’re my only friends.
“I’m here because I was told there’d be wine and cookies.” Caroline sways next to the couch.
“No other occasion,” Addie chirps. “We just haven’t been over here in a while, and I’ve been worried about you since the fire yesterday.”
“As I’ve said many times through text, I’m fine. There wasn’t even any real danger, and besides, Nate’s planning a remodel of the kitchen, anyway. Now, he’ll do it sooner rather than later.” I shrug.
Addie doesn’t seem satisfied. She wraps me in a tight hug, and I stiffen. As much as I appreciate the show of affection from my loving and loyal friend, hugs are not my thing, and this situation hardly warrants one. The incident was scary, but it wasn’t my safety at risk.
“If you want to hug someone, go hug Teagan.” I pat her back as awkwardly as I might pet a poisonous snake.
“I will next time I see her.” Addie hoists a bottle up and practically sprints toward the kitchen. “I owed you wine, anyway, from when you helped me during homecoming.”
“You don’t owe me anything, but you already got me a shit ton of the air fresheners I like.” The woman is astute as fuck. She’s the only friend I have who pays attention so closely and realizes I’m out of things, like air fresheners, before I even notice myself. “Also, homecoming was forever ago…”
She shrugs. “Better late than never.”
“You’ve been busy.” Caroline snorts and nudges Addie with her elbow.
“Ah, yes.” I fold my arms across my chest. “How is our favorite PE teacher?”
Addie wiggles her eyebrows. “Owen is surprisingly… not annoying me.”
“I sure hope not, since you did tell him you loved him last weekend, or did I imagine that?” I laugh.
“That’s correct, but I was worried it was all an illusion. Like maybe I finally cracked under the pressure of the last month, and I imagined the whole thing.” She sighs a dreamy sound that I’ve never heard from the rigid woman. “Sometimes, I do think it’s too good to be true.”
“And by it, do you mean the sex? Because I bet the sex is damn good.” Caroline’s smile is downright devilish.
“You’re correct, you beautiful little butterfly.” Addie pats her on the head and opens a drawer, pulls out a wine opener, and gets to work on the cork. “Last night, we nearly broke my bed, and not because Owen’s so large. I mean, he is large, and not just in build, if you know what I mean.”
“Even the countertop knows what you mean.” I roll my eyes.
“I’m just saying—he launched me into space, where I orbited every planet, one by one, then floated back to Earth, only to fly right back out of here.” Addie punctuates the dirty picture she paints with a pop of the cork.
“I know exactly what you mean.” Caroline retrieves a couple of glasses. “Ever since Austin and I moved into our new place, we’ve taken the scenic route to the moon and back every night too.”
Addie’s hand shakes from giggling as she pours the bottle of red into each glass. How she manages not to spill a single drop is beyond me.
I slide a box of leftover cookies I happened to bring home from work in front of Caroline. “The cookies you were apparently promised.”
She shimmies her shoulders in thanks and swipes two pumpkin caramel treats with the enthusiasm of a toddler in a candy store.
Then she takes a bite and moans like she’s in a porno.
“Is this the real reason you two came over—to parade your hot sex lives around my boring single self?” I meant for it to be a light joke, but my tone holds a harsh edge.
I force a laugh, but it sounds as such—forced.
“Sorry.” Caroline’s smile melts away. “You’re right. We didn’t—”
“Are you still single, though?” Addie lifts a brow and hands me a glass of wine.
“Yes…” Again, my tone isn’t as I intend. It’s supposed to be a firm statement, but the simple syllable drifts out of me like a question.
As if I’m unsure of my own relationship status.
What is wrong with me tonight?
“You know where I stand, Lightning.”
Oh, right. What’s wrong with me is Nathan McAllister getting into my fucking head—and pants.
We slept together like we were researching—and co-writing—a book on sex, and I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s hard to forget when my skin is practically scorched from his touch.
And the fact that he so badly wants to right the wrongs of the past and prove we’d be good together makes me want to join Team Nathan. If we were a TV show, no viewer would be Team Maren, and I wouldn’t blame them.
But this is reality, and Team Maren is just smarter.
“I heard from Scarlett this morning that you and a certain neighbor have been spotted crossing the yard several times over the last week, if you know what I mean.” Addie raises her brows, and again, the innuendo is painfully obvious.
Caroline’s glass hangs to the side, seemingly forgotten, and her expectant expression matches Addie’s.
Clearly, this is the reason they’re here—to pry like a couple of old biddies with nothing better to do. Shouldn’t they be home, skyrocketing into space?
The walls feel like they’re narrowing in on me, and I break into a cold sweat.
Can I admit the truth out loud? That I’ve so desperately, embarrassingly, shamefully did something I swore I would never do again?
On top of that, I barely even regret doing it.
It was one of the best nights of my life, followed by an apology I’ve waited to hear from him for ten years—and he was devastatingly genuine. It’s been hard to get my head on straight ever since.
“We slept together last weekend,” I blurt.
“Yes!” Caroline bounces in celebration and hugs Addie like this is the end of a romantic comedy, her wine sloshing in her glass and spilling onto the worn kitchen floor.
I’m surprised it took them this long to spill their damn wine. It’s been teetering between us since Addie popped it open.
I throw my hands up. “Guys! Guys!”
But they don’t stop.
“Well, you won’t let us hug you, so we have to hug each other!” Caroline laughs, then points to the red puddle of wine by her boots. “I’ll clean that up once we’re done with our happy dance.”
“It might be a while.” Addie squeals, and they continue skipping in my kitchen with wild abandon. “Naren lives!”
“Naren? Who the hell is calling us that?” I frown. “If you say Scarlett, I’m never serving her coffee again.”
“It wasn’t not Scarlett…” Addie bites her smiling lip.
Caroline lifts her hand in the air like we’re in a classroom. “I heard it from my mom, who heard some rumors down at Harper’s nursery when she was working.”
I have half a mind to cut off Harper’s water supply.
Caroline wipes crumbs from the corners of her lips from another bite of cookie.
“Actually, she heard you two were the ones who caused the fire at his house. One said you were a little too cozy in front of the fireplace, and you both forgot it was on. Another speculated that your chemistry and tension finally collided, and the house just combusted—that was my favorite.”
The people of this town have no damn life. Instead of smelling the roses and enjoying the charm of Sapphire Creek, they’d rather sit and gossip about everyone and everything.
Then again, it’s what they do. These are the same people who speculated for days over a possible ghost stealing all the milk bones outside of Quinton’s Ice Cream Shoppe, when it was really just a stray dog.
They create a fuss over nothing, and Naren is absolutely nothing.
My so-called friends continue their happy dance under the dim light of my kitchen. Addie loops her arm through Caroline’s, and they skip in circles like they’ve forgotten I’m even here.
It’s cute, really. Almost makes me want to join them.
Do I have the heart to tell them the truth? I have to.
I suck back a gulp of wine, then swipe a cookie for myself, waving it around as I chime in, “Not to be a buzzkill and ruin this truly entertaining dance party, but since this is my love life—or lack thereof—I must tell you that Nate and I are not back together.”
They jerk their attention to me and freeze.
I stuff half the cookie into my mouth and nearly choke. I hate that I was enjoying their excitement over the lie more than I do their disappointment over the truth.
“No Naren?” Addie pouts.
“Lord, no. That’s not a thing.” I glare.
Caroline furrows her brows. “What happened?”
Sighing, I swipe the box of cookies, along with the wine, and trudge into the living room. They’re hot on my heel, and over my shoulder, I say, “Nothing. We slept together, but then we decided it was a mistake. Now, we’re trying to be friends.”
“That’s never worked for you two,” Addie so graciously points out.
“How can it? When y’all are freaking crazy about each other.”
I stop, and Caroline nearly steps on the back of my ankle. “This is a new era.”
“I don’t buy it.” Addie shakes her head.