us. “I thought maybe you’d want Brandon to give you a ride home, and maybe Jack could drive me, so I took the liberty of getting your stuff for you.” Her eyes darted between the two of us and embarrassment was written all over her face. “But if I read this all wrong…” She slapped her free hand over her eyes. “Oh no, I’ve gone and stuck my foot in my mouth, haven’t I?”
“No,” Lila said quickly. “You read it right the first time. Brandon’s the one who should be driving me home tonight.”
Amber and I both stared at her. Amber was the first to break the shocked silence. “Oh. Um. Okay then, here’s your purse.” She reached over to give it Lila but fumbled it at the last moment. We all watched as it flipped upside down, the contents spilling out over the twigs and rocks at Lila’s feet.
She cursed under her breath as Amber apologized, and then all three of us were on our hands and knees picking up the lipstick tubes, credit cards, and keys that had spilled. Amber picked up one of the credit cards. “Oh wow, I’ve never seen a black Amex before.”
Lila went to snatch it out of Amber’s hands, but Amber pulled it closer to her face. “Delilah Devereaux,” she read. “What a pretty name.”
Devereaux.
Devereaux?
The familiar name echoed in my skull as I stared at Lila, who’d frozen at the mention of the name. Devereaux. I knew the name well, but my knowledge didn’t come from reading gossip columns or knowing a thing about the entertainment world. I remembered the name from eight years ago when Brandon and his mother returned from Hollywood and buried his dad.
The only time I’d ever heard Brandon’s God-fearing mother curse was when she’d uttered that name. After that, I only heard it uttered in whispers. It was a name surrounded by secrets and shadows and all the things that went bump in the night.
But that was the kid in me talking. I wasn’t that kid anymore, and while I might not know all that Lila’s father had done to hurt my friend and his family, I knew enough to know that the family was not to be trusted.
The three of us crouched there in a thick silence until I finally pushed to my feet and tugged Lila up alongside me. “You’re coming with me. Now.”
Amber started to protest as I half dragged Lila with me toward my truck, but I turned around to cut her off.
“Brandon will give you a ride home, Amber.” I looked down at the daughter of the man who’d ruined my best friend’s life. “Lila and I have some things to discuss.”
Eight
Lila
In actuality, very little discussion occurred on the way back to town.
Other than a few terse questions, which I declined to answer, we drove in silence. Cold silence. I risked one glance in his direction when he’d come to a stop and opened my door.
Still a gentleman, apparently, even if he did hate my guts.
And make no doubt about it—it was hatred in his eyes when they met mine.
I looked away and never looked back.
But that look—that was what made me shiver as I curled up in the corner of the tattered old couch the next morning and frowned down into my black coffee as my sister stared at the top of my head. “So, let me get this straight. You kissed the wrong guy?”
I flinched. But she wasn’t done. Dropping her head into her hands, she let out an exasperated sigh that made me shift in my seat from shame, guilt, and irritation. I hated when she pulled the responsible big sister routine. As if she’d always known that I’d mess this up.
But then again, I needed her to be the responsible sister right now and tell me what to do. She shook her head. “I can’t believe you told him your name.”
“I didn’t tell him,” I said for the twentieth time. “He found out.”
Tess gave me a weird look. “Right. Okay, fine. Here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll call Daddy—”
“No,” I said quickly. The end of my life flashed before my eyes. “Please, Tess, don’t tell him.”
Her expression was sympathetic but pained. “I don’t see how else you can salvage this situation. If we tell him now, he can come up with another plan and—”
“No!” I uncrossed my legs and leaned forward, my hands gripping the mug. “Please, Tess. Don’t make me regret telling you.”
She tilted her chin down