you, huh? See? And they say I don’t have good ideas.” She laughs.
“Could he have been cheating?” My chest tightens as I wait for her answer.
She shakes her head. “No way. Hell, it took him so long to get over you. Alicia is his first girlfriend and I’m not even sure how long they’ve been dating. We were just meeting her the night you came back.”
My eyes widen. “Really?”
She grins like she’s happy to divulge this little piece of information. “My gut says you leaving had nothing to do with a third party, but I’ve been known to be wrong before. God knows my instincts haven’t led me to a good man.” She chuckles.
“No boyfriend for you?”
She shakes her head. “I’m going to be a spinster, I know it. Or the aunt who watches all her siblings have their happily ever afters.”
“Who’s spoken for in the family?”
“Well, Cade has Presley. You and Adam…”
I open my mouth to argue with that.
“Nope, you two will figure this out. I know it. And then Xavier and Clara?”
“Clara Harrison?” I ask.
“You remember?”
I shuffle through some visuals in my mind. “Wait, I noticed that Presley and Clara look a lot alike.”
Nikki’s eyes widen. “They’re long-lost sisters. Long story. I’ll fill you in later.” She waves it off as though it’s no big deal, but now my mind is racing. “So you remember Clara then?”
I nod.
“Well, I think she and Xavier are probably banging behind closed doors. In his off-season, they’re always together. So there’s them too. And then as much as I hate to say it, a woman will end up being Jed’s demise at some point.”
“I guarantee you you’re going to find the one,” I say. “He’ll probably be someone you least expect.”
She swings her arm around my shoulders. “You know what? I love this new Lucy. Maybe go to Posey for a new hairdo. A pink pixie cut for the new you.”
“Was pink my favorite color?” I ask.
She laughs and drops her arm from around me, shaking her head at me at the bottom of the stairs. “Stop asking what was and think about what is. Who cares what your favorite color was? What color is your favorite now? You always did put way too much pressure on yourself.”
She climbs the stairs while I stand speechless at the bottom. Maybe she’s right. Maybe I need to stop trying so hard to get that Lucy back and just live my new reality—discover who I am now.
“Trouble just walked in,” Cora screams out the patio door.
Nikki looks at me from the top of the stairs.
“What?”
“The boys just invaded girls’ night,” she says.
“Hey, mind eraser.” I look up and see Jed leaning over the railing, grinning at me. “Look, the girls can actually make fire.”
“Did you use a starter log?” Cade hollers from somewhere on the deck.
Nikki flips them off and heads inside.
By the time I walk up the stairs, only Adam is on the deck. “I see you found everything.”
“Except the key to the closet,” I say.
He looks away.
“Adam?”
“Tomorrow. Can we please just do it tomorrow? I just want to relax tonight.”
“Okay,” I agree, not wanting to put a damper on tonight either.
“Really?”
“Yes!” I throw my hands in the air, a little exasperated that no one expects me to give even an inch.
“Did you get a chicken taco already? Because you know those guys will eat them all.”
“I think I want a beef one.”
A small smile creeps on his face. “Come on, I’ll wrestle one away from them for you.” He nods toward the house and I follow him.
I still have so many questions I need answered, but for tonight, I’ll try to live in the moment.
I watch from across the deck as Lucy eats steak tacos and drinks beer inside. She’s chatting with Jed and he’s making her laugh. Jed makes most people laugh. He’s got a personality that just wins people over. The pull of jealousy threatens to unleash.
I’ve never felt insecure when it came to Lucy, but that was before she walked out on me. I have no idea how I forgot about that closet. Of course she’d want those journals she’d been writing in forever, though I don’t know if she knows that’s what’s in there.
Even if she does get her memory back, what does that mean for us?
“Come on, have some fun.” Cameron puts his arm around my neck and rocks me back and forth.
“Leave him be,” Chevelle says as she drinks a glass of wine on her way to