you mean?”
I take a deep breath. What do I mean? “Hypothetically, what would happen if I decided I did want to finish Twenty-Six Kisses?”
Mel turns and stares at me, her dark eyes reflecting light from the streetlamp. “Excuse me? I thought you wanted to quit.”
“I did.” I run my hand over my face. “I do. But I also don’t. You know?”
“Girl, I hope you’re still drunk, because you are not making any sense.”
I shift in the seat and pull my knees up to my chin. “Eight weeks ago I was lying in bed, crying myself to death. Now I’m way better. So it must have worked, right?”
“Yes . . .”
“And maybe for me to get the full benefit, I need to finish. Like when you’re on antibiotics and they tell you to take them for the whole two weeks even though you feel better after four days.”
Mel’s eyes widen. “Hey, Vee, you don’t have to convince me. I’m all for you finishing Twenty-Six Kisses if that’s what you want to do.”
I stare out the windshield. My house is dark, except for a soft light glowing in the living room window. “I mean, it seems kind of stupid to give up now when I’m already halfway through.”
Mel closes her eyes and sighs. “And what about Killian?”
Great question. Killian is so unbelievably awesome, and that is what scares me. He’s awesome enough that I could see myself getting in way too deep again. I need more time. Maybe he’ll understand.
Mel knows me so well, she knows what I’m going to say even before I’m sure about it myself. “He is going to be pissed,” she says. “He’s not going to get it, Vee. You know that, right? You might lose him.”
I nod. She’s right. Of course she’s right. But Killian is different from any other guy—any other person, really—I’ve ever met. Maybe he’ll understand I just can’t afford to get hurt again. And, more important, maybe he’ll be willing to wait for me until I get my head straight.
“You also have to think about what Jeffrey said.” Mel sounds worried. “If you keep going with this thing, people might start talking even more.”
I shrug and stare out the window at the woods flashing by. I’m so tired, I don’t even care. “It’ll be okay,” I say, pushing open the passenger-side door and staggering to my feet. “I’ll figure it out.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Killian
The Dunes
???/l0
The next morning I put on a virginal white eyelet dress I know my dad likes. Today’s inspection will be extra-rigorous, and my head spins as I anticipate the awkward catching-up conversations and small talk I’m going to have to engage in with my relatives at the family reunion.
I meet my own gaze in the mirror. The pale girl staring back at me is nearly unrecognizable from the one last night with the sexy hair and kick-ass makeup. Ready to play just another role.
My phone goes off as I slip my shoes on. It’s Killian.
morning. ;-)
hey. :)
My stomach gets fluttery every time his name comes up on my phone. If I were a normal seventeen-year-old girl, I’d be drawing hearts on my notebooks and planning when to change my relationship status on Facebook. But I’ve been burned before, and right now I need my space.
have to go to a family thing, I type. i’ll text you later.
Lila doesn’t turn around to smile at me as I climb into the back of Dad’s Escalade, and Jeffrey never looks up from his phone as I settle in next to him, but Kaylee reaches from her car seat to pull me in for a hug and a kiss. Dad leans over and puts a hand on Lila’s knee, whispering something in her ear. She pushes him away and shakes her head.
“Okay, let’s go,” I say, worried that if we sit in the driveway any longer, Mom will feel like she has to come out to say hi, and then we’ll all have to suffer through an unnecessary amount of awkwardness.
Dad glances back at me and puts the car in reverse. He drives down the street nearly at a crawl, glancing over at Lila the whole time. When we reach the corner, she leans over and places her hands on the dashboard.
“Stop,” she says quietly. “I don’t think I can go. All those people I don’t know, your family. Just take me home, Barry.”
The car rolls to a stop, and Jeffrey and I glance at each other, bracing ourselves for the inevitable explosion.
Dad takes a