Change of Heart - By S.E. Edwards Page 0,45

can be possessive.”

“You never said you were her former lover!” I spit accusingly.

“A minor detail,” Rich says, “and irrelevant right now.”

I scoff. “Irrelevant? Are you blind? The girl obviously still has feelings for you!”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Don’t be blind!”

Rich shakes his head. “Okay, whatever. Look, that doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that she’s giving us a place to stay.”

“Giving you a place to stay, maybe,” I counter. “She wants nothing to do with me.”

“And still, she welcomed you into her house,” he points out.

“You call that a welcome?”

“If you keep this up, I’m going to call you a pouting brat. Can’t you get it through your thick skull? We need her!” Rich lowers his voice. “Look, I know Amanda might not have given off the best first impression—”

“You can say that again,” I mutter.

Rich holds his hand up to silence me. “But I need you to get along. This is the only safe place we have to stay right now. I don’t want to lose it because you can’t hold your tongue.”

“She started it!” I protest.

“I don’t care who started it. You’re going to finish it.” He looks up and exhales at the night sky. “I swear to God, Penny, you can be such a child sometimes.”

I shove him in the chest, hard. One, to get him to look down at me, but two, to let him know my displeasure. He grunts in surprise. “What was that for?”

“To prove I’m not harmless.”

“I know that,” he says testily. “I just said it so Amanda wouldn’t see you as a threat.”

“A threat?” I laugh. “Come on. Who am I possibly a threat to?”

“To her,” Rich stresses. “She doesn’t like having other females around.”

“If she treats them like she did me, she should have no problem with that. What’s she doing living all the way out here, anyway? And how on earth does she know you?”

“Maybe those are questions you can ask her yourself,” Rich suggests. “Bond a little.”

I roll my eyes. “I very much doubt that.”

Rich glares at me again. “Listen, Penny. You have to get along. Both of us need Amanda right now. We need her a hell of a lot more than she needs us. We have nowhere else to go! Now, can we both walk back to the house like responsible adults and not cause a fuss?”

I square my shoulders. “I want her to apologize, first.”

“And I want the moon in my pocket. Neither of us is going to get those things.” Rich looks at me intensely. “Can I have your word that you two won’t claw at each other like two starving cats when we get inside?”

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Realistically, what other option do I have? “Fine.”

Rich breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”

We start back toward the house. Amanda’s silhouette fills the doorway, one hand on her hip.

“By the way,” Rich says to me about halfway there, “you’re going to need to apologize.”

I freeze. “What?”

He turns back to me. “Don’t start, Penny. You heard me. You’re going to swallow your pride this time.” Suddenly his solemn expression becomes a grin. “I remember you complaining about mine last night. Not so fun when the shoe’s on the other foot, is it?”

I frown at him, knowing he’s right. It doesn’t make things any easier, though. “All right,” I concede. “Fine, I’ll do it. Damn you, Rich, but I’ll do it.”

“Good.” He smiles. “That’s all I ever asked.”

***

I give Amanda a big, ingratiating smile as I approach her. I make my voice sickly sweet. “I’m sorry for calling you a bitch. I should have never lost my temper. And I’m grateful for you letting me stay.”

Amanda eyes me up and down critically. “Better,” she says after a moment. “Though I would have preferred more fawning. Still, I guess I shouldn’t come to expect much from you.”

I clench my jaw tight to avoid saying anything I would regret. I know she’s trying to goad me into another confrontation. I won’t bite.

I show my teeth in a fake smile that I desperately hope she won’t take for a scowl. “I would have never hoped to meet such a gracious hostess,” I simper.

Amanda laughs at that, closes the door, and takes Rich’s arm. “Where did you find that one, Richard? You simply must tell me.” She leads him into the house without looking at me, reducing me to follow them like… like a stray.

I keep my displeasure to myself, though. Rich said this was important. I