Fragile Hearts (Poplar Falls #4) - Amber Kelly Page 0,39
and he was probably right. I had one, maybe two, good swings of it in me, and then I would have been done for sure. So, I took the pitiful little hammer he gave me, and I did some damage with it, let me tell you.”
She looks perplexed as she tries her best to follow my rambling.
“After we wore ourselves out, annihilating the gosh-awful kitchen, we decided to get wasted on tequila. We didn’t have any mixers or glasses, so we basically just chugged it straight up from the bottle, which wasn’t the brightest idea either of us had ever had. I guess, with the alcohol and all that pent-up aggression being released, we were on some sort of euphoric high, you know what I mean?”
She shakes her head like she has no clue, but I power through anyway.
“The sunset was so pretty, and he looked so good, all sweaty and disheveled. Have you ever seen him without a shirt on? Who knew he was hiding all that muscle and that V that looks so good on a man, you know? I think the tequila went to my head, and one thing led to another and … and …”
“And?” she prompts impatiently.
“And I might have made a move on him.” I cover my face with my hands as I fill with embarrassment, bracing for her scolding.
“Then, what?” she asks, exasperated.
I peek at her through my fingers.
“Then, we made out for a while,” I mumble into my hands.
“You made out with Brandt,” she says as she grabs the tips of my fingers and pulls my hands down.
“Yes. Are you mad?”
“Mad? Why would I be mad?” she asks, and her question sounds confused.
“Because I made out with a man you used to date.”
She raises her left hand and points to the diamond sitting on her finger, giving me a look that says, Duh.
“I know, but it’s still not polite to come on to your best friend’s ex,” I remind her.
“I don’t consider Brandt an ex. He and I had dinner a few times, and we never made it past a quick kiss. Not even a real kiss, kiss,” she insists.
“So, you don’t care that I threw myself at him?”
She laughs. “Not at all, but I want details.”
I frown at her.
“What? I said I didn’t care.”
“Yeah, well, now, I’m just kind of regretting stopping in the middle and insisting he bring me here,” I mutter.
“In the middle?” Her eyes get round as saucers.
I open my mouth to clarify, and she brings her hand up.
“Stop. Sonia will kill us if you go any further in this story without her here. Let’s go in. I’ll text her and tell her to get over here ASAP, and we’ll make cookies while we wait.”
She stands, and I follow her inside. When we make it to the kitchen, Doreen is at the sink, washing her hands.
“Bellamy, I didn’t know you were coming by,” Doreen greets as I take a seat at the table.
“She didn’t either. She had to come to tell me she made out with Brandt this evening. I’m going to get Sonia over here, so Bells can give us details. We will need cookies,” Elle explains as she picks up the phone on the wall and dials.
Doreen looks at me. “Chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin?”
It takes Sonia exactly twelve minutes to make the twenty-minute drive from her house to Rustic Peak.
In that time, Doreen has whipped together cookie dough and is adding the balls to a greased pan.
I go back over everything I told Elle on the swing. A little calmer this go-around. Doreen and Sonia listen intently.
“And now, here we are,” I finish as the timer on the oven goes off, startling us.
Sonia sits back in her chair and blows out a long breath. “Well, that’s a lot of information to process. Let’s start with Derrick,” she begins.
“Derrick!” Elle protests.
Sonia gives her a stern glare. “Yes, Derrick. Now, I’m happy you shook him off. You deserve better than a weasel who goes behind your back and doesn’t discuss what he’s doing. How do you feel about cutting him loose? Any residual regret? Second thoughts?” she prods.
“No. I feel relieved, to be honest. I didn’t realize how stressed out I had been about trying to make the relationship work with us in different states until it wasn’t an issue any longer.”
“Okay, onto busting shit up. Did you really destroy Brandt and his mother’s kitchen? That seems extreme, even for you.”