I Knew You Were Trouble - Cassie Mae Page 0,69

great when it comes to my sister. Worry creases her eyes, and her shoulders droop.

“It’s not Dad, is it?”

It’s sad that she comes to that conclusion first. “No,” I say, easing her mind. Between the extra hours and the side job I have with Candace, Dad’s mortgage, Christmas, and our rent were all paid in full. I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of food right now, but I’m used to that.

Mad twists her board with her palm, studying me long and hard. I tilt my head.

“Stop. I’m fine.”

“It’s Candace, isn’t it?”

“No.” Yes.

Tanner shuffles his weight and fixes his hat. “I think yes,” he says with a forced smirk. “We were just talking about her.”

Maddie pouts her bottom lip and pats my shoulder. “Aww, Pete. Did she not reciprocate those feelings you’ve kept bottled up?”

“Not exactly.” Hard to reciprocate feelings she doesn’t know about. I royally botched it last night, but I didn’t know what was happening. I was so knocked sideways, I barely registered just how much I shared with her and how much I kept inside.

I should’ve just said it all instead of tiptoeing around.

Maddie shakes her head and kicks her board into her hands. “Peter Jay Owens, you tell that girl how you feel.” My sister is a mind-reader.

“Mad…” I glance at Tanner, who’s being real silent on the subject. He’s staring at his shoes, pretending that his laces are the most interesting thing in the place.

“What? You don’t like her?”

“I do.” Wow, first time I’ve said it out loud, and it feels pretty good.

“She likes you, too.” She hooks her arms on her board resting at the back of her neck.

“She told you that?”

“Didn’t have to.” She kicks Tanner in the foot. “You saw it, right? At the party.”

Tanner nods, his face impassive. “And this morning.”

“What do you mean?” I know he doesn’t want to talk about it, but my curiosity wins out. What did he see this morning?

He lets out a giant breath and finally looks my way. “She was bouncing off the walls. And singing. Very badly, I might add. Woke me right up.”

I chuckle at the imagery, pride swelling in my chest. It’s not like we did much last night. I was a little disappointed to wake up without her hand in mine and the other side of our pillow barrier empty. I figured she was too embarrassed to stay there, but maybe it was just Candace being Candace, waking up early.

“See?” Maddie says after a beat. “What are you so worried about? The sooner you tell her, the sooner you guys can kiss whenever you want.”

She doesn’t know the most complicated part—the part that holds me back. Am I the second choice? Zach was a no go, so here, take Pete. Maddie might be sure of how Candace feels, but I’m not.

The intercom crackles to life, and Josh’s voice booms across the indoor amusement park. “Hey Troublemakers, it’s closing time. Thanks for making trouble with us, and come again soon.”

Maddie drops her board to the ground and grins. “Here’s your chance. She’s in the arcade tonight, right?”

I nod.

“I’ll help Tanner close up, and you go talk to her. Please.”

“And if she laughs in my face?”

“She won’t.”

“If she does.”

“Then I’ll ask her out,” Tanner jumps in. He’s joking, a smirk curling his lips, but I know exactly what he’s saying. I doubt he was all that thrilled to be a part of this conversation, and he’s in the same position I was in last night—watching a fool not take a chance with an amazing girl.

I take my hat off and run a hand over my head. I won’t be that fool. If she laughs in my face, she’ll at least know that there’s one person who loves her for who she is and not who she’s pretending to be. That’ll be worth it to me.

Pete

I jog over to the arcade, taking the steps two at a time up to the blinking lights and booming music from the machines. Patrons climb down opposite me, heading toward the exit. Guess most people were in this zone tonight; ours was empty except for Maddie.

I catch my breath when I hit the top step, scanning through the games for Candace’s red shirt and reddish ponytail. Aislynn’s behind the redemption area, and she pops up from behind the counter, her pink hair fraying out from underneath her hat. She waves, and I mouth, “Where’s Candace?” It’ll be pointless to shout with all the noise.

She jabs a