Page 48 of Drive Me Wilde

I laugh. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know what I mean. Shit, you've been pining for that girl since the sixth grade. You had to sit through four years of high school watching her date your best friend."

"And you're rehashing all this ancient history … why?"

"Cuz I don't think it's all that ancient. And I don't think history should repeat itself. I ran into Zach at Nev's shop this morning. He was buying two sandwiches; one was a ham and cheese for Indi. Said they were meeting at the beach."

"Ham and cheese?" I mutter to myself. "Indi hates ham."

"Not the point," Zander says as he sits up and drops his feet to the ground. The floor vibrates from the impact. "Zach's making his move again. I could see that stupid little sparkle in his eyes. He's planning on rekindling things with Indi."

I'm pretending not to care, but Zander always knows exactly what to say to fire me up. "They're both adults. If Indi wants to get back together with Zach?—"

"I'm calling bullshit on yourwhateverattitude."

"Zander, I've got too much else on my mind, and you know what—my head's about to split open."

Zander kicks at the coffee table with his boot. "No wonder after drinking that toilet water. Seriously, bro, spend a little of that money on a decent bottle of whiskey."

"Stop about the fucking whiskey already. Look, thanks for being worried about Rio, and tell Dad I will do this therightway. I can't risk doing something wrong. This is too important."

Zander laughs. "You know what Dad'll say?"

I nod. "The right way is the boring as fuck way," we both say together. It's a mantra we heard often growing up. We have a laugh, and it feels good after the last twelve hours.

"Just keep all your options open, buddy. You know what I mean?"

I shake my head. "This is too important. There can't be one misstep. And you're right. A bottle of whiskey, even five-hundred-dollar scotch, isn't going to help my case."

Zander sits forward enthusiastically. "Have you been holding out on me, bro? Do you have some five-hundred-dollar scotch lying around this castle?"

I roll my eyes. "No, I don't, and if I did, do you think I'd share it with the brother who just guzzled half a quart of orange juice without taking a breath?" I get up. "You can stay if you like, but I'm going in to shower and hopefully wash this entire hellish day off me."

twenty-one

. . .

Indi

Zach has an appointment with a personal trainer at the gym, and I'm pleased there's a good reason to end our lunch outing. I found that we have even less in common now than when we were together in high school. I'm finding a renewed love of riding bikes as I pedal along the road that will lead me to Kinsley's house. Los Angeles is so crowded with cars; a bike ride is always a dangerous event. Rockhurst is considerably less choked with traffic, and the weather is cooler and the air is fresher than in the city. One thing the city definitely has more of is jobs. As much as I'm enjoying being back in my evergreen-filled coastal small town, I don't see how I can possibly make a go of things in a place that offers few opportunities.

There are two people standing on the sidewalk in front of Kinsley's house. The man is holding a camera, not a phone camera but an actual camera. I laugh to myself thinking how rare it is to see one these days. They're chatting about something until the woman spots me riding along the road. She flips up her sunglasses and says something to the man. He spins around with his camera and lifts it in front of his face. I glance back to see what he's taking a picture of. There's nothing behind me buthouses and a few pigeons in the road. Something tells me they're not withNational Birder's Weekly.

"Miss Nash, right?" The woman is holding her phone up like a microphone. She's recording this. "Miss Nash, is it true you broke Landon Arlo's heart and will you be going back to L.A. soon to be with him?"

I put my feet down to stop the bike before I roll right over them. The man is snapping photos. "I didn't break his heart, and no, I have no plans to return to L.A. Now, if you'll excuse me." I hop off the bike and hurry past them. They're at least not pushy enough to trespass on Kinsley's property. I park the bike and go inside.

Kinsley pulls back from the front window. "Who are those people? They've been standing out there for an hour."

"I guess they're from a news site or tabloid or something like that. They wanted to know about Landon." I laugh. "They wanted to know if I broke his heart."

"Well, did you?" Kinsley follows me into the kitchen where I'm filling a glass with water.

I scoff. "Please, Landon was far too in love with himself to have his heart broken."

Kinsley dashes back to the window. "Paparazzi on the sidewalk. Most exciting thing to happen around here since Mr. Gardner's chihuahua bit Mrs. Kendall's ankle. She made such an ordeal about it. You would have thought a giant grizzly came down from the mountains and chewed off her leg. What did you tell them?"

"I told them I didn't break his heart, and I'm not going back to L.A."

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