Page 18 of Sweet Ruin

Her grin grew wider. “Because it means I was wrong. He does like me.”

I laughed. “Well, of course, he does. I still can’t believe you didn’t say yes.”

“Well, hopefully he’ll start talking to you again soon. But if he doesn’t, I’ll just have to find a new crush.”

She was being very rational about all of this, which was surprising because Cress was usually led by her heart rather than her head.

“I still think you should have said yes,” I replied.

Cress’s expression turned more serious. “I’m never going to do anything to jeopardize our friendship, Isobel. Especially not over a boy.”

“Yeah, you’re stuck with us for life,” Anna added.

I was so touched by their words, and I struggled to contain my emotions. “I really don’t deserve friends like you.”

“Bah, stop, you’re going to make me cry.” Cress jokingly averted her eyes from me, and I smiled.

All this talk of friendship got me thinking about my conversation with my mom and how she’d told me to invite the girls to spend Thanksgiving with us. Part of the reason I hadn’t immediately agreed with her suggestion was because I was nervous about what the girls would think of my home.

I was still slightly nervous, but talking with them now only made me realize I was falling into old habits. These girls were my friends, and they truly cared about me. They weren’t going to change how they felt simply because I grew up differently than they did.

“So, I talked with my mom on the way here,” I said. “And I wanted to ask you both if you’d like to have Thanksgiving with us in Rapid Bay.”

“Really?” Cress squealed. Her whole face lit up, and she clapped her hands together. “That sounds so fun.”

“So fun,” Anna agreed. “Count me in.”

It was not the response I’d expected from either of them. “I thought you’d both have plans with your families.” Despite knowing I could trust my friends, my nerves returned with a vengeance. Cress and Anna were both so used to living in luxury. How were they going to feel about staying in such simple accommodations? What if they hated it?

“My family are back home,” Anna said. “I won’t see them until Christmas. I was planning to just hang here over the Thanksgiving break.”

“Me too,” Cress said. “My parents aren’t coming back until December, so I was going to be stranded at school as well. This sounds much better.”

I was still so shocked they’d both agreed it took me a moment to gather my thoughts. “I should probably warn you both that someone will likely have to sleep on an air mattress, and my mom’s Thanksgiving lunch can be a bit chaotic. There’s always some sort of drama. I think there’s something in the turkey.”

Anna and Cress waved away my concern. “I’m sure it will be great,” Cress said.

“It’s got to be better than being stuck here,” Anna agreed.

“I guess that’s settled then.” I slowly started to smile and did my best to ignore the unease that had surfaced when they had actually accepted. Anna and Cress might not be used to the kind of cramped living I’d grown up with, but I knew my Thanksgiving would be a whole lot more fun if they were with me. “I’ll let Mom know.”

I spent the evening happily chatting with the girls. And despite Cress’s earlier excitement about Kaden asking her out, she didn’t bring him up again. It was only once we were in bed with the lights turned out that she mentioned it.

“Isobel?”

“Yeah?”

“How long do you think it will take before Kaden comes to his senses?” she asked. Given the anxious tone to her voice, it sounded like she’d been worrying about this all night.

“He’ll come around eventually,” I said. “I know it.”

“Yeah, but how long iseventually?”

“Not long if he’s smart.”

“Well, he’s the closest thing to a genius I’ve ever met, so hopefully that means really soon.”

“Yeah, hopefully,” I agreed.

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