Page 92 of Sweet Ruin

“What a pleasant surprise this is,” Luther gushed, shaking his head for dramatic affect. “I didn’t know you had a chalet on this street.” His comment was directed at Wes, who was still looking far from impressed.

“I didn’t know you had a chalet here at all,” Wes replied.

“I don’t.” Luther shrugged. “It belongs to a friend, of a friend, of a friend. I heard it was free this week, so I thought why not.”

“Yes, I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact we were all going to be here this week,” Anna said, her voice thick with sarcasm.

“Nothing at all,” Luther replied. “It’s a big town. How could I have known our place would be right next door to yours? I guess it was just meant to be.”

Luther looked very pleased with himself. Clearly, he had known exactly what he was doing when he organized the trip. It wasn’t clear how much Kaden and Noah knew though. Kaden was still looking a little sheepish now he had realized just how surprised we all were, and even Noah seemed a little taken aback by Luther’s stunt.

I could feel Wes’s arm tightening around my shoulders as we all stood in the driveway, unsure what to do next. This was not how I’d imagined our trip would begin.

“Well, this is a little too awkward even for me,” Anna said. “I’m going inside to unpack.”

“Good idea,” Sawyer said, quickly following her.

“Me too,” Luther added. “You guys should come over later. Our place has a great hot tub on the terrace.”

“So does ours,” Wes replied. He was usually so friendly and easygoing with everyone at school, but it wasn’t hard to miss the hostility in his voice as he shot down Luther’s invitation.

Luther simply shrugged again. “Well, the offer’s always there. See you later, neighbors.” He turned and made his way back across the driveway to the chalet next door.

Cress gave Kaden a kiss and skipped back toward us, but Noah hesitated. He caught my eye, an almost apologetic look on his face. He looked like he might say something, but then he seemed to decide against it and turned to follow Luther and Kaden to their house. Cress was still glowing with happiness as she made her way over to us, but her enthusiasm dimmed slightly when she saw the way Wes was still scowling at Noah.

When we all got back inside, Sawyer and Anna were waiting in the living area. “Seriously,” Sawyer said. “What are the chances they’d end up at the place next door to ours?”

“Don’t be an idiot, Sawyer,” Anna scoffed. “The chances arezero. Luther did this on purpose.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s Luther, and he does whatever he wants.”

Anna was right, but I felt like Luther wasn’t just doing this to please himself. And I think she knew that too. It was obvious this wasn’t a coincidence, and in the pit of my stomach I worried it had something to do with me and Noah. Kaden’s and Noah’s surprise was strange though. Surely Luther hadn’t tricked them too.

“Let’s just forget about them,” Anna said, clapping her hands together. “We’ve got a holiday to get started, and I think we should begin by raiding the Montfort wine cellar.”

She bounded over to Cress and me, grabbed us by the hands, and pulled us down the hallway that led deeper into the house. I was somewhat glad to escape the tension filling the living area, most of it radiating from Wes. He hadn’t spoken in a few minutes now and was obviously struggling to accept the arrival of our new neighbors. It was understandable. He wasn’t the only one who still needed to wrap their mind around it.

“I’m really sorry the guys are here,” Cress said once we were out of the twins’ earshot. “I promise I had no idea what they were planning, but it feels like it’s my fault.”

“Uh, how could this be your fault?” Anna asked.

“Because Kaden wanted to surprise me.”

“That’s not your fault, Cress,” I said. “It’s sweet that he wanted to see you. But I’m pretty sure this was all Luther’s idea.”

“Yeah, he was definitely the only one of those boys who wasn’t surprised,” Anna agreed.

“You promise you’re not mad?” Cress asked. “Because I feel terrible.”

“I’m not mad,” I said. “Not with you, at least. I kind of want to have a few words with Luther though.”

“Yeah, me too,” Anna agreed. “I can understand them coming to Aspen, but renting out the place next door to us just so he can try and get you and Noah back together is not cool.”

I winced and turned to Anna. “You really think that’s what this is about?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “But what else would it be about?”

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