Page 64 of Every Broken Promise
“I can talk to your parents if you want to go with us.”
His words felt like a betrayal. A part of me was already thinking of excuses I could give to Liz because I would much rather hang out with my brothers and Astrid. Or maybe I didn’t want her to hang out with just them?
“Okay, yes, it will be fun,” Astrid said brightly.
My stomach sank.
It was just one movie, but it suddenly felt like Astrid and I had gone on different paths.
Astrid turned to face me, and the same barely-there smile was on her face.
“Go get ready for your date,” she told me softly. “Shower. Wear that black shirt with those jeans you bought at the mall the last time we went. It will look nice.”
I put my hands in my pockets and nodded.
“Have fun with my brothers.”
There was a look in her eyes I couldn’t place.
“I’m like their little sister, too,” she whispered sadly.
“Yeah, you are,” I bit out harsher than intended because the last thing I wanted was for her to date either of those dipshits.
TWENTY-FIVE
If you had toldme last week that I would willingly step into the crystal shop again, I would have called you crazy.
My day had started on the wrong foot. I had woken up late this morning. Waking up late meant I couldn’t go to Rachel’s house for my morning coffee. Not having my morning coffee set me back a few hours on my morning routine.
When I had my morning coffee, I was ready to face my day. It accelerated my defrost time so I could deal with my column and Ronnie.
I decided that since I was already going to get in trouble for being late, I should make the best of it. It was early, and the town square wasn’t busy. I didn’t care about parking violations when I parked my car in front of the crystal shop.
What was the worst they could do to me?
Okay, scratch that, towing me would be bad because that would equal the Kanes. They wouldn’t tow me, right? Shaking my head at those ridiculous thoughts, I marched inside the shop.
“Hello,” I greeted loud enough for the owner to hear me.
It took a few seconds, and then she came out from the back. I finished marching to the counter and pulled out the stupid crystal she had given me.
“You need to take this back,” I shouted at her. “This stupid stone got me in trouble!”
To her credit, the owner didn’t bat an eyelash. She smiled at me. Her teeth looked pearly white in contrast to her dark lipstick.
“Got you in trouble, how?” she asked as she leaned into the counter. If I wasn’t so annoyed at her, I would admire how wicked her tatts looked.
“How?” I spat in disbelief. “You know damn well it has aphrodisiac properties!”
She started to laugh at me.
“It’s not funny.” I pointed my finger at her.
“You’re right. I should not laugh at your naiveties. May I ask how you came to this conclusion?” she asked as she motioned to the pink rock I had grasped between two fingers.
“Google,” I replied like that was obvious.
Her lip twitched.
