Page 29 of Deception
“We all were,” Tess Molloy says with a reassuring smile. The former President’s wife has been helpful when it comes to navigating her new responsibilities with Colt’s promotion. “That girl acted like she went through what you did, Lex.”
Shocked. That’s all Autumn got. It was terrible, but it was nothing compared to the scars the others wear. Melanie with burn marks, Heidi with a scar on her neck from being choked repeatedly with a belt, and Lex with her internal trauma. The torture she endured likely caused her to miscarry a baby she didn’t know she carried. Autumn’s shocks, which all four of them received to varying degrees, were nothing in the grand scheme.
“She needed a reality check,” Heidi says. “It was really annoying for those of us who were given more than a couple of tickling shocks.”
There’s no real defending what Autumn did and said, but it’s still hard to hear. “She’s still one of us. She’s been with the club longer than many here, even with the small stint when she left.”
“She treats you like shit,” Melanie says.
Nodding, she sighs. “She’s still one of us. And Lane’s death showed us how important that is. I’d rather try to mend the fence than write her off and have regrets one day.”
“You’re too good of a person,” Goldie says. “I’d have throat punched her. But I’m technically aformerold lady.”
“Never,” Lex says with a smile as she gazes at Trunk’s widow. “Goldie, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
How do I ask this delicately?
“Are you seeing someone?”
Her eyes widen. “Why would you ask that?”
Pointing over her head, Lex tries to find the best way to explain. “Um, your hair is different. It has been for some time. It’s a little…. smaller? Not quite as puffy.”
Biting her lip, she lowers her voice. “Okay, yes, I’m seeing someone, but it’s not super serious. Just… scratching an itch I can’t quite reach myself anymore.”
Everyone wants details, and Lex hates the sadness in her eyes. She lost the only man she’ll ever truly love, and now she’s forced to settle for something to get her by because she was the one left behind.
And this is why I hope I’m the first to go. But we can both live to ninety before that happens.
Chapter Ten
Griffin’s Beach
Gracie
If I lose him as a friend, I lose the only other person outside of my family I can count on. He’s the biggest part of my support network, and he’s kept me sane. Plus, he loves Nolan. What if this is a big mistake?
“Do you like sitting in the front, middle, or back?” Kent asks, pulling Gracie from her internal panic.
Dinner was easy. The conversation never lulled. It was never awkward. It was as perfect as a date could be. That she could imagine, anyway.
He paid for dinner and this movie. It feels as though she’s living her own movie, but it’s yet to be determined whether it’s a romantic comedy or a horror film where she loses everything.
“Um, I don’t really go to the movies. Do you have a preference?”
“Well, I tend to go for the back. One, because I’m taller than most, and B, I like to make out with my dates.”
The easy smile makes her melt a little inside, and his shift from numerals to letters makes her smirk. Then it hits her.He wants to make out with me.
“Um… Sure. The back is fine.”
“Are you sure? You’re kind of short, so maybe we should move more towards the middle. As long as we stick to the aisle or side, it shouldn’t be an issue if someone sits behind us.”
Shaking her head, she forces a smile as her stomach bounces. “No, the back is fine.”
“Okay, but if you can’t see, you can’t blame me.”
