Page 133 of Hoax and Kisses
Oliver watches me with narrowed eyes, his hair tousled by the light breeze. “So I’ve heard. Wanna fill us in?”
Brow cocked, I nod at Lola and James. “These two haven’t told you everything already?”
He shrugs. “The basics. How you guys met and the whole… fake dating stuff for Emile’s land. And last week’s town hall…”
“I can’t believe I wasn’t here to see you pretend to date someone.” Charlee breaks into a smile, adjusting her position on Oli’s lap. “Theone timeyou do something wild, and I miss it.”
“Thank god you weren’t,” I mutter. The teasing would never have ended.
“So… did she lie?” Oliver hedges. “About the project?”
I snap my gaze to him, anger flooding my veins. “Of course not. Don’t you know what an asshole her dad is?”
“We all do,” James says, rubbing the back of his neck.
With a sigh, I shake my head. “He set her up real good. His own fucking daughter. And the whole community lost it on her last week.”
Leaving me with an impossible choice: my sister or Zoé. In the end, she made it for me, but it’s the decision I would’ve mademyself. And knowing she understands that only makes me love her more.
My head falls. “Daph defended her in front of everybody. I’ve never seen her like that, and it broke my heart. She had a meltdown, and while I was calming her down outside, Zoé left. You have no idea how much I want to pay a visit to her dad.”
Charlee bundles herself closer to Oli. “That man is the scum of the earth.”
Lola and Char clink their bottles in agreement.
“Where did she go?” James asks.
I take another swig of my beer, staring out at the horizon, where the sun has finally set on the lake. “She’s at the Butterfly Inn. She asked me to give her some time. Told me to focus on Daph. She’s probably moving heaven and earth to find a way out.”
“And you listened to her? You didn’t insist on being with her and helping her through it?” Oli looks at Charlee. “What is it that you say all the time, sweetheart? That Matt is—”
“A hot piece of ass.”
That pulls a laugh from me, at least. The first in a week.
“No, not that,” he mumbles. “The other one.”
She leans in and kisses his cheek. “Oh. An idiot.”
With a grin, Oli snaps his fingers. “Exactly that. What are you doing, man? Go fucking get your girl. She needs you now more than ever.”
Guilt eats at me, twisting my gut. “But she said she needs space. That she wants to fix this alone. Ihave torespect her wishes, don’t I?” I rub my temples, feeling the weight of it all. “And what if she’s mad? I did choose to comfort Daphne rather than stand beside her. I left her to face the town’s fury all by herself. Maybe she’s done with me.”
“Matt.” Lola dips her chin, her expression flat. “The woman’s working her ass off for the town that all but strung her up a weekago, for god’s sake. You think she’s staying because she liked it? She told you she loved you.”
“Shewhat?” Oliver and Char scream at the same time. They look at each other and burst into laughter, Oli brushing his lips on her cheek in a faint kiss.
“Did you say it back?” Charlee scoots to the edge of Oli’s lap, her expression full of anticipation.
I rub a hand down my face. “Yes.”
She mumbles something that sounds like “What a hot-ass idiot.” Louder, she adds, “Then, go!”
Oli rests his chin on her shoulder. “I can’t believe you’re still here talking to us. You really are an idiot.”
Chest constricting, I glance at James.
He raises his eyebrows and tips his beer to his lips as if to say, “I told you so.”
