Page 55 of Don't Bet On It
“Who is ‘we all’?”
“Well, Zach and Rex were two years ahead of us.”
“Rex Carter?”
“Yes, he’s Olivia’s brother.”
“Yes, I’m aware.” Now, Candy did smile. “For a good three weeks following the news breaking that Ruby was pregnant, there were a lot of jokes regarding the sister swap.”
It took me a moment to register what she was saying. “Wait.” My eyes lit with mirth. “Is that what people called it?”
She nodded. “People were thrown by two best friends getting involved with their respective sisters. Most people think that’s a no-no.”
I thought back to when Zach and Olivia had first hooked up. They both lived in fear that Rex would figure out that things between them were real. Personally, I thought they were overreacting. I’d turned out to be right because, in the end, Rex was happy for them.
“I think, once Zach and Livvie hooked up the way they did, Zach had no right to push back on anything that Rex and Ruby did.” I smirked as I tried to picture that. “Besides, Ruby is going to do what Ruby wants to do. If Zach doesn’t like it, he has to go through her.”
“You seem to know them well.”
It wasn’t a question. I answered all the same. “Livvie has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. She crushed on Zach hard back when we were in high school, so she wanted to hang around Rex and Zach as often as possible. I got dragged along for the ride.” I shrugged. “I would say I know Rex better than Zach. He’s always been nice to me, though.”
“And what’s your relationship with Rex?”
I didn’t like where this was going. “We’re friends. He stuck my head in his armpit a lot when I was twelve and he was fourteen. He’s closer to a brother than anything else.” I turned stern. “There is nothing going on between us.”
Surprise registered on Candy’s features. “I wasn’t suggesting anything was going on between you. I was curious about the dynamics of your relationship with all the principals. After all, Kyla’s biggest gripe is nepotism.”
“Oh.” Embarrassment warmed my cheeks. “Um…”
She didn’t allow me to finish. “Did your mother ever have friends of the opposite sex?”
I snorted. “Oh, oodles.”
“I’m not talking about lovers. I’m talking about actual friends.”
“I don’t know.” Actually, I did know the answer to that question was a big, fat no. My mother had never met a man she wanted to keep around for anything other than sex.
“I think you do.” Candy’s tone wasn’t accusatory, but there was an edge to it. “I believe that you base everything you do in life on your mother.”
Something sharp—and not particularly smart—was on the tip of my tongue. Then I noticed Ronan standing several feet behind her. His gaze was on me, concern lining his features. He gave me a small, almost-imperceptible shake of his head.
It was a warning. He recognized that I was about to lose my cool with Candy. He knew that would be bad for me, like termination-on-the-spot bad.
For some reason—and I would have to reflect on it later—having Ronan watch out for me soothed the sharp edges of my anger. He wasn’t trying to get something from me or to one-up me in one of our snark fests. No, he was looking out for me.
“I think you’re misunderstanding,” Candy said when I couldn’t come up with a response. “I’m not saying any of this to trap you or make things more difficult. I’m simply trying to make you understand that you no longer have to look at life through the lens of your mother.”
“I don’t do that,” I argued. “I don’t… Nothing I do is because of that woman.” I hadn’t meant to say it. Not like that. Under no circumstances could saying “that woman” be taken in a positive manner. It was too late to haul the words back into my mouth, however.
“Okay.” Candy flashed a smile. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m available to talk whenever you need it.” With that, she wandered off in the direction of the television.
Ronan appeared in front of me before I realized he’d started moving. He reached for my left hand, and only then did I realizeit was clenched in a fist. Carefully, he straightened my fingers. Then he did the same with my other hand.
He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. He put my hands back at my sides, offered up a warm, reassuring smile, and then returned to the blackjack table.
My traitorous heart hammered.
I stared in his wake, uncertain. What was I going to do? This was so not good.
