Page 95 of Break My Heart
‘Next for what?’ I ask.
‘Getting married,’ he says.
‘I didn’t know you and Gina were that serious,’ Jen says. She’s Bryce’s girlfriend. They’ve dated for awhile now. Bryce will probably be next to propose.
‘We’re not,’ I tell Jen. ‘Brody’s just joking with me.’
‘The way you two were looking at each other on the dance floor last night, it looked pretty serious to me,’ Nash says.
‘It’s not.’ I point to the butter dish. ‘Can someone pass that to me?’
I don’t want the butter. Asking for it is just a desperate attempt to get Nash and everyone else to stop talking about Gina.
‘Why isn’t she here?’ Callie asks, handing me the butter. ‘I thought she was coming.’
‘She couldn’t make it,’ I say, setting the butter down.
‘Did something happen?’ Mom asks, sounding concerned. ‘You two aren’t fighting, are you?’
‘Can we not talk about this right now?’ I say, giving her a look to stop questioning me.
‘They’re fighting,’ Brody says, like he’s sure of it.
I glare at him. ‘Shut up or I’ll tell everyone about the parade of girls you keep showing up with at the brewery.’
‘Parade of girls?’ Mom looks at Brody. ‘What does that mean?’
‘Nothing, Mom.’ He gulps down his orange juice. ‘Sawyer’s just jealous that I get more girls than him.’
‘He doesn’t need more girls,’ she says. ‘He has Gina.’ Her eyes dart back to me. ‘You’re still seeing her, right?’
I shrug. ‘We’re taking a break. It’s not a big deal. We both have a lot going on right now with the cider competition next week and we don’t have time to see each other.’
I’m hoping that’ll be enough to keep everyone quiet, but knowing my family, it won’t be.
‘Will she be at the festival today?’ Mom asks.
‘Probably not. She didn’t say.’
‘Call her and find out,’ Dad says.
‘Dad, just let it go, okay?’
He gives me a stern look, like he’s going to give me a talk later.
‘Nash,’ Uncle Mitch says. ‘Why don’t you tell everyone your news?’
Thanks, Uncle Mitch. You just saved me from more questions about Gina and more angry looks from my parents. They need to stop butting into my personal life. I know they loved Gina—we all did—but she isn’t the girl we thought she was, and I’m not going to keep dating a girl who lies to me.
Nash leans back and puts his arm around Callie. ‘Callie and I are moving up here for a few months.’
‘Why?’ Brody asks. ‘You sick of Chicago?’
‘It’s not about that, although it will be nice to get away,’ Nash says.
‘It’s about the baby,’ Callie says, rubbing her stomach. ‘This pregnancy has been kind of hard on me, not just because I’ve been sick all the time, but because I don’t have my mom anymore. It’s been really nice to have Martha around, helping me get through this.’
‘So we asked if she’d be okay with us spending more time here,’ Nash says.
