Page 35 of How to Get Revenge on a Cheating Ex
“Despite your weird fear of rocking the boat, you’re not an idiot and you’re not weak, Bailey.”
“Uh, thanks?” she mumbles when I pause to let that sink in.
“Which means youwilldeal with this. It’s just a matter of whether you call him out as the two-timing, sleazy asswipe he is, and listen to his pathetic excuses and his justifications or…”
Her gaze locks on mine. “Or?”
“Or you make him pay.” I reach out and push a strand of blonde-highlighted hair behind her ear, and for the life of me I don’t know why I’m touching her.
Maybe because I know that despite her current calm, she’s torn apart inside. “You give him a taste of what it feels like to have the person you love betray your trust.”
Her lower lip quivers and her eyes are too wet.
“So, what do you say?” I lean back in my seat.
The silence grows thick. The heat is cloying. Her eyes are pained and panicked.
And then she’s saved by Aunt Ruth.
A knock on her passenger side window makes her jump, and then her door’s thrown open and there’s no more hiding from my dad’s family.
“Is this little Bailey Tucker?” My aunt’s voice is high and shrill as she tugs Bailey out of her seat and into a bear hug.
My entire family has always been gaga for Bailey.
All hell breaks loose as we get out of the car, and the amount of squealing going on at the unexpected arrival of “little Bailey Tucker” is insane.
My cousin Ashley, who’s one year younger than me, is over the moon. “I haven’t seen you in forever.” She gives Bailey a hug. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
I follow behind, nodding and shaking hands as my relatives belatedly realize that I’m here too. Not that I mind. It’s actually kind of nice to have someone else here to take some of the attention off of the black sheep of the family—AKA me.
And Bailey is a pro at these kinds of things. Despite her heartbreak and her lack of sleep and the current dilemma she’s facing about how to deal with Grayson, she’s all beaming smiles and laughter as she plays catch up with the aunts and uncles.
By the time we reach the deck, they’re all eating out of the palm of her hand. Even Uncle Ray, and he’s a cranky old bastard.
“You brought Bailey,” Uncle Ray says after clapping a hand on my back with enough force to make me stagger.
“I did,” I agree.
He gives this low rumble of a laugh. “I always knew you two would end up together.”
I open my mouth to argue. Me and Bailey? Never. But I’m not in the mood to explain why she’s here with me, so I just nod. We both turn back to watch Bailey dazzle my dad’s family.
“Cabin’s looking good,” I say.
He grunts. “It’s a pile of crap.”
I choke on a laugh as one of Ray’s sons hands me a soda that I didn’t ask for. Ray’s eldest son nudges my arm. “Pop says this place is his own personal hell.”
“But hotter,” Uncle Ray adds. “It needs more work than this old geezer can handle.” He follows this with a sad shake of his head.
If my mom were here already, she’d be leaping in to offer up my help. But not me. I’ve only ever done the bare minimum as far as family duty goes—at least when it came tothisside of the family. “You got fire insurance for this place?” I ask instead.
Uncle Ray arches his wiry white eyebrows. “Why? You know a guy?”
I give a noncommittal shrug and that sets him off with another low, gravelly laugh that makes me smile in turn. I do like this guy. Always have. It’s not his fault my dad’s a spineless jackass. And unlike the aunts and uncles, he never even asks about my grades or college plans.
“Why don’t you have a swimsuit?” Ashley’s voice carries over the classic rock playing from a stereo down by the lake where the younger kids are swimming.
