Page 164 of Savage Hearts
“Yes, you did.”
“No, I didn’t!”
I scoff. “I don’t know what kind of revisionist history you’ve created in your head, sis, but you definitely did.”
Indignant, she leaps from the bed and glares at me. “Who? When?”
“Really? You really want to get into this now?”
“Yes! Right fucking now! Start talking!”
Okay,here’s the Sloane I know. The bossy, impulsive, confident Sloane who once seriously considered getting the words “Pussy Power” tattooed above her cooch.
In a way, I’m relieved. That other, weepy Sloane creeps me out.
“Chris. My twenty-first birthday party.”
Frowning, she thinks. “Your twenty-first birthday party was at that club in San Francisco. Chris was that tall guy you were dating who had that weird lazy eye.”
I say sourly, “I see it’s all coming back to you now.”
“I never dated that guy.”
I lose my temper and bark at her. “For fuck’s sake, Sloane, youtoldme you were dating him!”
She folds her arms over her chest and looks down her nose at me. “Baloney. You must’ve been high at the time.”
“Uh,no,I was on the phone with you after hearing from my girlfriend that she thought she saw the two of you together. You admitted it.”
“That’s ridiculous! I’d never date a guy with a lazy eye!”
“Man, I really wonder about your priorities.”
Ignoring that, she insists, “Do you have any idea how many guys named Chris I’ve dated?”
I mutter, “I’m guessing the number is in the thousands.”
“Exactly! Jesus Christ, Riley, I’d never do that to you!Never!”
We glare at each other until her face crumples. “You don’t believe me.”
I warn, “Don’t you dare start crying on me, you frickin’ wimp. I’m the one who should be bawling here, not you.”
She bites her lip and blinks a lot. I want to jump up and smack her. A knock on the door distracts me.
“Can I come in?”
It’s Declan. My heartbeat goes into overdrive. I jump from the bed and yank open the door to find him standing there with a pained look on his face, like he’s constipated.
“Did you arrange the flight? When am I leaving?”
He glances at Sloane. When he looks back at me, he says, “I need to tell you something, lass. You should take a seat for this.”
I wave him off. “I think better on my feet. Just tell me what’s happening.”
He glances at Sloane again. It makes me nervous. “What?”
“You two are so much alike.”
