Page 54 of Not For Keeps
“Yeah, right.”
We pull away just as the cat appears in the window, her glowing eyes watching me like she’s already plotting her next tree stunt.
I shiver. “We’re not getting hazard pay for this, are we?”
“Nope.”
“Figures.”
And off we go. Just another day in Lake City.
Chapter Seventeen
ANALYSE
Maya and I arrive at Mariana and Seb’s house, and Seb quickly whisks Maya away for a tio date. If I know Seb, and I do, he’s going to use this time to spoil her rotten and bring her back to me hyped up on sugar.
Anna arrives shortly after they leave. “Hola, amigas,” she greets, dropping onto Mariana’s couch.
Mariana hands her a mug of hot chocolate, and Anna raises it in a cheers motion. Mari and I sit on the couch beside Anna, Mari placing a throw blanket over us.
“I missed you both.” Anna sighs dramatically, kicking her feet up on the ottoman. “It’s been, like, a week. I was starting to shrivel.”
“I saw you two days ago,” I point out.
“Which is practically seven in chaos years,” she fires back.
Mari laughs. “She’s not wrong. This week has been long.”
“Tell me about it,” I murmur, reaching for one of the sugar cookies on the tray between us.
Anna eyes me over the rim of her mug. “Right. Let’s get to it, Lyse. What’s going on? What was the SOS sent for?”
I inhale deeply then exhale through my nose. “I got a text last night. From Letty.”
That gets their full attention.
Mari straightens. “What did she say?”
I grab my phone from the coffee table and hand it over, the screen already pulled up to the message I’ve read at least forty times since last night. Anna takes it first. They both lean in, reading the screen in silence.
Anna’s eyebrows shoot up as she scrolls to the photo. “Oh, hell no.”
Mari lets out a groan as she peeks over her shoulder. “That’s not even subtle.”
“Girl to girl?” Anna’s voice drips with venom. “Who does she think she’s fooling with this fake sisterhood bullshit?”
“She wanted to get under your skin,” Mari says, handing my phone back. “And it worked.”
I nod, wrapping the throw blanket tighter around my waist. “I can’t stop thinking about it. The picture. I’ve looked at it over and over.”
Anna tilts her head. “Do you think something happened?”
I hesitate. “No. I mean…no. I don’t think Mateo would. He’s not like that. I don’t think he is anyway.”
Anna interrupts gently. “I hate to be the one to say this, because you know I love you, but…he is a known fuckboy.”
I groan and sink deeper into the couch. “Don’t remind me.”
