Page 8 of Deadly Little Scandals
“What?” I said, feeling more like myself than I had in hours. “The sun is high, and the water feels good. Now talk.”
“There’s not that much to tell,” Lily warned me. “Until I saw the boxes sitting on our beds, I wasn’t one hundred percent certain the White Gloves actually existed.”
“A suburban legend?” I quipped. Before Lily could offer a retort, I processed the rest of what she’d said. “Our invitations were inside the house when you arrived?”
“And all of the doors were locked.”
Now she’d piqued my interest. “What exactly does the rumor mill say about the White Gloves?”
“That they’re a secret society. That they recruit freshmen at State, U-of, and a handful of private colleges in a three-state region. Female-only,veryexclusive.”
In the world Lily had grown up in,exclusivemeantwealthy.It meant old money, power, and status, having the luxury never to talk—or eventhink—about money at all.
“We should go tonight,” Lily said. “Right?” She laid her arms on the back edge of the Jet Ski and rested her chin on her wrist. “I know where The Big Bang is. We could tell Mama we’re sleeping over with Sadie-Grace. Lord knows Sadie-Grace’s daddy won’t know the difference.”
“Who are you,” I deadpanned, “and what have you done with Lily Taft Easterling?”
“I’ve done everything that’s expected of me, Sawyer. My whole life, I’ve dottedi’s and crossedt’s. I followed the rules. I was everything I was supposed to be, right up until I startedSecrets.”
Everyone had their own way of coping with trauma. Mine involved a lot of compartmentalizing and a healthy amount of denial. Lily had coped with Walker dumping her last summer by creating a risqué photo blog where she wrote other people’s secrets on her skin.
“You miss it,” I commented. “Secrets on My Skin.”
I waited for her to tell me that I was wrong, but instead, she righted herself in the water. “Walker.”
What about him?I twisted my torso, allowing my fingertips to skim the surface of the water as I turned in the direction of her gaze. About a hundred yards away, a Jet Ski passed King’s Island and began to slow. I had no idea how Lily had recognized its driver from this distance, but I didn’t doubt her claim.
Lily Easterling had impeccable instincts about two and only two things: proper etiquette and Walker Ames.
“Did you tell him we were here?” I asked.
“I haven’t talked to him all day.” Lily avoided my gaze. “But Walker and Campbell are the reason I know this place. Their house is on the point opposite King’s Island, just two coves away.”
I didn’t have the chance to ask Lily if there was a reason she and Walker hadn’t talked, before he glided into earshot and cut the engine. He slowed his forward momentum by holding his legs out to the sides, allowing his feet to drag in the water.
“Salutations, ladies.” Walker took off his life vest, hung it over the handlebars of his Jet Ski, and dove into the water. He emerged seconds later, right between me and Lily. Moisture beaded on his chest as he shook the water from his hair, splashing us both.
I would never have made a move on Walker, and he only had eyes for Lily regardless, but now that I knew that hewasn’tmy brother, I didn’t try quite so hard not to enjoy the view. Then, slowly but surely, my mind turned to thinking about another chest.
Other arms.
Nick had very nice arms.
“As I live and breathe,” Walker quipped, drawing me back to the present. “Sawyer Taft and Lily Easterling. What are the chances of meeting the two of you here?”
Better than the chances of my path ever crossing Nick’s again.I hadn’t seen or heard from him since the night of my debutante ball. Not that I’d expected to. Not that I even reallywantedto.
“Is that your way of saying you were hoping to have this cove to yourself?” Lily asked Walker, her tone prodding.
“Never.” Walker had inherited his father’s charm, but unlike the former senator, he was not a particularly skilled liar. My gut said that he hadn’t known we would be here. He certainly hadn’t come looking for us.
“How’s your mama?” Lily asked quietly.
There was a beat of silence. “She’s just fine.”
Walker didn’t want to talk about his mama. That made two of us. Charlotte Ames was not a member of the Sawyer fan club. Given that she believed me to be the product of her husband’s adultery, I was pretty sure she’d wished me six feet under more than once.
“Is it bad?” Lily asked Walker, her voice muted. He didn’t reply, and she pushed off the Jet Ski and glided through the water toward him. I averted my eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
