Page 30 of Two of a Kind
The whispers started before the door even closed behind them. She hadn’t been gone thirty seconds and was already dreading her return.
“Franklin’s okay with you?” Kayla asked, setting a quick pace for the deli down the block.
“Yeah, sounds great.”
The lunch rush had already come and gone, so they were able to place their orders and find a quiet table in the back without issue.
Kayla picked at her sandwich, waiting for Lexi to get to it. It didn’t take long.
“I wanted to thank you. I had no idea those things still existed. I thought ...”
“That my mother got rid of them ages ago?” Kayla smirked, amused by Lexi’s unwillingness to throw shade even after Patricia had been enough of an evil stepmother to rival a Grimm fairy tale. “If she’d known about them, she probably would have. Lucky for you, dusty attics aren’t her thing.”
Lexi offered a small smile. “How is Patricia?”
“She and husband number three just moved out to Denver.”
“I heard she remarried. And ... how have you been?”
Lexi was trying, she could tell, but the only way to describe the situation wasawkward. The last time they had spoken, Kayla had been fired up with liquid courage and incensed with rage and envy. In the heat of the moment, Kayla had said awful things, lies aimed to hurt and cause maximum damage. She had even pushed Lexi, sending her into a tree, which resulted in Lexi almost bleeding out and sealing Kayla’s status as Most Hated Woman in Pine Ridge.
Time might heal all wounds, but some things could never be forgiven. In classic Lexi fashion, she was trying anyway. Lexi’s perfection no longer turned Kayla’s eyes green, but that familiar sense of inferiority did snake through her psyche. Lexi had always been better, prettier, nicer. She still was.
“Me? I’ve been great. No need to ask how you’re doing. Your picture’s in the local paper every other day.”
Lexi’s cheeks pinked, as if embarrassed. Modesty was yet another thing theydidn’thave in common.
“Happily married, with a big family like you always wanted. Kids of your own. How many rugrats do you have now?”
“Two,” Lexi answered, her embarrassment morphing into motherly pride. “Patrick and Kate.”
“Good for you,” Kayla said, and she meant it. Just because she wasn’t cut out for marriage and motherhood didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate the happiness that radiated from Lexi. To each her own and all that.
“What about you? Do you like being a travel agent?”
“Yeah, it’s great. A dream come true.” Kayla couldn’t help the edge of sarcasm that came with the words; that was just part of who she was.
The mood went from awkward to uncomfortable, and that was where Kayla drew the line.
“Listen, Lexi, this has been nice and all, but I have to get back to work.”
“Oh, yeah, sure.”
Kayla wrapped up her sandwich. She had barely taken a bite, but her appetite was non-existent. Maybe it would return later when she curled up on her sofa with the tub of ice cream she planned to pick up on the way home. Lexi hadn’t eaten much of her lunch, either, she noticed.
“Maybe we can get together sometime,” Lexi said. “Coffee, or better yet, dinner.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
Kayla paused and looked Lexi in the eye. “Lexi, does Ian know you’re here?”
When Lexi hesitated, Kayla read the answer plainly in her eyes.
“Exactly,” Kayla said. “That’swhy. Listen, for what it’s worth, Iamsorry. I know it doesn’t mean much now, but it’s true, okay? I’m sorry for all the things I said, all the things I did, all the trouble I caused.”
Lexi’s eyes brightened. She opened her mouth to respond, but Kayla held up her hand.
