Page 47 of Big Stick Energy
“I disagree.” She refolds the dishtowel on the counter. “I was pretty clenched up about it, and you made it easier for me to get that taken care of.”
“Good. I’m glad. But then… what’s up with the cold shoulder thing? I mean, I’m a fan of your shoulders but…”
She gives me a confused glance. “Well, when I called the cardiologist, they put me on musical hold for, like, half an hour.”
“Ouch. Like… Elton John performed by an orchestra?”
She shakes her head. “Hall and Oates on a plinky piano. But it gave me a lot of time to think about you and that stupid party.”
Hell, I’ve been thinking about the party, too, but it sure didn’t make me sad. “What about the party?”
She leans against the counter and lifts a cool gaze to mine. “Tell me this—when my sister hit on you at the party? What did she say, exactly?”
Oh.
Ohshit.
My mind reels, because I’d given Darcy this little white lie without even thinking. It was a kindness, right? Who wants to hear the shitty things your own family says about you?
But if I make something up, she’ll probably see right through me. I’m not that good an actor. And Darcy’s laser gaze is asking for the truth. “She, uh, didn’t hit on me, exactly. Not in so many words.”
Her eyes narrow, and I’m suddenly unsure if I made the right call. “So why did you tell me she did?”
I give her a deer in the headlights look, and keep my mouth firmly shut. Then I shrug, like a kindergartner who’s just been caught stealing toys.
“Let me guess—Tessa was talking smack about me. Did she do this to your face?”
“No.” I try to shove my hands in my pockets, but I don’t have pockets. So I fold my arms instead.
That’s when Chase and Zoe suddenly enter the kitchen, interrupting our conversation. But I welcome the distraction. Or I would, if Chase or Zoe felt like talking to us. Instead, Zoe opens the refrigerator, and Chase leans in. He grabs…
Is that the Hershey’s syrup I brought for making sundaes? “Um, dude? What are you…”
Zoe shoots me ashut uplook, and Chase smirks at me. Then he scoops an arm around Zoe, his hand landing possessively on her ass, and they waltz out of the kitchen together.
“Hold up,” I say. “Did they just steal the chocolate syrup and head upstairs? Is that really a good idea? It sounds… sticky.”
“Don’t change the subject,” Darcy says tartly. “In fact, follow me. You’re going to explain yourself.”
Oh shit.
She marches outside, and I follow her like a puppy. She leads me around to the quiet side of the house, where there’s nothing but the hot tub gurgling to itself. Darcy sits down on the stonework ledge and dangles her bare feet into the tub. “Sit. And tell me why you suddenly decided we should be a couple at that party. I want the truth.”
Yikes.Usually, when a guy makes a woman mad, he’sactuallydating her. But I guess I’m just that talented.
I proceed with caution. “Tessa was acting like a snot,” I sayslowly. “It was her and a friend. They were both being assholes, and I happened to overhear.”
“Assholes about what? About me and you showing up to the party together?”
“Well, yeah.” I shrug awkwardly. “It was very… seventh grade. If middle schoolers wore Prada and had better tits.”
Maybe it’s the waning light, but I think I see the corners of her mouth twitch. “That’s Tessa—forever stuck in the seventh grade. Or I guess it was eighth grade when I ruined her life.”
“Except you didn’t,” I argue. “She’s got some baggage, and she seems to take it out on anyone who’s handy. It panicked me a little, honestly. That’s who Maribel is getting for a sister-in-law—a petty bitch who’s willing to stab another woman in the back just for being prettier than she is.”
Darcy looks up at me suddenly, and I’m not sure why until I play that sentence back in my head. I called her pretty. But, so what? It’s not exactly news. She probably owns a mirror.
So why does she still look angry?
