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Unbelievable.Maisie was probably the nicest person I'd ever met. And there she was, accusing me of sleeping withherguy– as if I'd ever consider such a thing. Something inside me snapped. "Alright. You wanna hear a secret?"

She gave a jerky nod, like she was waiting for me to confess.

It felt like the final straw. "Okay, here's a big one." My voice rose just a little. "I don'twantto sleep with your boyfriend."

"But we never – "

"I don't care if it was official or not. He wasyourguy, not mine. And I wouldneverdo that."

"I never said – "

"And you wanna know why?"

She gave a visible swallow. "Why?"

"Two reasons." I held up a finger. "Reason number one. That isn't me. It never has been." I held up a second finger. "Reason number two. Even if Iwerethat type of person, which I'm definitely not, Ithoughtyou and I were friends."

But apparently not.

And now, my heart was breaking just a little. Abruptly, I stood.

On the sofa, Maisie looked as miserable as I felt. "Tessa – "

"Just stop it," I said. "And as far as Griff, the guy's crazy about you. That's beyond obvious. So, maybe instead of asking me whereIwas, you should askhim."With a choked little sound, I turned and stalked away, heading up the stairs to my bedroom, where I planned to take my own advice.

The way it sounded, there was a lot Ryder wasn't telling me.

I didn't know what or why, but I was damned determined to find out.

83

Stories With Holes

Tessa

By the time Ryder answered, my hands were shaking. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

With a hard swallow, I said, "About the night Griff didn't come home."

He paused for several beats like he was planning a masterful defense – or so I thought until he asked, "Who says he didn't come home?"

Seriously?In a tight voice, I replied,"Youdid."

"When?"

Oh. Right.Now, it wasmyturn to pause. Before the blowup with Maisie, she'd told me she overheard Ryder giving Griff a hard time about staying out all night.

But technically, Maisie had been eavesdropping at the time, which meant –damn it– the details weren't for public consumption.

As the silence stretched, I became uncomfortably aware that if I wasn't careful, I'd just make everything worse.

On the phone, Ryder asked, "You still there?"

"Just tell me this," I said. "Did you, or did you not, see Maisie at Griff's place the other night?"

Again, he paused. "The night he was supposedly missing? Or a different night?"