Page 74 of The Write Stuff

“My mother will have to suck it up,” I said finally. “She’s not going to have another option. For now, though, I don’t want to tell them. I want us to have a chance to spend time together and make sure this is the real deal before we drop the bomb.”

“I agree.” She speared one of my sausage links without asking. “Whatever you think, I think. I’m all in.”

I’m all in. When she said it, her eyes sparkled. “I’m all in, too.” I took a bite of my omelet, chewed, and then swallowed. “Now we need to talk about our friends.” That was a stickier situation.

“Maybe we can make it a few weeks before having to tell them,” she suggested. “That way, we won’t get invited out on double dates.”

“I’m more worried about them watching us like zoo animals on display at the reader events,” I admitted.

“Yeah. We’ll just be chill at the reader events and not act like a couple. No touching or anything.”

I hated that idea. I nodded all the same. “I guess. Just for a little bit. The longer we don’t tell them, the bigger thing they’ll make it into when it’s time.”

“Good point.” She smiled around another bite of pancakes, and I leaned in to kiss her before she swallowed. I didn’t care if her mouth was full.

That was, of course, when the door to her bedroom opened without a knock of warning.

I turned quickly, prepared to do battle in case the delivery driver had returned. It wasn’t him staring at us from the opening, however. No, it was Lucy and Hayley. Or, I was assuming it was Lucy. I still hadn’t seen her since she moved in with Wylie. She looked enough like Wylie that I was convinced.

“Well, well, well,” Hayley drawled as she glanced between us. “Isn’t this … interesting?”

“Huxley,” Lucy said in a cold voice. There was a challenge in her eyes.

“Lucy,” I replied, matching her tone.

“It’s been a long time, Kit Kat thief,” she drawled.

I had to force myself not to laugh. “Yes, it has.”

Lucy’s gaze moved to her sister. “I knew that you were keeping something from me. I just had no idea it was going to be this juicy.”

“Don’t tell Mom,” Wylie admonished. “We’re keeping it a secret from them until we’re sure that … well, just until we’re sure.”

Lucy’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment, I thought she was going to try to use her newfound information as a bargaining chip. Ultimately, however, she nodded.

“Fine,” she said. “I demand to be there when you tell her, though.”

“I’ll see what I can arrange,” Wylie replied dryly. “You just get off on the drama.”

“I do get off on the drama,” Lucy agreed. “This is going to be good drama, too.”

For a moment, Wylie’s smile slipped, and I saw the worry. Ultimately, however, she shrugged. “It’s going to be fine,” she said. Her gaze moved to Hayley. “How much do we have to pay you to keep your mouth shut?”

“Oh, I can’t be bought,” Hayley replied. “Also, there’s no amount of money that would convince me to keep quiet. This is just too juicy.”

I slid my eyes to Wylie and found her looking at me. All I could do was shrug. “The best laid plans.”

She snickered, then went back to her breakfast. “It was still worth it.”

I watched her eat, my heart pinching. It certainly was worth it.

20

TWENTY

“What are you two doing?” Lucy practically sang out when she found Huxley and me in the living room looking over several brochures a few days later.

We’d agreed to be reasonable when spending time together, neither of us wanting to crawl into a cocoon and shut out the rest of the world. It was unhealthy to make your whole life about another person. I’d never done that before — Huxley claimed he hadn’t either — but we’d both witnessed several friends throughout the years doing it and were determined not to become those people.