Read A Smile in a Whisper Online Free by Jacquelyn Middleton

“Well, if it was before Bree, before you were sixteen…” Chin dropping, Evie leaned in. “My god, how old were you?”

I don’t want to talk about this. Nick looked away, studying the stone wall running in front of the house across the street. “Old enough.”

Wide-eyed, she nodded slowly like she was mulling over Nick’s confession, then asked, “And after Bree?”

“There’s been a few. Here and there.”

Evie’s brows jumped. “Here? In Orkney?”

“No, not literally here,” said Nick. “At uni.”

“So during the last twelve months…”

Is she jealous? Nick searched her face.

Suddenly, Evie became captivated by her shoes. “I’m just curious. Everyone brags about uni being a boozy sex fest.”

“It can be.”

“And was—is—it? For you?”

Nick plowed his hand through his hair, not sure how much to divulge. “Depends, really. Most of my hookups were one-off drunken snogs.”

“Most? But not all?”

“Hayley wasn’t,” said Nick. “She was a third-year drama major. A friend of a friend.”

Looking up, Evie’s face pinched. “Ooh, an older woman. Niiice,” she hissed.

“So?” Nick glanced over. “Whatshisface was older, wasn’t he? Sam said he was.”

“You were discussing my love life with Sam?”

Dammit. Nick bristled, annoyed at himself for drinking on an empty stomach and relaxing a little too much into this conversation. Every question, every answer was tied to an emotional landmine. “No, we weren’t discussing it. Your ex just—I don’t know, came up one day. Sam mentioned he was older, had one more year of uni left.” He paused. “Sam also said you were seeing someone new.”

Evie shot him a quizzical look. “No. I kissed someone at the Auction Mart Valentine’s dance, but that was a sad, drunken mistake.” Her lips pursed like she was fighting a smile. “So it was recent then, this non-discussion with Sam.”

“Evie, I hadn’t heard from you and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Breakups are hard.”