“Any fool can see that this plan Tiffany concocted will blow up in their faces. I can’t afford to be around when that bomb detonates. That’s what I’m stressing about.” I continued to dig another hole to transplant another shrub from the pot to the ground.
“You’re being incredibly selfish, do you know that? You’re worried about the very unlikely chance that you’ll somehow be involved if this plan of theirs falls apart. You’re completely removed from the situation, so how do you think you’ll be impacted? The one you should be concerned about is Tasha. She’s the one who’ll be crucified for her sister’s sins.”
Jessa made a valid point, which annoyed me. She was always putting things into perspective for me, which I always appreciated after the fact, but sometimes I wondered what it would be like to hear her take my side on things.
“I get that you’re paranoid of the media; I am too,” she continued in a softer, more sympathetic tone. “But I don’t understand how any of this could possibly affect you. During a time when Tasha needs you the most, you’re contemplating adding more distance between the two of you. That just doesn’t make any sense.”
I’d still had trouble falling asleep after texting with Tasha last night. There were way too many things crossing my mind to allow me to rest. And by the time I got up this morning, I’d decided that the best course of action was to give her some space to deal with Tiffany’s drama. However, it seemed that my sister disagreed with me.
“If the press gets wind of Tiffany’s infidelity, what’s the first thing they’re going to do?” I held Jessa’s stare, waiting for her to respond. When she didn’t, I carried on with my argument. “They’re going to start digging to find more skeletons. And what do you think will happen to me if the paparazzi come around and snap photos of her leaving my place or me leaving hers?”
Jessa nodded, but she took a moment before saying anything. “I get that, Coby. I honestly do. But it’s not like they’ll just appear out of thin air. You’ll know ahead of time if that’s the case. You’ve played it by ear, taking it one day at a time since the beginning, so why put on the brakes now?”
“What do you suggest I do? Wait it out and hope I don’t wind up on the front cover of a tabloid?” I was fully aware of how paranoid I was, but that didn’t mean I could snap my fingers and break the spell that I’d been under ever since I was twelve years old.
“I suggest that you continue to take it day by day until there’s a good enough reason to let her go. Pulling away too early is more damaging than playing it by ear. Doing so, you run the risk of nothing happening yet losing her for good anyway. Sticking around at least gives you the chance to explore a relationship after this is all over. And that’s what you want, right?”
“Yeah,” I said quietly, almost to myself. “You’re right…like always.”
“That shouldn’t come as a surprise, really.” She laughed and took a glance around her front yard. Gesturing to the trays of potted plants and shrubs that still needed to be placed into the ground, she asked, “You’re really going to do all of this by tomorrow night?”
Jessa seriously underestimated how badly it bothered me to think of Tasha pretending to be engaged to Adam. “That’s the plan.”
“Well, then I guess I better make more lemonade, huh?”
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
With a smile, Jessa headed inside, leaving me alone to be haunted by my thoughts.
17
Tasha
I’d never suffered much from anxiety, yet right now, I could’ve used a handful of Xanax.
It was the grand opening of Seven, the newest high-end steakhouse on the outskirts of town, where the majority of the rich lived. Trent and Nicole Rigger were major investors, so they had invited us all—cameras included—to the soft opening. To make matters worse, all the ladies brought their husbands, which meant that Michael Yates, Jeannine’s husband, and the man my sister supposedly cheated on Adam with was here.
The part that struck me as odd, though, was how Michael only looked at me a couple of times, never longer than a glance. So either my sister was telling the truth when she said their affair was over, or she had told him what was going on. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tiff had informed him of everything; that was pretty much the only way to cover her tail. That also meant the affair was likely still going on.
I just wanted somewhere to hide until the event ended.
“I’m really shocked to see Adam here,” Shari said as she sidled up next to me along the far wall. Nothing about her gave me the impression that she was digging for information or trying to create drama. She genuinely seemed sincere in her observation. “I didn’t think he was interested in being on the show.”
I just smiled and regurgitated what Ty had told me to say. “He isn’t, but it was either come with me to this or be alone for most of the day. And he certainly didn’t come all the way to surprise me just to spend the time by himself.”
“Where’s he been?”
This question was a little more challenging, because I really wasn’t sure what Adam had been doing this whole time. While I assumed he’d spent a good amount of his time in Mexico with Tiff, I couldn’t very well tell them that, and I wasn’t entirely sure about the rest of his time. So I gave a one-shoulder shrug and played it off like it was no big deal. “Training mostly.”
“Is he excited for the new season?”
I figured a nod would suffice, so that’s what I gave her.
Thankfully, Adam came over, saving me from the innocent interrogation. I was
