“You promise?” I held up my pinkie finger.
When he hooked his pinkie around mine, the corners of his mouth curled. “Promise.”
Something inside me withered. I was so sick of all the secrecy. All because of a ring? I squinted down at it, the center amethyst glinting back at me.
“Now that we’ve established Lucy is not engaged, can we get back to the game?” Shanda’s annoyed timbre silenced the hushed murmurs.
“Go for it.” Will plopped back down, a satisfied smile on his face.
Everyone closed their eyes for the next round, except Will. He kept smiling at me, a smug grin like he’d just won a battle. The anger seeped from my pores until it pooled in my balled up fists.
“I think I need a Coke.” Without a glance back, I shot up, weaving across what was left of the party toward the kitchen. A nice moment ruined, and I didn’t even do it myself. I smacked the kitchen door so hard it almost came back and hit me in the nose.
“Watch it.” Will’s arm slid around me to prop open the door. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
“Smooth.” I spun on my heel, shooting flaming arrows at him with my eyes as I backed into the kitchen. “So, you want to tell me what that was all about?”
“Calm down. You don’t have to get so mad. Though it’s pretty cute.” He sauntered up to the stainless refrigerator and opened the door, as if the last few seconds hadn’t happened. “Coke, right?”
“Fine, whatever,” I mumbled, but it wasn’t fine. Hot anger still sizzled up and down every nerve ending. “I don’t get what happened out there. Besides me looking like an idiot in front of a bunch of people. Thanks for that. I guess you bring it out in me.”
“C’mon, it wasn’t that many people. I’m just trying to watch your back, Lucy.” He tossed me a can of Dr. Pepper. “Sorry, no Coke.”
“That’s my favorite, anyway.” I popped the top and sipped the fizz. The coolness slid down my throat, evaporating some of the rage.
“I had a feeling.” Will plunked down on a barstool at the center island, patting the seat next to him. “Come sit by me. I don’t bite. You know, I used to find James in the kitchen late at night, totally asleep.”
“Really, that’s what you want to talk about?” I rubbed my fingers against the cold aluminum. No random comment about my brother could make up for what he did, even if that lopsided expression on his face looked like he actually meant it.
“Don’t you know how much I want to tell you everything?” He combed his short sandy hair with rough strokes. “If you’ll just come to the Nexis initiation, I’m sure I could bend the rules a little.”
“After that fiasco out there, you think I can believe anything you say?” The words burned like fire in my mouth. I doused my tongue with sweet soda bubbles.
“Listen, I know I owe you an explanation.” He twisted his stool and lifted his chin toward me, his best feature. As if I’d be helpless against his charm. “I didn’t mean to make a scene.”
Acrid laughter rose in my throat. “Ha!”
His hand shot straight up, like he was about to swear on his Dr. Pepper can. “Honest, I didn’t mean for it to go down like that. You weren’t picking up my subtle hints. That guy was reeling you in.”
“What, so you’re jealous?” The smoldering ball of fury simmered down a little. Of course he really didn’t mean to embarrass me, he just couldn’t help himself. Hmm, smug or cute?
“We went out last week, we were supposed to go out this weekend, and then you’re hanging all over Bryan. I don’t like that guy. He’s bad news.” He slammed his can into the counter.
I jumped back and bumped into an empty stool which seesawed back and forth. “You never called to set something up.”
“Yeah, I did. Don’t you check your messages?”
I tugged my phone out of my pocket. It showed four missed calls yesterday, after my talk with Julia. “Oops, I didn’t notice.”
“No kidding, I guess you forgot about me.” His voice softened on those last words.
“That’s not true. And it doesn’t give you the right to embarrass me like that.”
Sandy tufts of hair fell around his eyes. “I know, I didn’t mean to make such a big deal out of it. I just lost it. I’m sorry.”
The muscles I’d tensed slowly relaxed, the anger evaporating, too. Those annoying little butterflies swarmed in my stomach, enough that I couldn’t deny it. I was still attracted to him, even if he was utterly obnoxious. “If you hadn’t been so rude about it, I’d almost think you were kind of sweet. Wanting to look out for me and all.”
He looked up. “Really? Most girls would call it possessive.”
“They have no idea what it’s really like, then.” If you wanted possessive, you didn’t have to search any further than my ex.
Will tapped the countertop with his fingers. The soft sound brought me back to him. “I’m sorry. I heard a bit about your last boyfriend. One drawback of our moms being friends. Anyway, you deserve better than that, and definitely much better than that Bryan guy out there. He broke my friend’s heart and kicked her out of the Guardians. Trust me, he’s the wrong guy for you.”
“You mean Colleen?” When he nodded, I stuck my hand on the swaying stool, trying to regain my balance. After what Julia said, it was hard to get on Colleen’s side. But Will was obviously right about Jake. Could he be right about Bryan, too? “So what does that make you?”
“Just a guy who wants to be with you.” He inched forward, eyes searching mine. They stayed locked on me for one long moment.
“I, uh ...” My lips parted, but no sound came out. I didn’t know what to say to that. Against my will, my heart flip-flopped around in my
