reached for a carrot, knowing the small talk wouldn’t last long.
Lacey nodded and patted Jocelyn’s arm. “C’mon, kiddo. We know you weren’t shopping all afternoon.”
Jocelyn put the carrot on a cocktail napkin withouteating it, choosing instead to hold up her glass to the group. “How about we start with a toast?”
“Great idea.” Tessa raised her glass. “To honesty among lifelong friends.”
“To knowing you are loved and safe in this room,” Lacey added.
“To a rocking game of truth or dare.” Zoe grinned and raised her glass. “What do you want to drink to, Joss?”
She took a deep breath, looking from one to the other. “To not talking about me behind my back.”
They shared a guilty look and all drank, except Lacey, who squeezed Jocelyn’s arm. “We would never say anything bad, you know that. We love you.” She set her glass down without taking a sip and scooted closer. “And you don’t ever have to talk about anything you don’t want to talk about.”
Tessa exhaled softly. “Except you know how I feel. I hate when we have secrets.”
“Then tell me what Will told you today,” Jocelyn challenged.
She shrugged. “Not much, but he told me you went down to see your father, which we all know is weird because you are…” She hesitated, looking for a word.
“Estranged,” Lacey supplied.
“And he said your father is sick,” Tessa continued. “That’s all. Well, pretty much all.”
Jocelyn gave her a hard look.
“I mean, I think he… kind of has the hots for you.” Tessa added. “But that’s just conjecture. He didn’t say.”
Zoe sat up, yoga pain gone. “You
so
forgot to tell us that part.”
“Honestly, I already knew that,” Lacey said, plucking azucchini disk and nibbling on it with a sly smile. “Remember the big town council meeting when I presented the Casa Blanca plans and Clay…” She made a gooey face. “You know, practically proposed?”
“We remember!” Zoe made a kissing sound. “So does the rest of this island.”
“We got there late,” Jocelyn said, remembering the wild ride from a hospital hours away. That day had been crazy, and she had no recollection of seeing Will that time, although she had seen him at the previous town meeting. “Was he there?” she asked.
Lacey nodded. “When I first got there with my dad, I saw Will, and the very first thing he asked about was you. And not in a casual way.”
“In what kind of way?”
“An interested way.”
“When were you going to tell me this?”
Lacey exhaled, searching her friend’s face. “Honestly, Joss, I thought it was Will keeping you from going south of Center when you visited. That maybe you had a history. I mean, I know your relationship with your dad is—”
“I have no relationship with my dad.”
“I knew that, but I just thought there must be something important between you and Will. Wasn’t there?”
She sipped wine. “Define ‘important.’ ”
On her knees, Zoe crawled closer to the table. “S-E-X.”
“No, we never…” Almost. Nearly. Wanted to. Still wanted to.
That last thought shot through her, surprising her with its intensity. “We were really close when we were young, really good friends. He was a great source of…”
Fantasies
. “Comfort for me.”
“What kind of comfort?”
“Why didn’t you tell us about him at school?” Lacey asked.
Jocelyn ignored Zoe’s question but answered Lacey’s. “We just went our separate ways,” she said. “He went to the University of Miami and had a big baseball career. I went to UF and met…” She lifted her glass, the early effects of the wine helping to dull the edges of her nerves. “The three best friends a girl ever had.”
“Aww,” Zoe said, coming around the table on her knees to curl her fingers around Jocelyn’s hand. “That’s so sweet.” She tightened her grip. “But don’t deflect. Did he hit you?”
“What?” She reared back at the question, so unexpected,
Cynthia Clement
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Gary Paulsen
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M.J. Trow
Christine D'Abo
King Abdullah II, King Abdullah