Deliciously Obedient by Julia Kent Page B

unison.
    “ And
now he wants me to spend more time on his balls.”
    Sandy
gagged as Lydia gave Krysta one of those looks. Krysta winked back.
Aha.
    “ His
balls?” Lydia could play along.
    “ He
says I need give them as much attention as his cock.”
    “ Wait,
wait, wait!” Sandy sputtered. “Krysta, I know we’re all adults
here, but this is just too much!”
    “ We
shouldn’t have barbecued chicken and a fresh fruit plate with melon
balls?” she asked Sandy sweetly.
    Confusion
filled her mom’s features, making Lydia bite her lips to keep back
laughter. “Oh. That kind of…”
    The
store phone rang. Sandy’s relief was tangible as she scampered over
to answer it. Lydia walked over to Krysta and elbowed her in the
boob.
    “That
was mean!”
    “Your
mom deserved it. She’s done nothing but try to matchmake. Caleb’s
oblivious. He just loves having me as a kitchen slave.” Krysta
groaned.
    “Dobby
loves her master.” Lydia was enjoying this, even if she had her
doubts that Caleb could see the awesome woman under his nose. Her
best friend and her brother together? That would be…interesting.
    Krysta
snorted. “If he gave me a sock I’d take it and run back to
Boston.”
    “No,
you wouldn’t.”
    Krysta
didn’t even try to argue. She knew when she was bested.
    “Kitchen
slave isn’t the kind of submission I want to subject myself to, if
you know what I mean.”
    “Please
do not talk about my baby brother like that!” Lydia shuddered.
Gross.
    “We’re
all adults,” Krysta taunted.
    “At
least you finally acknowledge your crush.”
    “What
crush?”
    “Ha
ha.”
    Jeremy
waltzed past, staring at his phone, head bent over like a data
zombie. Lydia and Krysta traded raised eyebrows.
    “ What’s
that about?” Krysta asked.
    “ No
idea. But I’ll go find out.” Jeremy hadn’t pulled his phone out
since…well, ever here at the campground, so the sight of him
looking like a teenager at the mall, head down and engrossed in his
phone, was a bit disconcerting. His long legs took him down the main
road at a fast pace, forcing her to hoof it to catch up.
    “ What’s
going on? You testing your data plan?”
    “ What?”
he yelped, clearly startled by her, losing his grip on the phone and
throwing it in the air. She caught it with such grace it seemed
planned by a divine force.
    “ Saved!”
    “ Good
hands.”
    “ You
would know.” She flipped the phone over and looked at the screen,
then her blood turned cold.
    Mike?
    “ You’re
texting with Mike?”
    Snatching
the phone back, he swallowed hard and seemed to grope for words.
    Hurt
took over her shock. “No explanations. You’re your own person and
can do whatever you please. I didn’t mean to invade your privacy by
looking at your phone,” she said in a robotic, flat voice. Turning
away, she walked as far as she could, blinded by the nine thousand
emotions passing through her like a flock of pissed-off hummingbirds.
    “ Hold
on, Lydia! It’s not what you think.”
    “ It’s
never what I think. It’s always worse.”
    “ Here.”
He shoved the phone in her hand. “I wasn’t hiding anything from
you. Look through every text I’ve had for the past…whatever. I’m
an open book.”
    That
made her stop. She pulled her neck back in disbelief and skepticism.
“You don’t have to appease me.”
    “ I
want to appease you.” He frowned and shook his head. “Besides, appease is the wrong word. I was going to show you the texts.
Mike’s alive and fine. Terse, but fine.”
    Scanning
the messages, she got what Jeremy meant. “Closer than you think.”
What did that mean. Was Krysta right? Was Mike actually here?
    Her
turn to come clean. Just as she opened her mouth to tell Jeremy about
Krysta’s suspicions, Miles pulled up in his red golf cart, driving
so fast Lydia wasn’t sure he’d stop before hitting them. Miles
never sped. Never.
    Something
was wrong .
    Gravel
spat at them as Miles slammed on the brakes.
    “ I
need help.