I narrowed my eyes, finding it hard to believe I’d heard her right. “You think I’m cool?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t let it go to your head.” A minute passed with just the radio on softly. “Whether you believe me or not, I am sorry about last night,” she admitted.
I chewed on the edge of my lip, contemplating how to respond. “Because you made a fool of yourself or because Brock turned you down?”
“Both,” she said. Her lips turned down. “But I got my answer last night. I won’t make that mistake again, so you can rest easy. Your boyfriend is safe from me. I don’t even want to see him.”
“Going to be kind of difficult since he’ll be living in our house for the next week.”
“Gah,” she groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
Mads sat on the curb outside her house, a cigarette in between her lips. She took one last puff when she saw me pull the car over, tossed the smoke to the ground, and smashed it with her shoe. Opening the car door, she turned her head to the side, letting out an exhale of smoke before hopping into the back seat. “Quick, hit the gas before my mom comes outside. She’s been begging to meet you.”
Despite Kenna refusing to cancel the shopping trip, I texted Mads to make sure she was seriously up for it. I even offered to take Kenna myself, if she wanted to stay home and rest. We would totally understand.
That had been a big fuck no.
I glanced through the rearview mirror, our eyes connecting. “She knows about me?”
Mads nodded, securing the seat belt. Her blonde-streaked hair hung straight and long today. “Aunt Liana told her Friday night while we were out.”
I cringed at the mention of last night. The memory of my first job would always be tainted by Carter. I was tired of this asshole ruining my life. “We’ve already met your mom,” I pointed out, what with the numerous times I’d been to Mads’s house.
“True, but she thought you were just my friend who coincidently looked a lot like her niece. But now that she knows who you are…”
“She’s more interested,” I finished. I was her niece after all. Of course, she would want to see me.
“Exactly. I mean I kind of get it. You’re family. It’s just the timing is really bad with what happened yesterday. I can’t handle any more of her hovering. And”—her voice got excited as the car cruised away from her house—“I have a surprise for you.”
My eyes flicked back up to the mirror, catching her silly grin. She was definitely giddy and up to something.
“I don’t think I can’t deal with any more surprises.” My fingers tightened on the steering wheel, my heart tripping a tad at the thought of what Carter had planned next. I didn’t want to think of him. Not today. I had enough going on with Kenna to have to worry about Carter’s dumbass too.
One fucking family problem at a damn time, please.
“You’ll love this one. Promise.” She winked, a smug smile curled on her lips.
I wasn’t so sure about that.
Trees lined the side of the road as I turned out of Mads’s neighborhood onto Chestnut Drive. Some of the branches were almost bare, while others still clung to their vibrant and bold colors of gold, deep reds, and burnt oranges, a reminder that winter was approaching.
“Where’s my surprise?” Kenna asked, turning in her seat to glance at our cousin. She tightened the elastic band holding her long hair into what I coined the cheerleader pony. It sat on the crown of her head, and the curls swung with her movements.
“Your surprise is me not kicking your ass. I knew you had a thing for Brock, but seriously, Kenna? What the fuck were you thinking?” Mads didn’t bother to sugarcoat her feelings.
My eyes stayed glued to the road, but I heard the disapproval in Mads’s voice and knew it would set Kenna off. In Kenna’s mind, Mads was the one person who would always be on her side, no matter what.
I hated that Mads was stuck in the middle between us. When I texted her this morning, she had the same reaction as Grayson when I explained what happened. Disbelief. I had needed someone to vent to.
Kenna turned back around, her lips thinned and annoyed. “God, not you too. I don’t think I can take another Girl Scout lecture.”
“Someone has to pound some sense into you,” she responded.
Dropping her head against the leather seat, Kenna glanced out the side window and grumbled as if she’d lost her fire to defend herself, or maybe her conscience finally got a hold of her. She had already apologized. “Can’t we just have one day of fun, like how it used to be? You, me, our parents' credit cards?”
I must be going soft. What was it about Kenna that could infuriate me one moment and then tug on my heartstrings the next? “How about we make a pact for today,” I suggested, for some reason feeling sorry for Kenna. I could see how much she clung to the past. I ran from mine. And Kenna wanted to relive hers.
“The bitch fest ends now. Deal?” Mads urged, jumping onto the bandwagon.