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“We were going to tell you tomorrow,” I try.

My sister throws her hands in the air. “I don’t care. You lied to me.”

“How did you even know we were here?”

She taps her foot on the ground. “I ran into Zeke on my way home. He was taking his grandmother to the dentist in our street. Apparently, she damaged her teeth during a roller coaster ride with you.”

“Myrtle is Zeke’s grandmother?” I ask in surprise.

“That’s not the point! He told me the tour ended hours ago. I thought you’d be home soon after. Remember how you told me you’d be home by nine? Well, when neither of you showed up, I got worried. I tried calling you both, to no avail, so I had to call Frank, who did tell me the truth about where to find you. I came straight here, saw the lights were on, and thought you’d drowned.”

I frown. “Drowned? Seriously, stop watching those crime shows, sis.”

She growls like she’s a wolf ready to devour me. “That. Is. Not. The. Point.”

“Are you mad we’re dating? Because it’s our life and you don’t have a say in it.” I pull Elle even closer to emphasize my words.

“I do when I’m the one taking calls about Vermont. All while my best friend thinks she’s got a future with you right here in Summerville Creek,” she spits out. “That’s right, don’t look so surprised. I put two and two together long before tonight. You two were always disappearing somewhere or having work meetings. I’m not blind, you know. I can spot a person in love when I see one.”

“What’s in Vermont?” Elle asks, looking terrified.

Oh crap.

“You didn’t even tell her about Vermont, did you? By the way, your offer on that house got accepted. At least, according to your realtor who called me on our landline with the news a few hours ago since he couldn’t reach your mobile.”

I turn to Elle, who has gone as pale as a ghost. She pulls away from me, and it feels like a punch in the gut. I don’t like this distance between us. “Don’t jump to conclusions, Elle. “Please.”

“You’re leaving? For real? But you told me nothing was set in stone yet. In fact, you told me you were staying right here just an hour ago. Was that a lie?”

“I meant it. Look, I made an offer on that house right before things got serious between us.”

She swallows and moves away from me. “I knew you were set on leaving, so I can’t be mad about that, but you told me your plans had changed.”

“I know, but now that the offer on the house got accepted… I don’t know what I want anymore. I’m sorry.”

“Are you going to do it? Move to Vermont?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. Probably. I mean, it’s been my plan all along.”

“You don’t know? What about us? Do we still have a future together?”

“I don’t know. I want us to be together, but… I’m sorry, I need time to process all of this.”

She swims away from me, pushes herself up to exit the pool, and grabs a towel. “Will you take me home?” she asks Maggie. “I’m going to get dressed.”

Elle scurries away before I can stop her. Maggie turns to me again, her face cold as stone. “This is exactly why I didn’t want you two to date. I’d like nothing more than to see you two ride off into the sunset, or in this particular case, Vermont, but you blew it. I knew you’d sweep her off her feet, only to break her heart. I can’t believe you did this to her. She’s my best friend. What am I supposed to do now, huh? If I take her side, you’ll hate me, and if I side with you, I might lose my best friend. You promised me nothing like this would ever happen again. You’re such a liar!” She stamps her foot. “Ugh, I’m going home. Don’t bother talking to either of us again tonight.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Elle

“I need more ice cream,” I say, crying into my empty bowl.

It’s been a week since Colton backstabbed me, or whatever you want to call it. It boils down to him moving out soon and drawing a big red cross over our relationship.

I haven’t even been back to work. Maggie convinced her brother Tanner to write me a doctor’s note, as he’s some hotshot doc. He agreed to it after a major bribe that put Maggie in his debt for years to come. I can’t thank her enough, though. The last thing I want right now is having to work with Colton, pretending we’re a happy royal couple, when all I want to do is punch him in the crown jewels.

Maggie gets up to grab another tub of ice cream out of the freezer. “I know this sucks, but at some point, you’re going to have to talk to him,” she says as she flops back onto my bed.