Page 58 of Riding the Sugar High

“I bet Cassidy would never,” she teases.

I set my coffee down, then grab the balled-up paper and look around. Aiming for the bin to my right, I throw it in, then turn to Primrose. “Okay. You want to know what my actual type is?”

She nods.

“Smart women.” I point at the counter behind me. “And any woman who thinks you’re not a force to be reckoned with, Barbie, is a very stupid woman.”

make me laugh when i’m sad

Primrose

Derek

Meet me outside.

I stare at my phone,eyes blown wide as my pulse quickens. The text came out of nowhere, and though I’ve been staring at the screen for a full minute, it doesn’t become any less real. He wants to meet, but why now? It has to be about the piglets. About the fire.

I stand on shaky legs and walk out of the kitchen, abandoning my apron on the way. Since we came back from the mall, I’ve been making candy, and Logan has been working. Based on what I know of his routine, he won’t be back for another couple of hours.

Wiping my hands on the skirt of my dress, I look around. The piglets are in the bedroom, and it’s not like I intend to let him in.

When I open the front door and quickly slink outside, Derek waves at me. His copper hair has grown out since we broke up, and as much as I stare at his small, brown eyes, I can’t see all I saw in him only a few months ago.

He surely doesn’t hold a candle to Logan.

As I white-knuckle the handrail and walk down the steps, he smiles. “Hello. How’s it going?”

“I’m fine.” I come to a stop in front of him, and though the polite thing to do would be to ask howhe’sdoing, I don’t care and don’t want to know. “What’s up?”

“Well, I’m hoping you’ll be more reasonable than Logan and agree to give me the pigs back.”

I could laugh in his face. “What pigs?”

His smile falls like an autumn leaf off a tree, his bad mood sinking in almost immediately. “You know, once the investigation is over and you’re in prison, Iwilldiscuss all of this at length with your audience.”

Though the thought alone gives me shivers, I won’t let him see he scared me, so I shrug.

“Come on. You have your list back—what do you want?”

“I’d love it if you could stop posting lies about me,” I offer. “But no matter what you do, I still don’t know the first thing about any pigs.”

He shoves both hands in his pockets. “Ineedthose piglets, Primrose. And if you give them to me right now, we’ll tell the police that Logan acted alone. You’ll be okay.”

He just doesn’t get it, does he? I’d never deliver the pigs to him, and the thought of betraying Logan feels unnatural. Sure, he’s a moody guy, but he’s been protecting me every step of the way.

“I won’t do a single thing for you ever again.” I turn on my heels and mumble, “Enjoy your followers, though.”

As I close my fist around the doorknob, he asks, “Do you really think Logan will make all your dreams come true, Primrose? That he’s any better than me?”

I spin around to face him. “Only in every way possible.”

“Well, he’s not. He’s using you—that’s why you’re here. And even if he did like you, what will happen when he...” He gestures up and down at me, and instantly, heat rushes up my neck.

“When he what?” I bark.

“Look, let’s be honest. You’re not...you’re not exactly hot. All I had to do to keep you around was sleep with you, and if I couldn’t do it for millions of followers, do you think Logan will? You’ve seen his ex, haven’t you?”

It’s important for my cover that I deny everything he just said. That I say that Logan loves me—that I show a united front and a strong relationship. But I’m stunned into silence. As it turns out, even if it comes from someone you hate, a knife to the heart makes you bleed all the same.