Page 145 of Slumming It

At this point, I didn't even know.

I pulled out my cellphone and returned the purse to the floor by my feet. I began scrolling through my texts, seeking anything to distract me. I saw a bunch from my mom that included the photos from Vivian, the ones my sister had never sent tome.

Silently, I began scrolling through the images, missing my sister more and more as I saw selfies of Vivian sitting in her new office, standing by an elaborate dinner buffet, and doing a few other things to show where she was and what she was doing. The final image showed a group photo of Vivian with a few of her new colleagues.

And that's when I saw her – someone I hadn't seen in weeks.

She was someone I would never forget, a curvy middle-aged blonde with attitude to spare. Even in the photo, the attitude came through loud and clear as she grinned at the camera and flipped it the double-bird.

When my cellphone slipped from my hands and tumbled to the floor, I made no move to retrieve it.Already I'd seen enough.

From the driver's seat, Reese finally broke the silence, asking in a surprisingly concerned voice, "What's wrong?"

I turned in my seat to look at him. I didn't even know how to respond. It was so sweet and wonderful and cruel and maddening, all at the same time.

But I wanted answers.And I wanted them now. "Pull over."

His face registered concern. "Why?" When I didn't answer, he frowned. "If you're thinking of walking, forget it."

I gave a bark of humorless laughter. "Nowthat'sfunny."

He gave me a wary look. "I don't get it."

"Yeah, neither do I." I was still trying to reconcile what Iusedto know with what I knew now. I stared at Reese. "That blonde who picked me up in the yellow car…yousent her, didn't you?"

He paused for a long moment before returning his gaze to the road. "What blonde?"

Normally, Reese had one heck of a poker face, but for just a moment there – right before he'd turned away – his virtual mask had failed miserably, giving me a brief glimpse of whatever he was actually feeling.

And even though I couldn’t quite define the emotion that had been written all over his face, I knew one thing for damned sure.It wasn't indifference.

I asked, "Are you gonna pull over or not?"

His tone grew sarcastic. "What, you can't wait 'til the next exit?"

"Fine. But I know exactly what you're doing."

"And what's that?"

"You're gonna use the time to think up a story, and I'm just telling you, flat-out, I'mgoingto get the truth."

And did I get it?

Even thirty minutes later, I wasn't so sure.

In an empty parking lot, Reese had eventually confessed that he had, in fact, sent that woman to pick me up. Apparently, her name was Rita, and she worked at their corporate headquarters in Chicago.

Aftermoreprodding, Reese had also confessed thatshewas the one who had selected all of that clothing, including those awful Daisy Duke shorts and the much nicer clothing afterward.

Apparently, Rita wasn't just an employee. She was also a long-term friend. A few weeks ago, she had followed him to Driftwood Cove for reasons that still weren't clear.

But it was Reese's final revelation that made me realize I'd been a blithering idiot from the start. Apparently, Rita had told Reese in great detail about Morgan and Nikki's rudeness along the side of the road – not their rudeness to me, but their rudeness toherwhen she'd tried to pick me up.

Hearing this, I couldn't help but recall what Reese had said to me the very next night, during that fake date at the nightclub.

"They were rude to someone I care about."

Now I felt like crying in the passenger's seat. That whole scene with Morgan and Nikki at Solitaire's, that oh-so-satisfying rescue,myrescue – right from the beginning, even his return to our booth, none of this had been for me.