Page 165 of Slumming It

"Oh sure, I handled the details – sizes and getting it all together, but he was the one who did the picking. You want the truth?"

I nodded in spite of myself.

"I never heard the guy sound so happy."

My heart gave a traitorous little flutter. "Really?"

She nodded. "Scout's honor."

By now, I was wise tothisgame. "You were never a scout, were you?"

"No. But that doesn't mean I'm lying."

By now, I was so overwhelmed, I had no idea what to think. Even my own feelings were a crazy jumbled mess, so I honed in on one of the few things Ididknow. "Well if you're still looking for that framed photo, I gave it Reese."

"I know," she said. "I talked to him on the cell just before you drove up."

I couldn't stop myself from asking, "How's he doing?"

"Shitty. Thanks for asking."

My heart clenched at the thought. "I didn't want him to feel bad."

She looked unconvinced. "Didn't you?"

Suddenly I was finding it hard to meet her gaze. "Well maybe at the end. Maybe a little."

"A little, huh?"

"Okay. Fine. A lot. But he mademefeel bad first. And besides, he hates my family."

"And he lovesyou."

My heart warmed at her words until a nice splash of reality smacked me in the face. "Oh, please. If he really loved me, he would have said so."

"He did, just not with words."

I considered what she was saying. And the funny thing was, Ihadfelt loved. He'd been strong and protective, and sensitive and kind, and he really listened when I was talking.

Still, I wasn't quite ready to give him the benefit of the doubt because I'd done far to much ofthatalready. "Yeah, well… if that's how he truly felt, he should've said so."

"Just likeyoudid?"

"But that's totally different."

"Is it?"

"Yes. Why shouldIsay it first? All along, he's held all the power."

"Well, that's a load of crap." She gave a light scoff. "When it comes to Reese, you have more power in your little finger than he does in his whole body."

"But that's not true," I protested. "If it were, he would have said something. And he wouldn't have been such a jerk when I stopped by to see him."

Slowly, she got to her feet. "Yeah, well…give it time."

Chapter 64

Reese