Page 38 of The Billionaire Who Hated Me (Until He Loved Me)

I laugh, and it feels good to laugh.

I’m in awe of Summer.Everything about her is loud, full of self-assuredness, and without a trace of pretense.She reminds me of the character inGirl with the Dragon Tattoo, but without the mohawk or the actual dragon tattoo, at least not that I’ve seen.She’s strikingly beautiful, even with the ponytail, dusty work boots, tattered jeans, and a man’s plaid shirt.

“Isn’t Nurse Phoebe pretty?”Jasmine asks.

“She sure is.”

From what I’ve been able to gather from snippets of waiting room conversation, Phoebe lives on the ranch next to Yosemite, which I know could mean a drive of ten minutes or two days, depending on where exactly the ranches meet.And when I got a quick look at her with Evander, I detected more than neighborly concern on her freckled face.

I can’t help but wonder if the two of them have a past.Or maybe it’s a story that hasn’t yet been written.But to my eyes, it looks like far more than a nurse-to-patient relationship.

I rise from my spot on the bench.“I’ll go with you, but I don’t eat sugar,” I tell Jasmine.

“Okay, Victoria!”

That’s not entirely true.I eat sugar when I’m really stressed, and it’s almost always in the form of ice cream.This sad fact is my go-to-the-grave secret.Only Millicent knows of my weakness.And right now, I’m such an emotional mess that I could go for one of those nine-scoop sundaes some restaurants will give you for free if you can eat it all.

TheI-don’t-eat-sugarannouncement was more for me than anyone else.

“What do you mean you don’t eat sugar?Like Cal?”Summer walks by my side while we both keep an eye on Jasmine, who’s running ahead toward the cafeteria.“Because that bastard hasn’t eaten sugar in three years.Declan and I are determined to stuff a Pop-Tart in his mouth while he sleeps, but we know that’d be a death sentence.Cal would snap our necks like toothpicks before he even opens his eyes, and that’s not a joke.”She scratches the side of her face while she thinks.“I guess we’ve got some details to work out.Anyway, I’m glad you can join us.”

The cafeteria is tiny.Summer greets the cafeteria lady, and they exchange gossip for a moment.Then, Summer orders ice cream and Cokes for the three of us.Despite my protest, she insists on paying.

I don’t remember when I last had a Coke.I can taste it already, ice cold and syrupy sweet.I bet it would really hit the spot.But all that sugar will go straight to the endocrine system.I will respectfully pass.

We take a seat at the center table.Jasmine immediately digs into her scoop of vanilla ice cream while I sit transfixed by the large paper cup in front of me.It must be a quart, filled with ice, a long straw bobbing from the top.It’s calling to me, louder than my scoop of vanilla ice cream.

“Pssst.”Summer wiggles an eyebrow.“Check it out.”She gulps down at least a third of her soda, then dumps her ice cream in the cup.

I stare in disbelief, which was obviously the reaction she hoped for.

“Go on.You know you want it.”She leans in and whispers, “I swear I won’t report you to the sweets police.”

I cross my arms over my chest.“You are a very bad influence.”

“Not the first time someone’s told me that.Won’t be the last.”

I sit in silence while my two companions slurp and scoop to their heart’s content.I stare at the fizzy dark liquid in front of me and think it through.

If I did drink it, it wouldn’t be like I’m giving in to just some random Coke.I’m here on business, which would make this abusinessCoke.And a business ice cream.And anyway, I’m here to learn how life is lived on the ranch, and hospital visits are part of ranch life, so…

I put the straw in my mouth and suck.The icy fizz hits the back of my throat, and my eyes bug out.Oh, sweet sucrose!It’s even better than I remember.I finish about half of it without coming up for air.Then I belch quietly.

“You were very thirsty,” Jasmine says.

“I was.”

“You burped.”

“I did.Pardon me.”

Jasmine giggles and goes back to her ice cream.

“When’s the last time you let yourself drink a Coke?”Summer asks.

“Eighth grade, at the movies.I had popcorn too.”

“You’re wilder than you let on.”