Secrets of the World's Worst Matchmaker (The Baileys Book 7), стр. 31
I nod. “Yeah, but he’ll likely be mostly smoke jumping soon. He’ll be gone more than he’s home.”
“Okay. Again, I’m sorry. You won’t have to keep my secret forever. One day I have to face Kingston and deal with everything and put it behind me for good. We chatted at Austin’s wedding, but it wasn’t about anything of consequence. I know the day is coming when I’ll have to deal with what happened, but at the same time, I can’t imagine putting your brother permanently in my rearview mirror, you know?”
I offer her a small smile that I hope conveys how sorry I feel for her. Grabbing a pen and paper, I scribble down my number. “Call me if you need to talk.”
She puts it in her purse. “Thank you. Do you want to talk about Colton getting married?”
That’s like opening one of those cans of slinky snakes and a million silky fabric-covered coils flying up in your face. Then again, I can’t really talk to my sisters, because I know what their advice will be. Break up his engagement. But Stella understands how horrible it is to love a man enough to want his happiness over your own. It’s the reason she disappeared all those years ago.
Still, I feel like a boat lost at sea and all these lighthouses are shining to guide me to shore, but I have no idea which way is the best way to go. Who’s to say I won’t end up following the wrong light and end up on an island all by myself?
“No. Not yet.”
Her hand covers mine and she smiles as though she’s saying touché. “I get it, but at some point, you have to face that you’ll no longer be the first woman in his life. Are you ready for that?”
I shrug.
She squeezes my hand again before stealing the pen and writing her number on a napkin. “You can call me anytime.”
We say goodbye and I get in my car, hammering a text to Colton to ask if it’s okay that I come over. Brigette could be over there. He tells me he’s up and to come right over.
Here goes nothing.
Sixteen
Colton
I answer the door to find Juno standing on the porch. Usually she slides past me with a brief hello and a long story of what just happened to her because something weird always happens to Juno. I figured she’d be talking nonstop about Stella’s reappearance before I opened the door all the way. But she’s just silent and stands there.
“Do you want to come in?” I ask, stepping to the side.
She looks me over. “Are you alone?” She clears her throat. “I mean, is Brigette here?”
I narrow my eyes. “No.”
“Phew. Okay.” Now she slides by me. “I realized when I knocked that I can’t just barge in anymore. I’ll have to ring the bell so I don’t interrupt the newlyweds.”
I shut the front door and ignore the squeeze of my heart at her comment. “How was the speed dating thing?”
She shrugs, burying her head in my fridge. “It was okay but made a decent amount of money. I feel like I should pay Kingston a portion. Almost every guy there was a first responder of some kind.”
“And Stella?” I ask, sitting on my breakfast stool and watching her pick up takeout boxes to smell the contents.
She peeks out of the fridge. “She wants me to keep it a secret that I saw her.” She clenches her jaw in an ‘eek’ expression. Juno and secrets don’t always mix. “She’s not ready to see him.”
She shuts the fridge and opens an orange chicken container from Wok For U, moving over to my silverware drawer to grab a fork.
“Want me to heat it up for you?”
She waves me off. “I just need to eat something fast. My stomach is crazy right now and I think if I eat, I might not throw up.” A piece of chicken rests in front of her lips. “How was your ride? Truck okay?” Then she puts the piece of chicken in her mouth and chews.
“Thankfully, yes.” I steal the fork from her container, pierce my own piece of cold chicken, and eat it. “My truck is now parked in the garage, but Ethel demanded they drop me off first and take my truck with them. I ended up calling Duke Thompson to drive them back home.”
“She’s just being cautious,” she says.
“I took one for the team. What do I get in return?”
She laughs, but it’s her nervous laugh. Something’s up with her. She only eats for fear of throwing up when she has to tell someone something she doesn’t want to. Like the time she had to tell Savannah she scratched her car when she borrowed it. Or when she told me that she did go home with Trey. She ate an entire container of fried rice before finally admitting that to me.
“What’s up, Juno?”
She looks up with those doe eyes as though I’m a hunter with an arrow pointed at her. “Why do you think something’s up?” she mumbles around her food.
I say nothing but give her the look.
She takes the fork from me and places it in the sink, packages up the orange chicken, and puts it away. Hopefully, whatever it is isn’t a big deal. Because when she tells me whatever it is she has to, I want to tell her that I understand this whole situation is weird and uncomfortable, but we’ll eventually get back on track. Even if it’s three years from now when I divorce Brigette.
Grabbing a water, she unscrews the top then gulps down half the bottle like she just finished working out. She puts the water down and her gaze falls to the counter. “Can we not talk about big things, your