Unspoken (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3)(44)

“Have you told Burnett?” Della gave her phone another quick check.

“No, I … want to make sure I’m right before I get him all worked up. You know what he’s like when he gets … worked up.” Miranda frowned. “Plus, I could be wrong.”

Della popped open her own soda. The sound tickled her ears and created a bit more calm. “Have you had these feelings before and were wrong?”

“Of course.” Miranda pulled the soda up for a sip.

“How many times?” Della asked, wanting to calculate the odds that something really existed, or if Miranda was just a paranoid twit.

“I don’t know exactly.”

“Estimate,” Della snapped.

“Ten maybe.”

“Two out of twelve.” Paranoid twit. “Good to know. Let’s move on.” Della glanced back at Miranda. “So what other issues do you have?”

“It feels real,” Miranda insisted.

“We’ll all stay on guard.” Kylie looked at Miranda, and then added, “So how was your weekend?”

“I hate going first,” the witch whined.

“Fine, I’ll go.” Kylie leaned in a bit. “My mom is dating a new guy. He’s five years younger than her. Which means he’s only fifteen years older than me. It feels weird. And get this, she met him at the grocery store. What kind of guys really go to the grocery store to pick up chicks?”

“A lot of them, from what I hear,” Miranda said.

Kylie shook her head. “What kind of pickup lines do they use? Hey look at the size of those melons?”

Della glanced at her phone again. “As long as it’s not the cucumbers he’s interested in, she’s safe.”

“Ugh,” Kylie said. “Then my dad comes over, and I swear he’s flirting with my mom. When is he going to move on? It hurts to see him all gooey-eyed for my mom when I know all she’s got eyes for is Mr. Meet-Me-in-the-Produce-Aisle.”

“Do you think he still loves her?” Miranda asked.

“Yeah, I do. And I know he deserves to be a little miserable because he’s the one who got caught playing pin the assistant to the elevator wall.”

“Ew, they did it in an elevator?” Della asked.

“I don’t know. I’m just saying that because he works in a high-rise. But I wouldn’t doubt it. My point is that it’s his fault, but he needs to let go.

“Oh, and Lucas came over and we went out on Saturday. Which brings me to my big complaint about you two.”

“Us two?” Miranda asked.

Della pulled her phone a little closer. “What did we do?”

“You didn’t notice something.”

“You got another hickey?” Miranda turned her head to the side to check out Kylie’s neck.

“No.” Kylie reached up to swipe her hair from her eyes.

Which Della noticed was the third time. That’s when she spotted it. And it only meant more change.

“Are you talking about the fact that you’re wearing an engagement ring?”

Kylie’s face lit up and she wiggled her fingers. “It’s just a promise ring.”

Miranda snagged Kylie’s hand. “It’s a pretty big promise.”

“I know, isn’t it beautiful?” Her smile widened.

“Yeah. It’s great.” Della did another check on her phone.

“What’s that mean?” Kylie asked.

“What does what mean?” Della looked up.

“The tone. And don’t deny it. I heard it.”

Nothing,” Della said, not liking that she was wearing her emotions on her sleeve. “I’m happy for you.” And deep down it was true. It was just … change.

“But?” Kylie asked.

Oh, hell, why not be honest. “But it worries me that you and Lucas are going to end up getting married before we three get to go off to college. The three musketeers is gonna become two. And then one, because one of us,” she pointed to Miranda, “will end up killing the other.”

“I just said it wasn’t an engagement ring. And just because I’m wearing a promise ring doesn’t mean it’s going to happen any faster.”

“I’ll bet Lucas has other thoughts.”

“No, he doesn’t. He knows we’re planning on going to college together.”

“And what’s Lucas doing?” Della asked.

“He’s going to go wherever we go. Like you, he plans to work for the FRU, and he’s pretty much a shoo-in, so where he gets his education isn’t all that important.”

“I just think—”

“Then quit thinking,” Kylie said. “Or I should say, overthinking. Just because we have boyfriends doesn’t mean we aren’t going to always be together.”

“Yeah.” Even as confident as Kylie sounded, Della didn’t completely buy it. Everything in life changed. Most of the time, a person just had to accept it. And she was friggin’ tired of accepting shit.

Kylie looked at Miranda. “How was your weekend?”

“Terrible,” Miranda said. “Dad invited Tabitha over to the house and her mom came to drop her off. My mom had a conniption and wouldn’t open the door. The way my mom acts, you would think Tabitha’s mom was the other woman and not her.”