When the Heart Falls(127)

As I pack, my eyes wander to the newly framed picture on my desk of Cade and me on top of the Eiffel Tower. We look like a couple, even though we haven't actually defined our relationship as such.

Jenifer saunters across the room, her hips swaying as she models her new slinky dress. "What do you think?"

It's trashy. "It's nice. Where are you going?"

"Out with Duke." She digs through her drawer until she finds what she's looking for: A pair of G-String panties that look like dental floss with a silk bow. "We're actually dating, can you believe it? I'm so proud of myself."

I don't even try to keep the sarcasm from my voice. "Good for you."

"You should meet him soon," she says, ignoring my tone. "You'll really like him."

I roll my eyes. "I've already met him."

She throws shoes over her shoulder until she finds a black pair of spiked heels. "Okay, hang out with him, then. Get to know him better."

"Yeah, no. I don't want to." I settle on the jacket, since I already have a sweater packed, and shove it into my bag.

"Why not?"

"I just don't."

Jenifer stops trashing our room to look at me, fist on hips. "What? I finally get a boyfriend, and you don't have the time to even see him?"

"No. It's not that."

"Then what?"

The irritation and anger that's been building since the night she didn't come home pours out of me. I throw my hands in the air in exasperation. "Did you sleep with him? That night, at the party, did you sleep with him?"

Jenifer pauses, pressing her lips together as if in thought. Her tapping toe betrays her nerves. "We're together. We're a couple."

"So?"

"So, it wasn't a one night stand."

"Ugh!" I stomp away, wishing I had something I could throw or hit. Instead, I keep packing, trading a pair of slacks for my skinny jeans. Taking deep breaths, I try to calm myself, but it doesn't work. "Why do you let guys use you all the time?"

"He's not using me. He's with me."

"Because you're easy!" I regret the words the moment they escape my mouth, but it's too late to pull them back, and my anger boils hotter.

Jenifer recoils as if I've hit her. "Maybe I am easy. Maybe I do let guys use me. But at least I know how to have fun."

"Bitch." I pull the skinny jeans out and throw them on the ground.

"Ice Queen!" She slams her closet shut, nearly splintering the wood.

I shoo her away like a dog. "Go on. Go see Duke. Try not sucking his dick this time. See if he keeps you around."

Jenifer storms out the door, slamming it behind her, and I collapse into my bed, wrung out from all this venomous poison in my heart.

I expect to hear her heels clicking on the linoleum floors as she flees down the hall, but instead I hear her crying on the other side of the door.





WINTER DEVEAUX

CHAPTER 16





MUSIC FROM MY headphones drowns out my thoughts, but my heart is still heavy from my fight with Jenifer. I want her to come back so we can talk about it, but at the same time I'm so tired of her crap. I just don't know how to respond to her. She's my friend, but she's also an adult and needs to make her own choices in life. It's not my place to judge. I'm also not obligated to tag along like the doting best friend when she's throwing herself away for some attention.

I pull off the headphones and listen, hoping I'll hear her in the hall. When someone knocks on the door and turns the handle, I jump up and run over. "Jenifer, I'm really sorry. I—"

It's not Jenifer at the door. A beautiful long-legged woman strides in wearing khakis and a v-neck white cotton shirt. She looks like a magazine spread for World's Sexiest Archaeologist.

I throw myself into her arms with a squeal. "Autumn! What are you doing here?" Pulling away just enough to look at her, my smile makes my facial muscles ache. "Aren't you supposed to be in Egypt studying mummies or something?"

"I said I'd visit." Her green eyes crease when she grins. "I'm working on an exhibit that's touring here right now at the Louvre."

"That's so awesome. I can't believe you're here."

Cade's door cracks open, his dark hair tousled as he pokes his head out. "Everything okay, Winter?"

"Yes. Better than okay!" I didn't realize how much I missed my family until I saw my sister. Even with Cade, and sometimes Jenifer, it can be lonely living in a different country by yourself.

"Okay." He winks at me, and I blush.

Autumn leans over to whisper in my ear. "Who's that?"

My face burns a brighter red. "A friend."

"A yummy friend?" She waggles her eyebrows, and I laugh.

"It's complicated."

"Well, introduce me to Mr. Complicated."

"Cade." He's about to close the door. "Cade, I want you to meet my sister."

Cade pushes his door open and walks over carrying his hat and wearing his cowboy boots, jeans and, oh my God, no shirt at all. He grins, probably in response to all the jaw-dropping going on in the hall, and plops his hat on his head. "Sorry about the state of my wardrobe. I was getting dressed when I heard Winter scream and wanted to make sure she was okay."