The Naked Truth (The Honeybrook Hamdens)

"Oh, shame." Amy frowned, but their mother cut in.

"Julie has a new man. He drives a Lexus."

Mom said the word "Lexus" like is was the socially acceptable equivalent of saying the guy had a shlong the size of the Washington Monument.

Which, it definitely had not been.

Not even close.

"Do you like him?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, he's nice." Julie nodded. There had to be something else they could talk about. Maybe Amy's...no. Talking any more about Amy's inane life was going to send Julie diving off the roof.

Before that, they'd talked about the house, and whenever they talked about Luke Mom got this weird sad look on her face...

But she had to change the subject somehow. Maybe if she brought up politics. Or sex. Or old family dramas that had never been resolved. Surely that might be easier to cope with.

"Nice?" Mom spluttered. "Julie, you're being modest. Amy, you'd love him. He took us to the most charming tea room and he's so sweet. Like Jeff, almost."

This time Julie couldn't hide her wince, but luckily, when she looked up Amy seemed to have a grimace all her own.

How odd...

Come to think of it, she wasn’t sure her sister had mentioned her lawyer-in-shining-armor since she’d sat down. That had to be a record, right? How often did Amy go for five minutes at a time without mentioning some stunning vacation Jeff had planned, or some darling little piece of jewelry he’d picked up for her “just because.”

Julie reached into the silver box, but came up empty. It was done. Finally, blissfully, over. "Bummer. All out. You know, guys, I think I'm gonna go into town and get some fresh air if you don't need me for anything else."

"But your sister just got here," Mom moaned.

"It's fine. We have all summer." Amy offered another too-warm smile and Julie did her best not to look confused. When had Amy ever been anything besides the prim and proper little know-it-all who’d done everything better and faster than her? When had Amy ever been one to understand? No, to stick up for her?

Julie smiled back. ”Great. I'll see you guys later."

As soon as she scooted past the precarious stacks of junk in the hallway, she sprinted out the door, down the steps, and through the gate like her legs were on fire. With her luck, Mom would find some piece of furniture that needed to be refurbished before she could get away and she’d be stuck there, trying desperately to scrounge up things to talk about other than her failure of a life.

She had to reformulate her plans.

Lying to her family, necessary as it was, did not make it any easier. Especially with this new, nicer version of her older sister floating around.

She reached into her sweatshirt pocket, pulled out the carton of cigarettes, then slid one between her lips, rolling it back and forth as she trekked down the slope toward town.

If things had been this difficult with just Amy and Mom, how hard would it be to keep up the ruse with Luke, too? Impossible, likely.

Luke paid attention to her in a way that Amy and Mom never had. It wasn't that they loved her any less, it was just that...it was a different love. She and Luke had an understanding the rest of the family simply didn’t understand. It might have been from their fishing trips with their father before he got sick, or maybe just from the summer days they’d spent riding their bikes together, but whatever it was, she always felt like Luke got her. Even when she wasn’t entirely sure she got herself.

Maybe if she told Luke...

Yes! That was it. She'd tell Luke everything--every heart-wrenching detail of her horrible morning--and when it came up around the house, she could trust him to help her change the subject.

It’d be like forming an alliance to win a reality show.

Like healthy families did.

When she reached Luke's bar with Old Sully's green neon sign still plastered outside, she walked in with her head held high. This was going to work. She was going to own this.

And that's exactly when she saw him and her heart--along with her hopes--sank deep into her stomach.

Chase Westmore was taller than she remembered. More muscular, too. But his dark, tangled hair was still as haphazard as ever and his too-green eyes apparently still had the power to stop her in her tracks.