“He knew I was here.”
“Does he know about, you know, the three of us?”
I shook my head. I hadn’t told Anderson that Jackson, Oliver, and I were exploring new sides to our relationship. “I will, though. In person.”
He crossed the room and slipped his arms around my waist. “You don’t have to have that conversation alone, you know that, right?”
“I do, but thank you for saying it. We can play it by ear. The one thing I don’t want is a bunch of drama for Amber’s wedding. I’m happy to keep everything low-key until it’s over.”
He kissed my forehead. He smelled like shaving cream and detergent. “How’d you get so smart?”
“Juggling four temperamental men has taught me a lot about patience and timing.”
“Hmm, speaking of, do you think we have time to head back to bed?”
I kissed his chin. “Nope. But maybe if we get done early, I can see if it’ll fit in the schedule this afternoon.”
He laughed and squeezed me in his muscular arms. “I love you, Heaven Reeves. I never stopped.”
I rested my head on his chest. “I never did either.”
Pulling onto the main road leading into Oceanside always gave me mixed emotions. I had fond memories of the beach as a kid. My friendship with Justin and even the early years of going to my father’s church. Then everything shifted. My father was banished—sent to evangelize around the country. My mother and I were forced to move, humiliated and ostracized by the very church that had been the center of our universe. Years later, Justin and I made the deal that set me on a life-changing course. Two blocks away was the house we’d been in when we faked having sex during a party to hide his sexuality.
The main road continued past the church, through Jacob’s neighborhood, up to the edge of the town by the water. I swallowed back years-old anxiety and Oliver didn’t slow when we passed the small dirt road where I drove that night looking to end the pain, but he did squeeze my hand, letting me know he remembered.
Oceanside had its own small resurgence as Allendale’s popularity grew in the movie industry. Small restaurants and shops started opening and tourists now visited the off-the-beaten track town for the beautiful views and gorgeous beaches. These new places were mingled in with the old, and from the outside Oceanside probably seemed like a quaint town. No one had a clue the devil ran through this place.
Following the GPS, Oliver drove down a small side road to the warehouse.
“Amber just wants verbal communication that everything is set for Saturday,” I said, unbuckling and hopping out of the car. Hand in hand, we walked into the small office.
A woman worked at the desk, a phone held to her ear. She looked vaguely familiar and when she looked up at me, joint recognition took place.
“Heaven?” the woman said, eyes widening.
“Emily, right?” Discomfort settled in my belly seeing the girl from my past. My nerves only settled when Oliver rested a hand on my lower back.
“Yes, Emily McKeever.”
“Of course! It’s been forever. How are you?”
She shrugged, her curly black hair falling over her shoulders. “Not too bad. I’ve worked here since high school—took over the front office a few years ago. What about you?”
“I’m good. I’m back in Allendale, working as a makeup artist.”
“And special-effects expert,” Oliver added. “She works on TV shows.”
Emily’s jaw dropped. “Really? That’s so exciting! Do you get to see the actors?”
“Sometimes,” I said, realizing she has no understanding of my job and the people I worked with. I fought back a smile. Emily had been one of the ones involved in the spreading of the “Heaven is a whore” rumor in school. And now she worked at a warehouse desk and I worked with celebrities. Justice felt nice.
Emily must have known it, because she raised her eyebrows. “I remember how much trouble you and Justin got in back in the day. The rumors and gossip. All that nastiness with the police.”
“Yeah,” I said, not letting her jar me. “All of that seems like a long time ago.”
“I remember hearing about you and all those boys and thinking there was no way it could be true. You had a hard enough time getting one date, not to mention four. I mean, if you’d had dates, why would you and Justin cook up that crazy scheme in the first place?”
Oliver tensed behind me, ready to come to my defense. I squeezed his hand and ignored Emily. “We came in to check on an order for this weekend.”