I lurched toward her, raising a finger between her eyes. “Because it’s a big deal, Alesha! You were toying with a man’s reputation. And for what? To get back at me?”

She took a half step back, out of my range. “God. It was just a joke, okay?”

“Why? What part of you fucking up a man’s reputation is supposed to be funny? You came traipsing down the stairs this morning, half-naked, in some sleazy lingerie in hopes of seeing Nick. This is obviously not a joke to you.”

“Why do you even care?”

“Because Nick doesn’t deserve this!”

She rolled her eyes. “Why can’t you just admit it? You like him. That’s why you’re flipping out about this.”

“This isn’t about me. This is about Nick, so stop trying to turn the tables.”

Alesha threw her hands up. “Fine! I’ll apologize to Nick. God…this town is so boring. Everyone is too busy being uptight to take a joke.”

I opened my mouth, ready to breathe more fire down her neck, but stopped short. It wasn’t going to make a bit of difference and I was tired. “You can apologize to Nick tomorrow morning when he comes by. Also, I’m going to tell you this, and it’s the last time I want to talk about it, but Nick asked me out and I said yes.”

“Of course…”

“Alesha,” I sighed.

“What?”

A lightbulb went on in my head as I watched her defeated, far off gaze down at the grains of wood in the flooring. “I understand that you’re upset about what happened with your boyfriend back home. Is that why you said what you said about Nick?”

Her eyes went wide, confirming my suspicion. But she shrugged it off. “No. Jeeze, Carly. I told you. I was just bored. Okay?”

“Okay.” The rest of my anger started to dissipate as I watched tears well up in her eyes.

She blinked and scoffed at herself. “Am I excused?”

I nodded and without another word, she turned and stomped back into her room.

So, that was it. Nick’s attention—real or made up—was some kind of scapegoat for her unresolved heartache. I stared at her closed door for another minute, wrestling over the idea of knocking and trying to talk to her, but in the end I decided it would be best to leave her alone.

In reality, it hadn’t been that long since I was a teenager. Still, it felt as though a lifetime had passed since those days, and I’d lost sight of how tumultuous and chaotic it could be. Nick was a distraction. Nothing more. I just wished he hadn’t been the subject of her stupidity.

With a new perspective, I trudged down the steps, hating the way I’d treated him that morning. Everything had been fresh and confusing. I should have given him a chance to explain the situation. I shook my head. Sometimes I didn’t act all that much different than Alesha.

In the kitchen, I spotted the note he’d left for me by the coffee pot and a sad little smile pulled at my lips. I picked it up by the corner and tucked it into the odds and ends drawer at the end of the counter and set to work making a dinner that would smell so enticing that Alesha would dare to come out of her room. I didn’t even know why I cared anymore, but I did. Poor kid was going through a lot—maybe even more than I knew. I just hated that I had to be such a bitch all the time. I still had hope we could fix things and maybe get our sisterly relationship back on track.

Maybe.

My plan worked, and just as the final kitchen timer rang, my ears perked up at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. I craned around and flashed a welcoming smile at Alesha. Her eyes were rimmed with red and her hair looked even more frazzled than it had an hour before.

“Hungry?” I asked, turning back to drain the water from the ravioli I’d whipped up.

“Sure.”

“All right, well sit down and I’ll dish you up a plate.” I carried the hot pot of ravioli back across the kitchen to the stove, where the sauce was simmering.

“Do you need help?” Alesha asked, her voice small and timid. Drained.

I smiled over at her. “Uhm, sure. I’ll take an iced tea if you want to get us some.”

A few minutes later, we were both seated at the kitchen table, a plate of steaming pasta and a frosty glass of tea on each side. Alesha took her first bite and then started shoveling in food like she hadn’t eaten in months. I laughed softly. “Any good?”

She flashed a thumbs up and swallowed the bite in her mouth. “This is amazing. I forgot how good of a cook you are.”

A little prick of guilt stung me. Since she’d arrived, I’d relied heavily on cold cut sandwiches left over from the cafe, with some occasional takeout sprinkled in as needed. “Thanks, Leash.”

Tags: K.B. Winters Holiday Cove Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net