“Girl, you did a sex tape? I didn’t realize you had it in you,” Jacinda breathed, looking at me wide-eyed. “It’s always the quiet ones that surprise you. Then again, you’re a Townsend, so I guess it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.”
I glared at her while Evie gaped.
“What? No, it wasn’t a sex tape….” Evie squinted at me. “Or was it?”
“You think my family would share a sex tape of me around the town?”
Both women stayed silent for a moment, actually needing that time to think about it. Christ, I missed the anonymity I’d had while I’d been away from here. Most people hadn’t heard about my family—although a surprising amount had—so I hadn’t had to contend with situations like this.
Finally, Jacinda sucked in a breath and shook her head. “Nope, I don’t think they would. At least, not intentionally. Knowing your family, it’d be a case of an accidental finger tap on the screen in the wrong place, and they’d send the video to every Piersville occupant.”
Sadly, she wasn’t wrong.
Something Evie agreed on. “I don’t know how they manage to do things like that. Aren’t two of your brothers in Mensa?”
“Yup.”
Tom and Cole were exceptionally smart when it came to certain things. On other things, stuff the average person could do without breaking a sweat, I swear they’d struggle to walk and breathe at the same time.
Jacinda cringed, but her curiosity hadn’t been assuaged. “So, what video are we talking about?”
“Apparently, there was an issue at a Townsend family gathering between Layla and Mark. He may or may not have revealed something that pissed off the family, leading them to jump on him, which prompted his family to enter into the fray, too,” Evie explained, trying to keep the information as neutral as possible.
“Oh, you mean the news that Layla and Mark got married in Vegas just over four years ago, right?” Jacinda raised an eyebrow at me.
I groaned and covered my face with my hands just as Evie mumbled, “That about covers it.”
The sound of something screeching across the floor signaled that Jacinda was dragging a chair closer to us.
“I found out from Canon, who found out from Reid,” Jacinda said. “Gotta say, I didn’t see that coming. I figured there’d be a wedding between you two at some point because, man, the atmosphere is charged between y’all.” I peeked between my forefinger and middle finger to see her fanning her face. “But I didn’t think you’d already be married.”
“I found out from Alex and Cody. Alex found out at work, and Cody overheard it when he was there and the guys were all talking about it last night,” Evie disclosed.
“However, like you, I just assumed they’d get married at some point.” Seeing that I was looking at her, she shrugged. “Sorry, but as Jacinda said, there’s an atmosphere.”
Dropping my hands, I thought about what they’d just said. “Hang on, how did Reid and Alex find out?”
Evie blinked. “Uh, all the guys at P.V.P.D. know about it.”
“What?”
“Yeah,” Jacinda agreed. “Mark told them all.”
“Sure did. Alex said he went in and, all proud like, got up on his desk and announced he was a married man.” I stared disbelievingly at Evie. “What?”
Misreading me, Jacinda winced. “Oh no, did you have a boyfriend at college? Listen, I can’t stand the thought of cheating—I would literally skin Canon alive—but your circumstances weren’t normal.”
I swear they could hear my teeth grinding together. “I didn’t have a boyfriend. Mark was my—is my—” I broke off and rubbed my forehead, damning the headache I hadn’t been able to get rid of since the shit had hit the fan. “We were each other’s… well, you know.”
“Booty call?” Jacinda asked, tilting her head to the side.
“Dirty secret!” Evie cried.
“Worst idea ever?” Jacinda pressed.
They shouted possibilities back and forth until I wanted to pull my hair out.
“Firsts. We were each other’s firsts. He’s also the only one I’ve….” I waved my hand in a circle, not wanting to say the words out loud and hoping it’d get them connecting the dots themselves.