Xan froze. His mouth dropped open. “Those fucking assholes.” He reached into his pocket for his phone and began tapping angrily. “I think you might be right. Jane’s cousins were at the bachelor party. They’re idiots. They probably thought it would be hilarious to slip me a roofie.”
“Oh my God.”
Xan finished his text and shoved his phone back in his pocket. “If that’s what happened, I can’t apologize enough.
“Your friends are jerks. One of them took a video and sent it to Sloane.”
Xan rolled his eyes. “Marcus thought me getting punched by a guy in a business suit was the funniest thing he’d ever seen.”
I looked at Xan, my eyes shooting daggers. “It wasn’t funny for me.”
Xan flinched. “Believe me, it wasn’t funny from my end either.” He rubbed his eye. “I really am sorry. I don’t want you to hate me or think I did anything to harm you. I’ve been hanging around the park all day hoping to catch you.” Xan stopped walking. “That’s all I wanted to say. I won’t bother you anymore.”
I stopped walking and watched Xan wheel his bike around on the bridge.
“Hey,” I called, stopping him.
Xan’s head whipped up, and his eyes went round. “What?”
“I’m sorry I left my beer on the bar. I’m sorry you got in a fight over me… I’m—” Tears clogged my throat, making it impossible to finish.
Xan dropped his bike for the second time and pushed his way through the dogs to get to me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest.
“I’m sorry too. Are you going to be okay?”
I nodded into Xan’s jacket, breathing in his outdoorsy scent.
The dogs danced impatiently around us, unconcerned with the moment we were sharing. I sniffed back tears. “I should go. These dogs aren’t going to walk themselves.”
Xan turned and walked back to his abandoned bike. “Take care, Lacey.” He picked the bike up and threw his leg over the crossbar. “Call me if you need anything. I already have three sisters, but there’s always room for one more.”
Chapter 19
When I got back to my apartment, I fed Aslan and changed into my favorite jeans and Beckett’s Emory baseball sweatshirt. The doorbell rang as I was tucking my hair into a messy bun. I pulled open my door and saw Thatcher, balancing a pizza box and a six-pack of my favorite beer in his hand.
I couldn’t help looking at Thatcher differently after Pressly’s confession. I wondered what he’d been like as a teenager.
“I heard there was a book club meeting here tonight,” he said.
Aslan abandoned his kibble at the enticing smell of pizza and ran across the room. He stopped just before taking Thatcher down.
“Who’s this guy?” Thatcher asked, bending down to scratch Aslan under the chin. “I would have brought Daisy if I’d known you invited canines.”
I walked into the kitchen and got a glass from the freezer. A beer snob, I liked my beer as thick and rich as molasses and served in a frosty glass.
“This is Aslan, and he’s on loan from a friend.”
I poured the beer into the glass, watching as Thatcher held his hand out for Aslan to shake. To my surprise, the dog responded.
“Good boy.” Thatcher gave Aslan’s paw a firm shake. “You do look like a lion,” he said approvingly. Thatcher raised his eyes to me. “Aslan, huh?” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Which friend?”
I cleared my throat, finding a lump of emotion there just thinking of Beckett. Remembering Pressly’s confession about her crazy summer with Thatcher, I thought it better not to mention the Vinroots.
The doorbell rang, saving me from answering Thatcher’s question. Mia and Gabi joined us. A few minutes later, Sloane and Kennedy arrived, and the book club was complete. When every member of the Blue Ridge Book Club sat in my living room, beverage in hand, Gabi started in on me.
“How are you, honey? You sounded terrible on the phone.”
I sat with my ankles tucked under me on the floor next to Aslan, absently running a hand across his fur. I felt my cheeks burn as everyone turned to look at me. We’d had these emergency meetings before, but usually Sloane was the one calling them after she’d been on one of her terrible dates. This was my first time as the center of attention, and I didn’t like it one bit.
