Page 27 of Heidi Lucy Loses Her Mind
“Moving on, then,” Gemma says, clapping her hands. Her expression changes, and the look on her face worries me—her eyes are gleaming, and a smile is unfurling over her lips.
“Moving on how?” I say slowly.
“We have something to discuss,” Gemma says.
Mel nods. “We do. So let’s get down to business. Our question is very simple: Did Soren call youhoney,or did he not?”
“Because we both heardhoney,” Gemma adds, and Mel nods.
I sigh, slouching over to the couch and then slumping down next to them. “I don’t know,” I say. “He didn’t exactly deny it, but he also sort of made it sound like he didn’t?”
“Hmm,” Mel says slowly.
“Tricky man,” Gemma says, though this seems to delight her rather than anything else. “He’s so into you.”
I snort, letting my head drop back against the couch. “No, he’s not. He’s Soren Mackenzie. We exist on two different planes of being.”
“Yeah, he’s Soren Mackenzie, but he’s also a human being,” Gemma says, exasperated. “And you are a hot slice of sexy pie—”
I burst out laughing, and it honestly feels amazing. For a moment, I’m able to forget everything that’s happened in the past twenty-four hours—Carmina’s death, my missing memories, the gash on my head.
“Okay, sexy pie. If we’re going to have this conversation,” I say, “we’re going to coverallaspects.” I give her a meaningful look so she knows what’s coming.
But Mel jumps in and beats me to it. “Yes,” she says, turning her body sideways on the couch to face Gemma. “Let’s talk about your hunk of a boyfriend, and how long you’ve been dating, and when he’s going to propose.”
But here’s the thing about Gemma. At first she seems like someone who would spill all her secrets with no hesitation. She’s a talker. It’s one of the things I love most about her, because I’m the opposite, and we complement each other well.
But there are things it’s almost impossible to get her to talk about, and my brother is one of them. AnEmmasituation, maybe—if she loved him less she could talk about it more. They met when we were in college, began dating several months later, and have had an on-again-off-again relationship ever since.
“Or,” Gemma says brightly, “instead of talking about Eric, we could talk about literally anything else. If we decide to get married, it will happen when we’re good and ready.”
I grin, and so does Mel.
“Are you guys staying over tonight?” I say, standing up. “I’ve got a couple camping sleeping pads.”
“Pass,” Gemma says, wrinkling her nose, and she stands up too. “I love you, but I don’t sleep on the floor when it can be avoided.”
I shrug. “That’s fine. Mel?”
“You flatterer,” she says with a smile. “It’s sweet of you to pretend you don’t know that sleeping on the floor would kill my back.”
Gemma takes me by the shoulders and peers into my face, inspecting with a critical expression. “Did the bath help, at least? Are you doing better now?”
“I’ll be fine,” I say with a sigh.
Mel’s eyes narrow. “‘I’ll be fine’ is not the same as ‘I’m fine,’” she says.
I laugh. “I truly will. It’s fine. I’m fine. Go home,” I say, waving toward the door. “I’m going to go to bed. That will help.”
“All right,” Gemma says, but she doesn’t sound convinced. She lets her arms drop and then begins gathering her things, slipping her purse over her shoulder and draping her jacket over her arm.
“The ice cream is in the freezer,” Mel says as she begins picking kernels of popcorn up from around the TV. Gemma stoops down to help her, and I watch them with a little smile.
“Thank you,” I say. I try to convey my sincerity in those two little syllables, and I hope they can tell I mean it—that I’m grateful for the way they take care of me and look out for me. “Really.”
“You would do the same for us,” Mel says, waving my thanks away.
“Yeah,” Gemma says. “And we love you.”
