I was still thinking of Cole when my sister announced, "Ialsoheard you were making out."
My heart lurched. "What?"
"Yeah, with some guy in an SUV."
My mouth opened, but I didn't know what to say. My mom wasn't a gossip. And even if she were, she had said nothing tomeabout the tiniest little make-out session that may or may not have occurred in Cole's SUV while we'd been parked in front of my parents' place.
I cleared my throat. "So, uh, where'd you hear that?"
"From Dad."
Well, this just got better and better."So he called you?"
"No. I overheard him talking to Mom."
I forced a laugh. "You did not."
"Wanna bet?" she said. "I'm on the phone with Mom whenDadsays, 'Ask Harper if she knows the guy in the SUV.' And I say, 'What guy?' And Mom says, 'Oh, some guy who dropped off Lexie.' And Dad calls out, 'You mean the guy she was making out with?Thatguy?'"
Harper paused to give me a penetrating look. "AndIsay, 'Thereisno guy, because if there were, Lexie would've told me.'"
Now, Ireallydidn't know what to say. Normally, she'd be right. If Cole were any other guy, Iwouldhave told her. But I'd been hating on Cole for months, so naturally, my sister hated him, too – probably more than I did.
Except I didn't hate him anymore.
What Ididfeel, I didn't want to speculate, especially now when my sister was waiting for an explanation.
I sighed. "Alright fine. Ididgo on a date."
She looked surprised and maybe a little hurt. "With who?"
I wasn't ready for this discussion – not now, when she was giving me that look. But I didn't want to lie to her either. "Some guy I used to work with."
"Who?" she persisted. "Do I know him?"
Desperately, I tried to think. "You mean…C.J.?"
Over dinner, I'd learned Cole's full name – Cole Jamison Henster, aka C.J. It was true that I had never called him that, but surelysomebodyhad at one time or another.Right?
In front of me, my sister was murmuring, "C.J., C.J…." She perked up. "Wait, was he that guy from accounting?"
"Well, heisa numbers guy." This was technically true, except in Cole's case the numbers were a lot bigger and more personal, considering that he owned the whole company.
My sister gave me another look. It was the same look she'd given Fred and George this morning when they'd unraveled the hem of her favorite sweater.
What I needed now was a distraction. "So, where are the cats?"
Her gaze softened. "Gwen's taking them for a walk."
This wasn't as strange as you'd think. As part of our cat-watching duties, we all took turns taking the cats out in a big heated stroller that my aunt had procured for just such a purpose.
The walks were surprisingly fun – for usandthe cats, who really did seem to enjoy them.
At the thought of the cats, I couldn’t help but smile. The smile faded when I realized something. Unless I planned to wear a disguise while walking around the neighborhood, I needed to be extra careful until I came clean with Cole.
And I would. I just needed to find the right opening, that's all.
Chapter 16
