31
Ijumped off Seth’s lap. My heart leaped into my throat, then sunk to my knees when I saw the murderous look in Everly’s eyes.
Seth, to his credit, didn’t panic or run away. He stood, straight-backed, and faced my sister.
“Everly—”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing with my sister?” she yelled.
He snuck a look at me, knowing it was a trick question. Seth took my hand.
Everly gaped.
“We’re together,” Seth said simply.
No.” Everly’s curt denial was firm. “Absolutely not. There is no way I’m going to let you touch my baby sister.”
“In case you hadn’t noticed,” I cut in, “your baby sister isn’t a baby anymore. I’m an adult and I’m allowed to make my own decisions about who I date.”
“You’re barely out of high school!” she shouted.
“I’m in college,” I shot back.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” she said stubbornly.
“If you’re worried about the age difference, we all know Abby is the more mature one in this relationship.” Seth tried to give Everly his most winning smile.
She was having none of it.
“You.” She thrust a finger at Seth’s face. “You don’t get to speak right now.”
“Look,” he started to say, “I know you’re upset.”
“You’re goddamn right I’m upset,” she fumed. “How long has this been going on?”
“Uh—”
Seth and I shared a glance, not wanting to admit how long we’d been lying to her.
“Long enough to know this isn’t some fling,” he said.
“I don’t want to hear anything from you,” she told Seth before he could continue. “You’ve been sneaking around behind my back, lying to my face. What kind of friend does that?”
Seth’s eyes turned pained, but he didn’t defend himself.
“We didn’t tell you earlier because we knew you’d react like this,” I said, trying to be the reasonable one. “And I wanted to make sure this thing we had between us was real before we risked upsetting you.”
“You did?” Seth asked, sounding shocked. “That’s why you wanted to wait?”
I flushed, hoping he wouldn’t feel slighted.
“I had no idea how long we were going to last,” I explained, shame-faced. “I knew it was a long shot, someone like me snagging someone like you. I always wondered what would happen when you got bored with me.”
“Is that how you made my sister feel?” Everly cut in, outraged.
“Don’t put words in my mouth,” I said shortly.
“I care about Abby,” Seth said. “I want to be with her.”
