I vacillate in a big way regarding whether or not to run down to Jepson to pay my baby sister a quick little visit. (Yes, I did beat her into this world by three long minutes. That little vixen grabbed ahold of my heels and held on for the ride.) But, ultimately, my need to speak with my better half supersedes my urge to pretend to get ready next to my soon-to-be ex-best friend. Piper is going to eviscerate me when she finds out I’ve been banging her big brother like a bongo drum for the last three months. She begged, she pleaded with me to reveal the identity of the boy I’ve been trotting off to pay a booty call to in the middle of the night. Last week, she bought me a pair of frilly panties and a bra for my tushy trot—of course, she said she purchased the wrong size for herself and flung them at me, but I know that girl. She was trying to sauce up my already sizzling bedpan. Poor thing had no clue that it would be her brother who peeled them right off me—with his teeth. There’s no simple way around this. Piper James is going to have a heart attack, and then she’s going to hate me—at least for a little while. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Piper it’s she needs a fair amount of time to cool off before you go kick-starting her again, or she’s liable to blow up for good.
And that Owen! That sneaky, sneaky boyfriend of hers and his good buddy Rex. I owe them both for keeping their yippy little traps shut.
I itemize on my fingers how many people actually know about Cade and me. Scarlett and Daisy know, too. Hey! Soon enough, I’ll run out of fingers. For some reason, I find solace in the fact so many people are in on our dirty little secret—with the exception of the right people, of course, and that, right there, makes me a little dizzy.
I hop into my car without giving it a second thought and speed my way to Jepson. I spot Caila’s Lexus out front and run straight inside.
Caila is on stage with a group of girls, obviously in the middle of one of her booty sessions. I don’t hesitate hopping on up and making a run for my sweet sis, but before I can crash into her for a much-needed hug, I spot an all too familiar face getting down and dirty with a crowd of forty-somethings looking to bring a little spark home to please their man.
“Daisy?”
Daisy Pembrooke gasps as she slaps a hand over her fuchsia-painted mouth. Her eyes do a quick back and forth between my sister and me.
“I didn’t say a word.” Caila lifts her hand in innocence. “Your friend here asked me not to tell.”
“Oh, hon”—I reach over to Daisy and take up her hands—“I’m the last person who’ll judge you. I don’t see a single thing wrong with wanting to learn some sexy midnight moves. We’ll need to set you up with a nice boy toy to try out your new routine.” I give a little wink in hopes to add levity to the situation. Honestly, my own sister is the actual stripper. It’s not like she’s—
“I’ve been dancing.” She hides behind her hand a moment as the other women disband for a quick break.
“You’ve been what?” I shout the words like a reprimand, so loud in fact a few of the other girls send a tsk tsk my way. “Are you messing with me?”
“She’s not messing with you.” Caila smacks me over the arm. “Come out, Daisy. We can still see you. This is about confidence building, remember?”
“Oh my God, Daisy! I thought you were going to law school?” All that jewelry she’s been buying up, the fancy clothes—it all makes perfect sense now where she gets her spending money. “Does Scarlett know?”
“Nobody knows, and I’d like to keep it that way.” Her features darken as she casts me a look just this side of a threat.
“You got it.” I pull her into a deep, strong hug, and it feels good like this, me holding Daisy’s secret while she’s holding mine.
“What did you come here for?” Caila dabs the beads of sweat off her brow with a pristine white towel. It’s always been nothing but the best for Caila. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if she tosses it into a trashcan rather than a laundry bin and procures a brand spanking new one each time she feels the need to dab her unblemished forehead. “I know you’re not looking for a trick to add to that little naughty bag of treats of yours. Spill it.”
And I do. I tell both of them how I feel about tonight. How I feel about what might transpire tomorrow if Cade lets it get that far.
“Of course, he will.” Caila strokes my hair like petting a cat. “He’ll let it get all the way to forever because that boy would be a fool to let you go.” I give a private smile because it’s the exact advice I gave Sammy this morning—and, ironically, they were the exact words I needed to hear.
I thank my sister profusely, and we hug it out before I take off.