She gaped at him for a second before catching the mirth in his eyes in the moonlight. Taking comfort in the familiar, she snorted. “Me, annoying? This from the guy who used to let the air out of my bike tires on a regular basis.”
He bent his head, squinted at the lock, and slipped in the key. “I only did that when you guys would use my Airsoft guns to play Powerpuff Girls.”
The laugh that escaped was genuine. “How did you know it was me? Maybe it was Cat.”
“Seriously? You labeled them ‘Blossom,’ ‘Bubbles,’ and ‘Buttercup.’ With a label maker.”
The door swung open and she followed him in, smiling at the memory. She’d loved that label maker. “You know your sister. If I didn’t label everything, we’d fight and she’d take the good one every time and swear it was hers.”
“You were a little label-Gestapo back then.”
“Still am,” she said proudly.
She smelled it when he opened the door: the scent of linseed oil and old linens. For some reason, it soothed her. He flipped on the lights and she peered around. She hadn’t been here since high school, but it still looked the same as it had ten years ago. Warm, comfy, lived in. A worn brown sofa took up the center of the room, and in front of it lay a braided rug that covered natural hardwood floors shot with amber and gold. A hulking wood-burning stove took up half of the back wall.
The cottage was the antithesis of every home she’d ever lived in with her own family, which was half the appeal. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from straightening the rug with the toe of her pearly slipper.
“It’s not the Ritz, but—”
She waved a hand to stop him. “It’s home. I couldn’t be happier with the choice.”
He looked at her for a long moment and nodded. “I’m glad. I’m going to get some of Cat’s clothes for you so you can change. You know where everything is. Make yourself comfy.”
“Thanks.” She stared after him as he went, vowing to stand up for him the next time Cat bitched about what a pain he was. He’d saved her bacon tonight, allowing her to keep at least a shred of dignity by getting her out of there before she resorted to plate flinging and spittle-filled rants. Part of her wished Cat were there, but in a way, Galen was the perfect person for the job. She didn’t want to talk about her feelings or share her gruesome revenge plots. Not yet. Right now it hurt to breathe and she needed to just…be.#p#分页标题#e#
She crossed the living room and puttered around the perimeter, reminiscing over the pictures that riddled the walls. Although most were of the Thomas children, she was in quite a few herself. Her gaze fell on one in particular that had her sucking in a sharp breath. Three little girls: one brunette, one blonde, and one with hair that was too orange to be called red mugged for the camera. Cat had her nose pulled up like a pig while she and Becca made fish faces around her, crossing their eyes for good measure.
Damn it, Becs.
She waited for the fury to come, but that emotion seemed to be reserved for Marty. When she thought of Becca, all that came was bone-deep sadness. Twenty years of friendship—no, sisterhood—gone in a flash. Over a man who turned out to be less than a man. Over Marty.
“I was thinking they’d be a little musty because she hasn’t been up this season yet.”
Lacey swiped the tears away and pasted a smile on her face before turning to face Galen. Saved by the bell again, right before she was about to dissolve into a puddle of sad.
“But she kept them in the cedar chest, so they’re not bad at all.” He crossed the room, holding up a pair of yoga pants and a hoodie. “These okay?”
She took them with a grateful smile. “Perfect. I’ll be back in a second.”
It wasn’t a second, but it was close. When she got into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror, wedding updo and makeup still half in effect, far less modestly dressed than she’d realized, she wanted to hide there forever. How mortifying. Always gorgeous Galen had seen her at her worst today, both literally and figuratively. And the slip that hadn’t seemed all that revealing when she’d been alone in her bedroom that morning now looked obscene. Thank God The Admiral hadn’t seen her get onto Galen’s bike like this.
Her thoughts spiraled and suddenly, in spite of her embarrassment over Galen having seen her half naked, she couldn’t wait to get back into the living room. The thought of being alone right now made her whole body tense. She tore off the slip and stockings and stuffed them into the trash can before tugging on Cat’s laze-around-the-house clothes. After scrubbing her face clean, she yanked the pins from her hair and combed it with her fingers.