“Well, I didn’t.” Ali smiled at Meghan, one eyebrow raised. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I had fun. But Meghan ... she’s the one who made the conquests. The guys were all over her.”
I glanced across the table in time to see a flush cover Meghan’s face as her eyes dropped. Suspicion, heavily laced with jealousy, snaked into my chest. I pictured her coming home last night, straddling my lap, primed and ready for whatever I did to her. I’d thought it was her attraction to me making her so eager, but was it maybe someone else who’d gotten her hot, and I was just convenient.
My mouth tightened. “Yeah? Guess it was good to have some real fun finally, huh? Get away from this boring old farm.” Temper simmered in my gut. “Did you leave a trail of broken hearts? Or did you just get them riled up and then leave them thinking they were going to get lucky?”
“Sam!” Ali’s expression was incredulous, her mouth gaping and brow furrowed. “What the hell?”
“You’re the one who said she had guys all over her. I’m just drawing logical conclusions.”
“You mean stupid conclusions. If you want to know the truth, there was really just one man Meghan paid any attention to. They danced together all night, and I think he would have gone home with us, if she’d given him the green light. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him coming around here. He’s from Atlanta, and he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.”
My heart pounded. Why was I surprised? I’d predicted this. She was a city girl, no matter what she claimed, and she liked to have fun. I was just a stupid farmer in a backwater town, and she’d been messing with me.
“Good.” I swung around to glare at Meghan. “If it’ll keep you out of my way, I don’t care how many guys come sniffing around here after you. Do ‘em all. Screw your way through the rest of the summer. It’s what you do, right?”
I knew I’d gone too far, hit too many tender places that she’d shared with me, but I couldn’t help it. Rage and frustration spilled into my growled words.
Meghan met my eyes, and hers were filled with hurt. With a sound deep in the back of her throat, she pushed back her chair and ran from the house, the door slamming again. In the shocked silence of the kitchen, I heard the sound of her car starting up and gravel flying.
“What in the goddamn hell were you thinking?” Ali hissed at me. “Why would you say those things to her?”
I ran a hand through my hair, regret and guilt beating back at the jealousy now. “I don’t know. There’s just something about her that sets me off.” I glared at my sister. “But you don’t know the whole story. She came home last night, all soft and wanting to kiss me, and then you tell me she’d been making out all night with some guy at the bar—”
“It was Alex.” Misery clouded Ali’s face. “Alex is home, and he hung out with us last night. I was just messing around. I thought if you were a little jealous, you might make a move for Meghan. But she wasn’t with anyone else last night but Alex and me. And you know you don’t need to be threatened by either of us.”
“Fuck.” I dropped my head into my hands. “Ali, why the hell would you do that? You can’t play with people like this.”
“I didn’t know about last night. I mean, whatever happened when we got home. She didn’t say anything to me. The only thing I knew was that you were kissing her yesterday morning. I saw you from my bedroom window, but then it seemed like you pulled back, and I thought maybe you needed a little nudge.” She closed her eyes. “I didn’t mean to go so far.”
“Yeah.” I stood up, shoving away my chair, and grabbed my keys from the hook. “I’m going after her. Any idea where she might go?”
Ali shook her head. “No. She wouldn’t go back to Savannah, would she?”
“I doubt it. I’ll drive around and see if I can find her.” I shot a finger at my sister. “If she comes back or you hear from her, call me right away, you hear? And get ready to grovel when Meghan comes back. You owe it to her.”
“What about you?” Ali rose, her hands on her hips. “I may have gone a little too far, but I’m not the one who basically called her a slut.”
I clenched my jaw. “I already know what I have to do.”
I PRESSED THE GAS pedal to the floor of the Honda, ignoring the trees flying by me as I swiped at tears that ran down my cheeks. My hands shook as I gripped the steering wheel.
I had no idea where I was going. Burton was surrounded by two-lane roads that led north to South Carolina, west toward Macon, east to Savannah and south to Florida. I wasn’t sure which one I was driving on at the moment, but I knew eventually I’d have to stop and figure it out. The only important information right now was that I was driving away from Sam Reynolds.