Devon scraped at the corner of her bottle’s label. The mention of her mother made her feel guilty as hell. “I should probably call her.”
“I left her a message this morning. I didn’t come right out and tell her where we are, but I’m pretty sure she knows. She’s never been up here but she knows about the cabin.”
Devon nodded, a bit of her guilt dissipating. Kyle deserved her ire, but her mother didn’t. Devon was glad they weren’t completely in the dark. “You know, half the network expected you to marry her after my father died.”
“Our relationship was never romantic. You of all people should understand that.”
She did. She’d watched them together for years, dreading the day when romantic awareness sparked and her hopes of winning Ian’s heart were dashed permanently. It was really sort of pathetic when she thought about how long she’d been carrying a torch for him.
“My father sure as hell didn’t understand.” She shifted her focus away from herself. “He resented you until the day he died.”
“I know, but he had no reason to worry. I love your mother like a sister.”
Folding her legs in front of her, she looked into his eyes. She wanted to end the waiting, to either move beyond friendship or abandon the possibility forever. “That’s what you used to say about me.”
He stilled, his expression suddenly serious. “You were so damn young when we met, any other attitude would have been profane.”
She knew he was right, but that didn’t make this any easier. “What changed your mind? You certainly didn’t kiss me like a sister last night.” He passed her a plate filled with fried chicken, cheese slices and potato chips. Still, she was more interested in his answer than the food.
“It started on the ride north. Payne asked me if I’d ever felt a bonding pull with you and I told him what I tell everyone.”
“That I’m like a little sister to you?”
“Yeah.” He was fiddling with his food too, but she didn’t call him on it. She needed to understand the progression. How he’d gotten from “she’s too damn young” to “let’s spend the night together, baby”. “Then he told me I was blind, that I wasn’t allowing myself to feel anything but protective affection for you. I thought about it and realized I knew an awful lot about you, and had gone to great lengths to avoid you, which wouldn’t have been necessary if there really was nothing between us.”
“What do you know about me?” He’d always seemed indifferent to her, so it was hard to believe his claim.
“Well there’s all the obvious stuff, the schools you attended, the subjects you studied, the names of your friends. But I know a lot of less obvious stuff too.”
“Such as?”
“You lost your virginity to Steve Wellsford at an after prom party, a fact I’m pretty sure your mother doesn’t know.”
Heat burned across her cheeks and crawled up her neck. After giving up hope that Ian would ever notice her, Devon had unleashed the fundamental rebellion that had been building inside her for years. She’d misbehaved in every way imaginable, much to the frustration of her parents. Sleeping with Steve had been the first of many decisions she’d come to regret.
“How did you find out about that fiasco?”
“Steve’s got a big mouth. I had to threaten to shut it for him if he kept bragging about his conquests.”
She could just picture the confrontation. Steve had been tall and lanky, no match for Ian’s powerful physique and unwavering confidence. “He was such a jerk. I can’t believe I let him…”
“Why did you?”
Their gazes locked and longing ricocheted through her soul. “Because you wouldn’t.” Regret sparked in his gaze, but she pushed on before he could reply. “If you overheard the asshole bragging, that was unintentional. What else do you know?”
“Your mother set up the animal shelter as a front for the rebels, but you pour your heart and soul into the sanctuary.”
“It’s not that Mom doesn’t care, she just has other priorities.”
“It was an observation, not a criticism.” He set his plate aside. Apparently the food held no more appeal for him than it did for her.
“Anyone who knows me knows the sanctuary is my baby.” She picked up a potato chip and snapped it in half then tossed it back onto the plate. “Tell me something you shouldn’t know about me.”
“You’ve had six boyfriends in that past nine years, but you’ve only slept with three of them.”
That was definitely something a casual friend shouldn’t know. She took another sip of root beer as she gathered the courage to ask, “Why did you pay attention to my sex life if you had no interest in me sexually?”