Chapter 0166
Logan sat back on his chair and took an unsteady breath.
The photo was gone. This was cause for concern, certainly, but… Maybe it was also a blessing.
What reason did he have for obsessing over the photo any longer? He accepted his growing feelings for Hazel. He didn’t need to be tied down to some other woman in this way. Hazel likely wouldn’t be pleased that he kept a photo of another woman in his desk to look at whenever he wanted.
is all out.
Besides, Dylan had a copy of the photo and was actively searching for his wife. Let Dylan sort this Logan didn’t need to bother himself with it anymore.
Yet… even so.
It felt as if a piece of him was missing. That photo, that ring…
He had almost been a different person on that trip. Someone impulsive, who fell quickly and was willing to risk it all on one unknown woman.
That wasn’t typical for him. Not by a long shot. Even if the woman turned out to just be a fantasy, he wanted to remember the man he had been in that moment. Likely, he would never act that way again. Hazel would understand that, if he only explained.
It was pointless to think about this now. The photo was gone, and that was that. He had misplaced it, and that was likely because he didn’t care about it anymore. Some kind of psychology, surely, would show that his inner mind had moved on, even if he still felt some kind of outward tie.
He should accept what his subconscious was telling him, and move one.
Forget his wife. He only needed to focus on Hazel.
We shouldn’t have had that second bottle of wine, but it gave me and my friends the liquid courage we needed to show up at my parents‘ house at 10pm. We stood outside and rang the doorbell.
Natalie herself pulled open the door, wearing a tight black dress and a big smile. When she saw it was
me, Megan, Maria, and Rachel, the sunshine smile immediately fell. Obviously she’d been expectin
someone else. A date?
Did it matter?
“What are you doing here, Hazel?” Natalie said, her voice dripping with accusation. “I thought you slunk off into some corner. I’d nearly convinced mom and dad to write you out of the will.”
I couldn’t imagine that I was in the will to begin with, but gee, thanks sister.
“Oh my God, look at your nails,” Rachel said. Her put–on enthusiasm was lost on Natalie, who preened instantly under the sudden attention.
Natalie held up her fingers to show them off. They were acrylics, sparkly purple with jet–black tips. They were kind of cute, which annoyed me all the more. Natalie always looked great.
Maria lightly elbowed me, and I remembered the true purpose of that compliment. My eyes zeroed in on her ring fingers. They were wrapped in silver and sparkly fake diamonds – but not the large–rock from the Vegas ring.
Chapter 0166
She wasn’t wearing it, so it had to be upstairs in her room.
Good. That would make this easier than having to clumsily try to steal it off her finger. None of us were that good at sleight of hand. We’d certainly tried at the wine bar. The bartender told us we hadn’t a shot.
“I need a few things from my room,” I said. “My friends are here as emotional support.”
Natalie rolled her eyes, though she stepped back, away from the door, letting us in
“Be quick about it, would you? Mom and Dad just went to bed. I doubt they want to see your sorry ass
here.”
“I’ll be quick. Maria, will you help me? Megan, Rachel – you guys can wait here.”
Rachel followed Natalie back to the kitchen table. “You have to tell me where you got your nails done.”
Rule one in Natalie distraction: Keep the conversation always on her. She loves talking about herself.
“It was the Pretty Nails downtown. Have you been?” Natalie didn’t wait for a reply. “They always do such a nice job… But they are exclusive, so I doubt they’d take you…”
Rachel handled that like a pro, simply nodding sagely, like Natalie had given her some expert advice. What other designs have you had done?”
Natalie took the bait, Immediately going into a diatribe about all of the nail designs our parents had paid for over the years.
At this point, Megan and I went upstairs. We walked quietly, not wanting to wake my parents. At the split between my room and Natalie’s, we checked behind us to make sure the coast was clear, then ducked
into Natalie’s room.
“It has to be here somewhere,” Maria said. 1
“You check the obvious places,” I told Maria. “I’ll look in the less–likely spots.”
Maria moved to the jewelry boxes and ring trays that littered the top of her dresser, interspersed with all the makeup brushes and eyeshadow palettes. Our parents seemed to buy her new ones very week.
Knowing Natalie for so long and so well, largely against my will, I checked a few places that weren’t so obvious. The medicine cabinet. The bookcase. And lastly, under her bed, where she tended to throw things she was tired of looking at or didn’t want to deal with right now.
Every now and then, Mom would send me up there with a bag to clean up the things Natalie didn’t want anymore. I’d gotten used to finding all sorts of things under here.
And… yes, there. Between a crunched up picture of my ex and a pair of heels that probably went out of style last week or something, was my ring.
I snatched it, then stood and silently showed Maria my prize. She noiselessly clapped. I tucked the ring into my pocket. Then we headed back downstairs.
By now, Natalle was looking bored. She had her phone out, scrolling through something with her thumb
Megan sat across from her at the table, and asked, “So what really happened In Vegas?”
“Who cares?” Natalie said. “Hazel’s pathetic boyfriend was in love with me. He proposed, and I said yes
+25 BONUS
Chapter 0166
But I can do much better than him now.”
Maria and I stopped just outside of the kitchen. Maria tugged me back slightly, out of view.
“What happened to Hazel, after her boyfriend proposed to you?” Megan asked.
“She ran off. I really didn’t see her again.” Natalie continued to scroll. “Well maybe that’s not totally true.”
“What do you mean?” Megan asked.
Natalie lowered her phone. “What does it matter?” she asked. Megan might have pushed too hard. “Hazel is our friend,” Rachel said. “We’re just trying to fill in some blanks for her.”
Natalie laughed again, louder. “So she really did get too drunk. She forgot everything? How pathetic.” “Not everything,” Rachel said, her face turning slightly red.
“We want to know the rumors…” Megan leaned onto her elbows on the table. “If Hazel did something embarrassing, we want to make sure we can tease her about it. Relentlessly.” Megan grinned devilishly.
What was she up to? This was an act. Megan might want to tease me, but she wouldn’t use this kind of ammunition against me.
Asking these questions was not part of the plan.
Natalie considered her. Then, with a growing smile, she shrugged. “I would love for Hazel to never live this down. Alright, I’ll tell you the worst part first.”
“What’s the
Rachel asked.
“Someone told me they saw her at one of those open all night seedy wedding chapels…”
