“I do. Seriously. I’m stuck with mine all day.” I tap my head. “I’m kind of making myself nuts and desperate to hear someone else’s take on the situation.”

She blows out a breath. “Okay. I’m thinking that you swore you want nothing to do with Easton, but as soon as he’s back in town, you break up with your secret boyfriend. Meanwhile, Easton is everywhere—at brunch, at the bar, even taking a job at your college. And your reaction to a fight with him is to have some against-the-wall sex. Doesn’t that tell you anything?”

“It tells me I’m a mess and that the sixteen-year-old pathetic crush part of my brain hasn’t been completely overridden yet.”

“Or . . . maybe you still have feelings for him.”

I might always love him. “I didn’t break up with George so I could date Easton.”

“But do you want to?”

“Date him?” My laugh sounds a little crazed. “Nothing I want from Easton could ever be that simple, but I think for a minute tonight maybe I believed we could make it work. But then Scarlett showed up, and I flipped out.”

Teagan stands and offers me her hand. “Another sleepover?”

“Is Carter working?”

“No, he’s just meeting some friends at the bar. He’ll be back soon.”

I shake my head. I don’t want my brother guessing at how messed up I am right now, not with his relationship with Easton and history of protectiveness. “I think I’ll go home. It’s been a long day, and I fly out to Oklahoma tomorrow for my Monday interview.”

“Shit, I forgot about that. You’re not going to cancel?”

“I don’t know what I want to do yet, so it would be silly to shut down my options.” I guess this means I won’t see Easton until after he comes back with his daughter and moves in. I force a smile. “And anyway, time away is probably good. I need to figure out how to apologize to Easton for Hulking out on him tonight.”

And I need to figure out how I feel. Because when I got that condom from the desk, I thought maybe I could try with him, and that confidence fizzled away when I heard Scarlett’s name. I need to figure out what exactly I want from him, and right now I’m so scared to feel these old desires that I’m not sure I can trust my judgment.

Easton

I’m back at Jackson Brews, Scarlett is settled into a room at the Tiffany B&B, and Shay is God knows where. I’m loitering in the hopes that I’ll see her. She never replied to my text, and my stomach sours every time I consider that she might be with Professor Douche.

Jake clears his throat and nods to the kitchen. “Can you help me in the back with something, East?”