Over our headsets, the pilot announces our position to the tower. I know we’re almost to Blue House, where Whitney’s aware of our impending arrival, but Cricket isn’t. Which was Whitney’s idea.

I just hope she’s right about this. I don’t want to see my friend shredded any more than he already has been. They were both victims of Karma’s scheming, and Whitney too.

When the chopper approaches the helipad, I can see two women sitting by the pool in bikinis. One jumps up, wrapping a towel around herself. Hunter sees her too.

We’re barely on the ground when Hunter throws open the door and vaults out of the helicopter, heading in a dead sprint toward Cricket’s shocked form.

As I climb out, I hope like hell she isn’t going to run from him.

She doesn’t.

Cricket drops the towel and throws herself into Hunter’s arms, and I send up a little prayer of thanks to anyone who might be listening. As I walk over to them, Whitney rises and wraps a towel around her waist. She meets me on the path to the helipad.

“You made it here a lot quicker than I expected.”

“We left early. Someone was in a hurry. How is Cricket?”

“She’s confused. Upset. Betrayed. But mostly she’s pissed at Karma and brokenhearted for Maddy and Addy that their mom has been using them to get money for all these years.”

I pull her into my arms. “And you? How do you feel?”

Whitney’s expression turns reflective. “I’m surprisingly a lot less upset than you would expect. I already knew Ricky was cheating. The fact that he was cheating with my own cousin . . . it’s a slap in the face, but I wouldn’t put anything past Karma anymore. If I loved him, it would’ve been a lot harder to swallow, but I’m actually pretty numb about the whole thing.”

I press a kiss to her forehead. “I’m glad you’re not going to let it bring you down.”

“No, but I do feel bad for the girls. They shouldn’t be used like pawns, and to find out about their dad that way . . .”

“Brutal,” I add in agreement when she trails off.

“Yeah. Not fair at all.”

Ahead of us, Cricket climbs Hunter like a tree and is kissing him frantically. So frantically, it’s actually awkward to watch, but it’s better than the alternative.

When he lowers her to the ground, she grabs his hand and drags him toward the house. Whitney and I watch as they disappear inside.

She presses her lips together, but the corners curve upward. “That went about as well as can be expected.”

I laugh, because there’s nothing else to do in this situation. “Definitely.”

I glance down at her bikini-clad body appreciatively. With everything that has happened recently, we haven’t had a chance to just be, and if Cricket and Hunter are going to hide away in the house, then I’m going to take every opportunity I have to spend time alone with Whitney.