Chapter 1
While my boyfriend Ethan Miller was drunk, my cousin Sophie Lane sneaked into his room in the dark, wearing my coat and smelling just like me.
Ethan poured the Bloody Mary right over Sophie's head.
Her scream had us rushing over.
Ethan sat on the edge of the bed, looking like he was the real victim here.
"Who sprayed that sickly sweet perfume in here? It's making me want to puke."
When no one was looking, Ethan flashed me a quick money-sign, like he wanted a bonus for pulling off this act.
I nearly cracked up, but just gave him a nod over everyone's heads.
I got myself a boyfriend.
And I actually managed to keep it a secret from my family for three whole months.
*****
It wasn't because he was someone I was embarrassed about.
Ethan was handsome, calm, and ran his own little restaurant. His cooking was even more refined than those fancy restaurant chefs. But the best part? When he looked at me, it was like I was the only person in the world.
The real problem was my cousin, Sophie.
Sophie had always been sickly as a kid, and her dad died young. My mom, being the soft-hearted person she was, took Sophie and her mom in.
After that, my own sister Emily and I felt like we were just guests in our own home.
If I got a new dress, Sophie would just cough a couple of times, and suddenly that dress was hers.
Emily scrimped and saved for a necklace, but the moment Sophie said it was pretty, grandma would tell her to hand it over.
If Sophie couldn't get her hands on something, she'd rather wreck it than let anyone else enjoy it.
When Emily was in college, she brought her boyfriend home for dinner.
Sophie was curled up in the corner of the couch that day, dressed in a white dress and clutching her pill bottle. She murmured, "Emily, you're so lucky. With my health, who would ever want me?"
Half a month later, Emily's boyfriend was the one taking Sophie to the hospital.
A year later, Emily left town and never came back.
I didn't want Sophie to set her sights on Ethan.
I thought I'd kept things under wraps pretty well.
But on Friday night, Ethan and I were waiting in line for milk shake at the mall when Sophie came down the escalator and instantly caught sight of us holding hands.
When she called my name, her voice dripped with sugar.
"Lily, what are you doing here?" she asked.
I tried to pull my hand away, but Ethan just held on tighter.
Sophie walked up to us, her eyes lingering on Ethan for a long moment.
"And who's this?" she asked.
Ethan answered smoothly, "I'm Lily's boyfriend, Ethan Miller."
Sophie covered her mouth. "Boyfriend? How come nobody at home knows about this?"
She shot me a look like she'd just caught me red-handed.
I said, "It's not the right time to tell you yet."
"Are you afraid I'll find out?" she teased with a smile. "Lily, don't think I'm that bad."
She reached out her hand, the silver bell bracelet she'd swiped from me last year jingling on her wrist.
"Hi, I'm Sophie Lane, Lily's cousin," she said.
Ethan gave her a look but didn't take her hand.
Instead, he grabbed a napkin from the milk shake counter, wrapped it around his hand first before briefly touching hers.
A flicker of awkwardness crossed Sophie's face.
I saw her fingers glide along the edge of the napkin, and she always did that. Back then, it was how she had Emily's boyfriend wrapped around her finger, running errands for her.
After letting go, Ethan crumpled up the napkin and tossed it straight into the trash.
He turned to me. "Lily, do you want less sugar or no sugar at all?"
Sophie whispered, "Mr. Miller, am I too dirty for you?"
Ethan turned to her. "I run a restaurant, so I'm always dealing with strangers. When I get home, I have to wash my hands three times. It's not about you, I'm just picky like that."
He was polite enough, but his actions spelled out the boundaries loud and clear.
Sophie's eyes went watery, like she was about to cry.
*****
Everyone in line at the milk shake shop was staring at us.
Ever since we were kids, whenever she put on that look, people would always scold me for being inconsiderate.
As I was about to speak up, Ethan handed me the receipt.
"Go wait for me at the pickup counter," he said.
Sophie stared at him, her voice barely above a whisper. "Am I getting in your way?"
Ethan said, "Yeah, you are."
That words shut her right up.
I thought that was the end of it.
Sophie was supposed to be at a different movie, and her seat wasn't even in our theater.
Ten minutes after the movie started, she quietly slid into the seat right next to Ethan.
Clutching her popcorn, she leaned over and whispered, "Wow, fancy seeing you here again."
I checked out the ticket she was holding.
Ethan noticed it too.
Her ticket was for a different theater.
Sophie pretended not to notice, edging her knee closer to Ethan and letting her purse strap slip over his leg.
Ethan leaned in and asked quietly, "Can't you find your own screen?"
Sophie blinked innocently. "It's so dark in there, I'm a little scared. Mr. Miller, you're not going to begrudge me a seat, are you?"
As she spoke, she let her purse strap brush against his leg again.
I gripped the armrest.
Ethan pressed my hand down, signaling me to stay put.
He bent down and picked up her purse strap from the floor.
Sophie was just starting to look smug.
Ethan stood up and waved at the usher in the back row.
"Hey, this girl's in the wrong theater and she keeps brushing up against me. Can you get her out of here?" he said.
Sophie froze. "I didn't!"
The usher shone his flashlight on her ticket.
The people around us were getting annoyed.
"Your ticket's not even for this theater. Why are you still here?"
"If you want to do drama, take it outside."
"Girl, don't disturb everyone else."
Sophie had been spoiled all her life, she'd never been embarrassed like this in front of a crowd.
She clutched her popcorn, her tears dropping right into the bucket.
Normally, everyone would've jumped to defend her.
This time, no one was going to baby her.
Before the usher could escort her out, she turned and gave me a look over her shoulder.
It wasn't the look of someone hurt, it was pure resentment.
I knew she wouldn't let this go.