“I can’t believe her own sisters would take advantage of her compromised state,” Spencer declared.
Emily raised an eyebrow. “Says the brother who has a flip-video in his rear pocket.”
“Ha! I knew it.” Olivia stabbed her index finger at Spencer’s chest. “You’re itching for a chance to get her back for making that video of you after you got your wisdom teeth out.”
He chuckled. “I do owe her big time. After all, she posted it on Facebook.”
Ben rubbed his tongue over a sharp tooth. “Speaking of teeth, I’ve got a chipped molar that needs fixing. Brad shook me senseless and made me break it. You know a good dentist?”
“I’ve got a friend who just graduated from dental school,” said Olivia.
“Is he any good?” asked Ben.
“He’s a she—Shanna Williams.”
“Is she cute? Is she single?” asked Ben.
“Yes and yes.” Olivia laughed. “Suddenly you don’t care if she’s good or not?”
“Hmmm... I don’t know. How cute is she? In this case the cute factor could really make up for the skill factor.”
“Well, you’re in luck. She’s cute and she’s a great dentist. I’ll hook you up.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.” He winked at her.
“Eh-hem!” Josh cleared his throat and grasped Ben’s arm.
“Right now, I think Ben wants to go see his brother in the ER. Isn’t that why you came here, Ben? Brad’s really confused right now. I’m hoping you can straighten some things out.”
Ben mouthed a silent “Help me!” toward Olivia as Josh dragged him away. He spoke aloud. “Maybe I should wait until Grace is out of recovery.”
“Oh no, Ben.” Olivia stifled a giggle. “We’ll take care of Grace. You can go with Josh to check on Brad.”
Ben pantomimed having his throat slashed before he disappeared around the corner. He heard Olivia’s laughter tinkling and one of the sisters asking, “What was that about?”
“I’m glad you think this is so funny.” Josh’s humorless eyes were full of contempt.
“Look. I have no idea how this got so out-of-hand. All I meant to do was convince Brad to tell Grace he was planning to leave New York City. She wouldn’t let me tell him the truth—she swore me to secrecy.”
“And what was the truth?”
He hesitated. “No, I still have my honor. I promised her I wouldn’t tell anyone, and I won’t betray her confidence.”
“Honor? How can you have honor after lying about Grace having plastic surgery?”
“But that’s not what I said. I said she’d considered it and I’d talked her out of it.”
“What about the stalker? You said she didn’t have any idea of his identity, but Brad said the stalker had located Grace’s school.”
“I don’t know where that came from. There is no stalker.”
“So the entire thing was a lie?”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it a lie.”
“What exactly would you call it?”
“A slight departure from the absolute truth with completely honorable intentions.”