"What did Jocelyn mean? About you and Jack?" demanded Alex.
Jocelyn was looking pale. "Shit, Gwen—"
"What are you not telling me?" said Alex.
"Jack and I are..." Gwen struggled to find the right words. "Having fun with each other."
Now Alex looked pale, her eyes wide with shock. "And you told my sister before you told me?"
"I didn't tell her, not exactly—"
Alex's eyes filled with tears. She shoved the box of doughnuts into her sister's hands. "Eat the stupid doughnuts. You guys suck."
Gwen sighed. Felicity looked distraught, while Jocelyn just looked annoyed.
This is the exact reason why I didn't invite both sisters, thought Gwen.
Jocelyn opened the box. She shut it without comment and set it back down on the bench.
"Is anyone going to go after her?" said Felicity softly. She'd already stood up, but Gwen stopped her from walking after Alex.
"I'll do it," said Gwen.
She found Alex sitting under a tree near one of the parks at the north end of town. Some people meandered here, but compared to the festival, it was nearly deserted.
Alex had her arms wrapped around her knees, her chin resting on top. She didn't even notice Gwen coming up to her.
"Can I sit?" said Gwen quietly.
Alex just shrugged a shoulder.
Gwen fought against a sharp retort, knowing that it would only make Alex defensive. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Alex was five years her junior. But right now, Alex seemed painfully young to Gwen.
"Why didn't you tell me about Jack?" said Alex.
Gwen had struggled to come up with a response as she'd followed after Alex. But now she was all out of patience for both sisters.
"Because I wasn't sure you'd keep it to yourself," said Gwen bluntly.
Alex flinched. "That's not fair."
"The last time I told you something in confidence, you ended up telling your cousin, if I remember correctly—"
"It was an accident! I'd had too much to drink!"
"And I believe another time you told multiple people about the time I got sick on that rollercoaster because you thought it was so hilarious. Even though I begged you not to say anything."
Alex scowled. "That was a long time ago."
"It was like a year ago!"
"Fine. But to tell Jocelyn instead? Are you guys friends now?" The disgust in Alex's voice was obvious.
"Yeah, I think we are. But I didn't tell her everything about Jack. It just happened."
Alex didn't say anything for a long moment. Gwen watched as Alex's lower lip trembled; she swiped away a few stray tears.
"What is it with you and your sister, anyway?" Gwen asked.
"It's complicated."
"Everyone's relationship with their sibling is complicated."
"Ours is on another level."
Gwen gently poked Alex in the shoulder. "You can tell me, you know."
"Can I?" Alex sounded angry now. "Because you won't trust me. Yeah, I've done some stupid things before. But to tell Jocelyn and not me, one of your best friends, because you can't trust me... That's shitty. Really shitty."
"Why does it have to be a competition between you and Jocelyn? Can't I be friends with the both of you?"
"No. Because my sister has always tried to take everything I've had."
Gwen gaped at Alex. "Now you're being overdramatic."
"Really? You should ask Jocelyn about it. See if I'm being overdramatic. But there are things you don't know about. Maybe consider that before you judge me."
Gwen felt like the world had turned upside down. What in the world had Jocelyn done to make Alex this angry? It made no sense. Gwen had assumed their rivalry was some childish thing that they'd yet to shed upon reaching adulthood.
Now Gwen wondered. Alex was normally more than happy to give all the juicy details about her life. But to find out that she'd been hiding something like this from Gwen...
Pot, meet kettle, she thought sadly.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jack. I've just been so out of sorts with the whole thing that I haven't been thinking clearly," said Gwen.
"Does Felicity know?"
Gwen sighed. "Yeah."
That just made Alex clench her jaw and look away from Gwen.
"I know I can be a pain in the ass sometimes," whispered Alex. "But I want to be a good friend to you. I want you to feel like you can tell me things."
"I know you do. And you have been a good friend."
Alex wiped her nose on her sleeve. "Ugh, I'm a mess. I'm sorry for all of this. I guess I'm just a drama llama today."
"I can't disagree with that."
Alex elbowed her. "Tell me about Jack. Are you guys doing the dirty or what?"
Gwen told Alex everything, although it took a second since Alex kept interrupting to ask questions. Gwen didn't disclose everything about her marriage and anxiety about sex, though. That subject still felt too raw, and Gwen was half-afraid she'd start sobbing like a crazy person right here in the park.
By the end of Gwen's story, Alex was looking at her like she didn't recognize her.
"What a little slut you are now," marveled Alex. "I'm so proud of you."
"He's only the second guy I've ever slept with," replied Gwen wryly. "Well, mostly slept-with. We haven't officially gone all the way."
"I always thought he had a thing for you. What guy delivers you fish and gives you a discount for five years straight?"
Gwen stared at Alex. "Discount?"
"You didn't know? I thought you did. Jocelyn mentioned it. She noticed that Jack always charged you something like 30% market value. I can't remember the exact number. But it was a lot."
Gwen felt her heart stutter. How had she not known this? Then again, she'd never thought to ask. She'd always assumed Jack was charging her what was fair.
"You didn't know." Alex blew out a breath. "Shit."
"I think I might be falling for him," whispered Gwen.
Alex took her hand and squeezed it. "You sound like that's the worst thing ever."
"It might be."
"Nah. It'll be all right. You'll see. He's totally crazy about you. Everybody on the island knows it."
Except me, thought Gwen. Apparently I've been blind this entire time.
Later that evening, Gwen went to her office to retrieve a handful of the receipts from Jack. She texted Jay, the owner of the fancy island restaurant Verity, asking him what he was charged for his local salmon.
$15-17 per pound. Depends on the catch and the season. Why? Somebody cheating you? he replied an hour later.
Gwen glanced at the number on her receipt. $8 per pound.
Alex had been right. Jack had been giving her a significant discount. The question was: why? And how would she ever repay him?
Chapter Sixteen
Jack woke up to the text from his mom.
I'm sick, call me.
Jack sighed. He was tempted to go back to sleep. Or better yet, delete the text and forget his mom had sent it in the first place.