Page 81 of The Breakup Artists

Ella’s eyes flit to me, widening in surprise.

Justin turns. “What did you just say?”

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valentine

Leah leans against the large dining room table and surveys the snacks. The back of her shirt is sprayed with water.

“Water fight?” I ask.

She laughs. “Just some idiots who turned on the sprinklers and are using lawn chair cushions as a Slip ’N Slide.”

I smile. “Sounds about right.”

Leah plops down in a high-backed wooden chair and pulls over a veggie spread.

I grab a bottle of sparkling water and open it. “Weird night, huh?”

She shrugs. “Kinda. Although, not super surprised.”

“About which part?”

“All of it,” she says as she chews a carrot stick with ranch dressing.

“Amber and Ella?”

“They’ve been taking digs at each other like that for months. This time it just happened in front of everyone.”

I grab a handful of chips, considering my next move. “Must be hard for you, being stuck in the middle.”

“Dude, you have no idea,” Leah says. “Amber can be a lot. I meana lot. But everyone knows that. It’s really not as shocking as Ella made it out to be.”

“Maybe because Amber went after Justin and Ella’s relationship?”

Leah considers it. “Yeah, maybe she wanted to save face in front of Justin; that’s possible.”

I chew my chip, strategizing how to pry a little further. “I probably shouldn’t say this... I feel like it’s not my place, but... Nah, you know what, never mind.”

Leah twists off the cap of a water bottle and laughs. “You know you can’t lead with that and then leave me hanging, right? It’s basically cruel.”

Universal rule: gossip is irresistible.

I laugh, too. “I just... well, I noticed a look between Amber and Justin earlier. Like sexy eyes?”

Leah hesitates. She looks around the dining room, like she’s debating telling me something, but all she says is, “Yeah, I saw that.”

My phone buzzes, but I’m too focused on Leah to check it.

“You don’t sound surprised,” I press.

“I don’t know,” Leah replies, even though I can tell by her expression that she has an opinion.

“Is Amber usually a flirt?” I ask, casually.

Leah thinks about it. “Selectively.”

“As in selectively with Justin?”