To say I slept badly would be an understatement, but I forced myself out of bed anyway, knowing I needed to put on a happy face. My plan was to go to the Stevens's house and pretend like Easton and I were never anything besides Lexi's best friend and Lexi's brother—two people who had known each other since we were kids but had never had a reason to care what the other was up to, or who they may or may not be dating.

If I could pretend, then maybe I'd have a chance at keeping my pregnancy a secret.

Mom was already gone when I came downstairs. She'd left a note on the counter.

I grabbed the house key from the hook by the garage, stuffing it in the front pocket of my jeans—which I had to leave unbuttoned at the top and fastened with a hair elastic—then grabbed my coat to walk to their house at the end of the street.

"Come on in. The crêpes are almost ready," Lexi said, beckoning me into her house a few minutes later. I looked around the living room. It was still the same as it had always been. Overstuffed furniture. Photos of Lexi and her family on the walls. It was a strange contrast from my house. You'd think that a home run by a man would have the less homey feeling out of the two, but my home was all straight clean lines with perfectly designed decor that matched—more like an extension of my mom's office instead of a home.

Lexi led me into the kitchen where her dad was flipping crêpes in a pan.

"Welcome back to the United States, Juliette," he said.

I swallowed and nodded. "Thanks. It's good to be back." I studied him for a moment longer just to see if he seemed tense at my presence. If he was, I couldn't tell. I sighed with relief. Hopefully, that meant Easton hadn't told him anything.

"Have a seat in the dining room. Breakfast will be ready in a couple of minutes," Mr. Stevens said over his shoulder as he cooked. "You'll have to tell us everything about Paris over breakfast."

"Sure," I said.

Lexi led me into their formal dining room, and I took my seat next to her at the already set table, grateful that Easton wasn't around yet.

"Now that we're alone, I want the real details on Paris," Lexi said, her eyes sparkling with excitement, like I had some sort of juicy gossip to tell.

Sadly for her and me, there wasn't anything really exciting that I could tell her that we hadn't already talked about over our video chats—aside from the fact that I'd taken a pregnancy test and it had come back positive.

But even though I was dying to confide in someone besides my mom, and have them assure me that everything would be okay, I couldn't tell Lexi. She was Easton's sister, and I couldn't risk him finding out.

Plus, she was asking about exciting events in Paris. The events that had caused my most life-altering news had happened here in New York and not there, anyway.

"What do you want to know?" I asked her.

"I don't know...everything. But mostly I want to know about all the boys who I'm sure were heartbroken when you left."

Of course Easton had to walk into the dining room with Grant's high chair just as Lexi mentioned boys.

But maybe this was good. It would help me plant some seeds in their minds if I was forced to use Plan B to explain why I was getting fat. If for some reason things fell through with me going to Grandma Irene's house, my plan was to tell everyone that a guy from Paris was the father of my baby. That way, Easton would be off the hook and he wouldn't have to hate me even more.

Easton set Grant's chair next to the spot where his dad usually sat for their family meals with Maddie. I eyed him as I formulated my next sentences in my head. I could tell he was listening for my answer, even if he pretended not to be.

"The boys there were just as amazing as we imagined. And their accents are to die for," I said.

Lexi's eyebrows lifted. "I knew there had to be more than just the one guy. Evan, right? The one you said—"

"The one that I said was super hot and had lips like an angel," I interrupted Lexi before she could finish. I had told her over video chat about how Evan was more like a stand-in to make someone jealous. Lexi just didn't know that it was Easton who I was trying to make jealous with that manufactured photo.

Easton's jaw tensed, and I didn't know whether to feel guilty or happy that my plan to make him jealous had possibly worked a little after all.

"So you kissed a lot of guys then?" Easton asked, his eyes tight as he took the seat across from mine.

I shrugged, hoping to come across that I wasn't nervous he was asking me about this. "When in France..." I gave my shoulder-length hair a flip with my hand for extra effect.

"I figured you'd have guys falling at your feet in Paris. Good for you."

That wasn't the reaction I'd expected at all. Based on the things he'd said the last time we were together, I'd almost expected him to call me a slut or something.

Except he didn’t. He almost seemed sad that I was talking about kissing other guys.

But this shouldn't be happening, anyway. He was dating Mercedes Atkins, the town preacher's daughter. Easton was supposed to hate me for showing up at his tent that night.

Mr. Stevens set a plate of crêpes on the table at that moment, effectively bringing our conversation to a halt. He took his seat at the head of the table, unfolding his napkin and setting it on his lap.

"While we wait for Maddie and Grant to join us, why don't you tell us about all the wonderful places you went to visit?" Mr. Stevens said to me.

Easton eyed me from across the table, and I couldn't read what was in his expression, but he said, "Yes, I would love to hear what you've been up to."

What was he thinking about? I couldn't get a good read on him at all.

I sighed, giving up on analyzing his every facial expression for the moment, and finally said, "I'd love to hear what you've been up to as well."

"What's going on with you and Easton? Did something happen that I don't know about?" Lexi asked after breakfast. We were sitting on her bed in her room that didn't have any doors on it at all. No bedroom door. No closet door. Not even a bathroom door.

"What's with the lack of doors?"

Lexi sighed. "My dad is teaching me a lesson about how privacy is a privilege." She waved her hand. "The whole Noah-sleeping-in-my-closet thing made him do it."

"Wow, did he catch you two making out in your room or something?"

She shook her head and leaned back against the pillows by her headboard. "No, I think it was because of me talking about how Noah had left his shirt there that morning. That really set him off."

I laughed. That would do it. I'd probably freak out on her if I saw and heard that, too.

And her dad would for sure never allow me in his house again if he found out about Easton and me. In fact, he'd probably ban Lexi from being my friend anymore.

Yikes. Why hadn't I been thinking more clearly months ago? He really couldn't find out.

"So you still didn't answer my question. Why are you and Easton acting so weird around each other?"

I shrugged. "Must be the awkwardness of not seeing each other for a few months. I'm always a little weird around people I haven't seen for a long time."

"Makes sense." She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Wanna hear something weird?"

"Sure." I'd love to talk about anything that didn't involve Easton and me.

She grinned. "I had the craziest thought last week about how cool it would be if you and Easton got together."

"You did?" I asked cautiously.

"Yeah." She sat up straighter. "I mean, Easton and Noah are best friends. You and I are best friends. It would just be kind of perfect."

"Except for the fact that he’s dating Mercedes Atkins right now." Little Miss Perfect.

She shrugged. "He was asking about you last week."

"He was?" I knew it was stupid to hope that he had missed me, but I still did.

"He even talked about going skateboarding at the indoor skate park in Syracuse. That's something we've only ever done with you."

"Yeah?" Not that it would be smart for me to get on a skateboard anytime soon. My balance was not the same as it used to be.

Lexi’s grin was huge, like she'd just done some sort of matchmaking between me and her non-single brother. "We should totally arrange it. I mean, I wouldn't mind giving Noah some private lessons." She bit her lip at the thought.

I shook my head and jumped at the chance to talk about her and Noah instead of Easton and me. "This is so weird."

"You think Noah and me together is weird?"

I laughed. "No. I think you two are super adorable. It's just...when I left, you were the one who’d never kissed a guy, and I was the one who kissed too many. It's just so strange how the tables have turned."

"Well, I'm sure you'll have a new boyfriend in no time. You've never had trouble finding one before."

I forced a smile on my face. "You're probably right."

"So when do you need to be home?" Lexi asked.

"I can hang for a few hours."

"Wanna help me get my skateboard ready so we can go next week?"

"Sure."

Lexi jumped off her bed and grabbed her skateboard from her closet. She looked over her shoulder. "Just wait for me by the kitchen table, I think I have my skateboard tools in here somewhere." She proceeded to rummage through the mess in her closet, and I couldn't help but wonder how in the world tall Noah Taylor was ever able to fit in that clutter for two nights.

I left her room figuring it might be a while. I might as well grab a glass of water while I waited.

I turned the corner at the end of the hall and stumbled when I saw Easton sitting at the kitchen table with a math textbook open and his mechanical pencil scratching numbers onto a sheet of paper. Did he hear us talking about him? Lexi’s room wasn't that far from the kitchen.

He looked up from his homework, and my face grew hot.

Say something, Juliette. Don't just stand there and stare at his gorgeous face.

I cleared my throat. "D-do you have work tonight?" Maybe if I started a normal conversation, things wouldn't be as awkward as they'd been during brunch.

He gave me a confused expression. "No. Why?"

I shrugged. "Oh, I just figured you must have work since you usually like to wait until the last minute to do all your weekend homework."

"Oh, no," Lexi said, coming up behind me and making me jump. She propped her skateboard against the wall. "This is the new Easton. Ever since he started dating Mercedes, he's on this whole overachiever kind of thing. I really think he's trying to impress her."

Oh, it was for Mercedes.

Who names their daughter after a car, anyway?

Easton set his pencil down. "Um, I'm actually just trying to get a scholarship. I still have a few more to apply for, and every grade counts."

"Don't you know dad's going to pay..." Lexi trailed off. And when I glanced at her, her eyes had gone wide like she'd said something she hadn't meant to say.

Did she know then? Did Mr. Stevens know too and, true to his word, had cut off Easton's tuition fund because he'd lost his purity ring?

I swallowed, feeling the air in the room change.

"Um, never mind." Lexi laughed awkwardly, and I didn't miss the frustrated look Easton gave her. "I, um, do you still have my skateboard tool kit? Juliette and I were thinking it might be fun to go boarding together next week."

Easton looked relieved that she had changed the subject. "I-it's just on my dresser. I can get it if you want."

"I can grab it real quick." Lexi left the kitchen, her footsteps thumping on the stairs.

Once we were alone, I stepped closer to Easton and lowered my voice to a whisper. "Does she know?"

"Shh." Easton glanced around, probably to make sure his dad wasn't within hearing range. "Of course I haven't told her."

"Okay."

There was a long pause as we both tried to think of something to say.

He closed his notebook and looked around again. "I said something last week about not misplacing my purity ring. But she doesn't know anything more."

"That's probably good." I released the breath I'd been holding. "Does your dad know, though? Is that why you need the scholarships?"

His eyes hardened. "I haven't told him yet, either. As far as he knows, I misplaced my ring while we were camping. I-it's not exactly a conversation I'm excited to have."

I cast my gaze down. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Are you?" He sounded like he didn't believe me.

I looked up to meet his eyes. "Of course I am. We both know it was wrong. If I could take it back I would." My life would be a heck of a lot simpler if I didn't have to read all those pregnancy articles online.

"Me too."

I knew those words shouldn't have hurt, since I'd just said the same thing, but I felt my heart shatter all over again.

"I found it." Lexi entered the kitchen, holding her tool kit in her hands. "Can you make room for us to work at the table, Easton?"

He closed his textbook and stacked his notebook on top. "I'm actually done for now. The kitchen is all yours."

Then he picked up his things and left the room.