Scarlett mercilessly cackled at her sister's misfortune for a solid five minutes before calming down. That made her feel worse. "I cannot believe you asked him point blank! That's wild."
"I know," Sierra moaned. "It slipped out without my consent."
"But hey, doesn't an answer like that means he might like you if he gets to know you better?"
"That's not the way I saw it. He thinks I'm stupid. I know he does and he's right."
Scarlett stood up and walked over to pat her sister's back. "Hang in there, Sierra. You aren't stupid and if he doesn't realize that, he's the stupid one. Literary genius aside."
Having her sister defend her against her favorite author made her feel fractionally better. But only fractionally. Nathan didn't want to be her friend—he essentially told her he wanted to go back to being somewhat friendly acquaintances.
