Tomorrow's Lies (Promises #1) by S.R. Grey Page B

trying to give them up now. He doesn’t want to owe her anything, you know?”
    I feel sick.
    “What does she want from him?” I force myself to ask.
    Mandy lowers her voice to an almost-whisper so the twins don’t accidentally overhear. “Sex, of course,” she says. “Allison wants Flynn in her bed. What’d I say before, Jaynie? That body, those muscles. Allison is like a bitch in heat. She wants Flynn bad .”
    “He hasn’t, uh, done anything with her, has he?” Please say no, please say no . For some reason, it’s important to me.
    “Hell, no.” I breathe a sigh of relief, and Mandy continues. “Trust me, Jaynie. Flynn doesn’t plan on doing anything with her. I told you he despises her. And he sure as hell doesn’t trust Allison at all.”
    I’m relieved, but I find it hard to believe Flynn isn’t the tiniest bit attracted to Allison Lowry. Sure, she may be an epic bitch, but she is extraordinarily pretty—shoulder-length platinum hair, blue eyes, and long legs. She’s a younger version of her mom. And Allison is crafty, too, just like Mrs. Lowry, but not in the literal way. She’s crafty in a slick, oily way. She’s sneaky and shady, like a snake.
    I don’t like thinking about her, and I’m glad she’s mostly ignored me this past week. But all I can picture after hearing of her lusting for Flynn is the two of them together.
    Ugh .
    When Mrs. Lowry struts in the barn, wearing one of her signature woolen business suits, I’m actually relieved to see her. I need a distraction.
    “Time to get to work, boys and girls,” Crafty Lo announces with a flourish of her slender hands.
    “She is a fucking nut,” Mandy mutters under her breath.
    I can’t disagree. Mrs. Lowry sure looks crazy as she pats her tight bun of blonde hair and giggles like a little girl.
    “Have fun, darlings, and remember to work smart, not hard. There are hot dogs for dinner later. That is,” she qualifies, “if you make your quotas.”
    “Naturally,” Mandy says sarcastically under her breath.
    And then our benefactor is gone. Don’t for a minute think Crafty Lo lifts a perfectly manicured nail to actually work on any of the crafts bearing her name. Dream on .
    An hour later, Allison still hasn’t made an appearance in the barn, which is unsettling. She often looks in throughout the day to make sure we’re not goofing off. Her continued absence leaves me feeling nauseated. I can’t help but imagine her in the house, trying her best to seduce Flynn.
    The projects help to distract me some. In fact, we are all kept busy with the crafts. There’s wood to be cut for various projects, print screening to be prepped for T-shirts bearing the Crafty Lo logo, and a final big project for the day—a jewelry project involving intricate sets of beads with many tiny pieces that need assembling.
    With the project underway, and the day waning, the twins grow tired and weary. They begin to struggle with the little beads and thin wires, both of which are difficult to work with even when fully focused.
    Cody appears close to a meltdown after failing for a fourth time to thread a bead onto a wire. Callie, who has better dexterity than her brother, though not at the moment, tries to help him.
    “I can’t, I can’t,” he cries out, his plaintive wails full of frustration and anger as the bead drops to the floor for the umpteenth time.
    When Callie leans down to retrieve the rolling ball, Cody loses his shit. He knocks the whole plastic container of beads to the floor, scattering shiny orbs of pink, red, and orange. Bouncing and rolling balls that look like wayward BBs go everywhere.
    Mandy and I drop to our knees to clean the mess quickly. “If Mrs. Lowry or Allison comes in and sees this,” Mandy says, frantic, “Flynn won’t be the only one assigned twice as much work tomorrow.”
    Callie joins the effort, and the three of us are eventually able to capture most of the bouncing beads.
    Cody remains seated at the table, arms