Page 12 of Claiming His Property

“Your rich aunt?”

I sip my drink and nod. “She may be rich, but she doesn’t share any of it with my dad or me.”

“Sounds like a wonderful woman,” Misty jokes.

“Right? So a couple of weeks ago after she first sees me talking to Cade, she lies to me, saying I left something up at the house and I need to come get it, but when I get there, she gets right up in my face and tells me if I ever talk to him again she’ll never leave me a dime of her money, and then slams the door in my face.”

“Whoa,” Misty remarks. “Psycho bitch alert!”

Even just thinking back to that moment suddenly gets my heart racing. I can just remember how my aunt’s face looked, glaring at me like a witch out of an old Disney cartoon, like she was going to curse me with a terrible spell or turn into a hyena and eat me alive.

“What did your dad say?” Misty asks.

“I didn’t tell him.”

“What? Are you crazy? Don’t you think he should know he’s got a crazy bitch for a sister?”

“When she slammed the door in my face, I was so stunned that I just sort of walked back to the truck in a daze. And after that I just didn’t know what to say to him. He has this idea in his head that we’re all going to be this happy family one day or something.”

“Oh, spare me.” Misty rolls her eyes. “Sorry, Sky, but I don’t see that happening with this old bag anytime soon.”

I nod in agreement. “Neither do I.”

“So you’ll ignore her, right? And just go for the guy?”

“I don’t know. What would you do?”

“Me?” Misty laughs. “You’re asking the girl who was raised Mormon and got her first tattoo when she was fourteen just to spite her asshole missionary father. I’m pretty sure you know what I’d do.”

We both crack up. “Fair enough.”

“Do you really know this guy though, Sky? He may be hot and all, but barely talking to him once at your aunt’s house isn’t exactly a great reason to go starting a family feud. There’s lots of hot guys out there, and I’m sure you can find more than a few ready to throw themselves at your feet.”

“I don’t know about that,” I reply sheepishly. “But it wasn’t just a short conversation outside of my aunt’s house either. A little bit more happened…”

Misty looks at me suspiciously, picking up on the look I’m giving her. I can feel myself blushing, and her eyes go wide. She leans in and whispers, “Wait, what are you saying? Did you guys…?”

I nod vigorously, feeling my heartrate rise as I think about last night’s adventure in the back of Cade’s truck.

“Oh my God,” Misty squeals, covering her mouth. “Shut up! You? The innocent little virgin?”

“Shut up!” I laugh.

“Okay, tell me everything!”

I relate that night to her the best I can without feeling too embarrassed. I leave out a few of the key details so it doesn’t feel like I’m narrating an erotic novel, but even so, her jaw keeps dropping lower and lower so that by the time I’m finished, she looks like Ghostface from Scream.

“Holy shit,” she finally says. “Wow.”

“I know.”

“This guy sounds incredible!”

All I can do is nod, excitement plastered all over my face. I’m so glad she sees Cade the way I do without even having met him.

“I’m jealous, Sky. All my ex did was mooch my food then cheat on me with my roommate, who I thought was my best friend.”

“Ouch. I’m sorry.”

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